Reviving a neglected pond

[mumrah]

I recently bought a townhouse that came with a suprise in the backyard... A pond! I figured, since no one's occupied the house for ~7 months, that it must just be a water feature. It was so mucky and overgrown, i figured no way any fish could be living in it.

So i dug up the filter (which had come loose from the pump) and opened it up and cleaned it out. I then reconnected the pump and let it go. Few days later, the water has cleared up and low and behold... I have 7 goldfish!

Man was i supprised. this all happened just before winter and my [acronym:1f2b733ce2="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:1f2b733ce2] told me to leave them alone for the winter.

So spring is almost here in FL and i'm wanting to fix this pond up.
Here's the description:
2 plastic basins - one ~4' x 2' and the larger ~8' x 4'. the smaller basin is elevated more and flows into the larger via a spout thingy. the pump and filter are fubar [acronym:1f2b733ce2="in my opinion"]imo[/acronym:1f2b733ce2], so i'm looking for a new filter/water movement solution. I think i like the idea of a small fountain (maybe 1' high or so) and keep the water flowing from the second basin to the bottom.

How much flow should i be looking for. I have no idea how many gallons are in this thing. I suppose i could bust out the old slide-rule, take some measurments and get an estimate, but that seems a little.. well, you know..

Is it possible for me to get a gang valve of sorts to control the flow from one pump into two lines? Or would such a value create detrimental backpressure into the pump?

I'm a total newb at ponds so please help. Also, what should i feed these fishies?

Thanks,
David

[RogerMcAllen]

Can you get a picture? Also, do you know the depths?

[mumrah]

now that i've measured it, and based on some dirty math, i estimate the capacity of this thing to be ~160g. The other basin isnt really important since no fish will be in there, but i'd guess it to be ~40 or 50g.

1st, for the fish, get a thermometer and take the pond temp. If it's over 55, you can feed them, if under 55, do not feed. Get some "spring and fall" Goldfish/Koi food, it's mostly wheat germ, low protien, easily digestable. Feed them sparingly for now, FAR better to underfeed than overfeed, I can't stress that enough.
Why do you think the pump isn't good enough? It could just be majorly clogged, very common w/pond pumps, they require cleaning. Unplug it and see what kind of "strainer" it has. Do your best to get any gunk out of it. When you put it back in the pond, keep it off the bottom (on a stack of rocks, cinderblock, or whatever). That will keep it clean longer.

I'll get back to this, but it's late and I had a couple adult beverages...

[mumrah]

thanks. I looked at the pump, and it's a little giant rated at 120gph i think. So it must just be really really clogged. How could i go about increasing aeration though?

Kind of hard for me to envision your setup, but if you have water splashing down from the one basin to the other, your aeration is probably ok. If the fish aren't gasping at the surface, they have enough [acronym:e60abcd13e="Oxygen"]O2[/acronym:e60abcd13e]. It could become a problem in the heat of summer though, cold/cool water holds more [acronym:e60abcd13e="Oxygen"]O2[/acronym:e60abcd13e] than hot water does.

If you could post a picture of your current setup, I could probably give you better advice.

See if there is a screen or strainer of some kind on your pump, something that pops off easily. If you can get that off, take the garden hose to it and spray out any gunky buildup that's clogging it. If you can find the model # for your pump, maybe you could get more info on cleaning it from the Little Giant website.

[mumrah]

The pump is connected to one of these guys, http://www.koivillage.com/filtration/pondmaster.html

but not a pondmaster brand. Turns out the tube running from the pump to the top basin was clogged to ****, so i used some of my leftover watercooling tubing (clearflex60). Now it pours like morton salt.

What's next. I want to have a small fountain, how do i accomplish this?