Bought a house with a pond. Help

[arminkropp]

Firstly I have a 50Gal SW tank for the last 2 years so I'm aware of the ammonia,nitrite,nitrate cycle.

Alright I just moved into my new house last weekend. Its has a beautiful backyard and 1000Gal pond.
The original owner took all pumps and filters along. So today I ordered a 2000Gph waterfall pump. Total pumping height is 3 feet and 30 feet of hose so the pumping "head" is about 6 feet. This cuts my pump down to about 1200-1300Gph.

I guess my main question is what else do I need to get? The pond has an attached skimmer and my pump will go into there. Do I need to clean it? It has leaves in it.

I'll see if i can get a pic
any help would be great

 

[Marc118]

I cant help you, but I just want to say that is a beautiful yard.

 

[arminkropp]

Thank-you Marc. I hope I can keep it up. My wife doesnt exactly have a green thumb, so she said I need to do all the work.
I hope to though!
I love the yard.

 

[Zagz]

If there are a lot of leaves I would clean it, otherwise I don't imagine it would hurt anything. I'm new to ponds myself but am sure someone with more experience will come back and give you the info you need.

I have to say I am envious of you! That is gorgeous!!

 

[Serge]

Winnipeg, ugh.... The pond can double as an ice rink too.

Seriously, that is one heck of a nice back yard! A LOT of time and effort$$$$ has gone into making it this beautiful. Congratulations on your acquisition!

8)

 

[arminkropp]

lol

I know, people have mentioned that already. Like I said, I hope I can dedicate enough time to this yard to keep it up. It'll be a learning experience. I dont know too much about flowers.

 

[Xetox]

Awesome pond! If you need help with the plants and flowers here is a great site.

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/ The people on the forums are very helpful.

 

[piranha]

I use a hand skimmer to remove any leaves. If there aren't too many leaves there are chemical additives to assist in quick breakdown of the leaves. If you plan to keep fish in it during the cold winter months you will need de-icers. A UV sterilizer whether built into the filter or seperate will help with free floating algae and some bacteria. Surface covering plants will also help with algae control. I would do some small partial water changes once debri is removed and pump is set up. A nylon leaf net will keep leaves out. I even keep it on during summer to keep cats away.

 

[Ravn]

It looks like the pond has pretty good surface coverage from the lillies. If they start to look a little on the bad side, check for lots of dead foilage still connected to the plant and remove it and fertilize them. I don't know how deep the pond is but if they are in containers, you will need to cut off all the foilage for the winter and lower them to the deepest part of the pond (below the frost line) and also may need to separate them. Lillies are fairly easy to care for. Floating plants are easy additions too. Just buy them, clean off any soil that is collected around the roots and throw them in. Just be careful because they can spread quickly. Also, for cold climate flowers, check into the water Hawthorn(e). It blooms in the fall and winter up until the temperature starts to rise in spring, white flowers that smell like vanilla. I'm getting ready to get some for my ponds. Good Luck!!