I for one continued cleaning the 1000L pond I started cleaning the day before and finally got the water clear enough to actually spy the wayward Khuli loach I had seen in there one night a few weeks ago. What should have been a simple process of cleaning was made worse by the rampant growth of the water lily that had easily 25-30cm deep thick matted roots that had totally engulfed besser bricks, house bricks and a pond submerged water fountain.
So first job on the pond cleaning agenda was pruning a way into the pond (bathtub) that is beside the pond which had a massive lily growing in it and had a large Ixora growing over the top of it. I had no idea aside from the water lily and duckweed what else was still living in the bathtub so it was a tricky job of getting the lily out and then siphoning out the black water until it was clear and I could see any fish. Once I was sure the bathtub was clear of any fish or shrimp I then filled it with clean water in readiness for the other bigger water lily from the pond to sit in. While the lily out of the bathtub went into a large tub of water.
It took both of us and a lot of straining muscles to drag the pond lily out along with all the other bits and pieces it had engulfed with its roots. Then I was able to turn my attention to siphoning out water, unclogging the mesh cover over the siphon that stops and fish or shrimp going for a one way ride, and carefully pulling out handfuls of dead tree leaves. All the while I was either doubled over the side of the pond or actually in it carefully sliding my feet along the floor hoping to not stand on the Khuli loach, gudgeons or macrobachium shrimp.
Finally I was able to see and catch the loach
And then we decided to move the pond around 1/2metre from its current position, that meant we needed a load of sand to make a suitable soft bed for but first we had to get to 1000L pond out of the way. Finally the sand was collected from the local hardware store and we shovelled out the sand to make the new bed for the pond to sit on. Then we moved the pond back into its new position and finally I was able to start refilling the pond while we hacked our way through the lily roots to remove the fountain and the various bricks, and the now smaller chunks of lily could be put back into the pond.
Now I just need the water to resettle and the lilies to re-establish and my pond will be back to its over grown wild self in no time. But at least I now have a better idea of who is living in there. Namely the pond is home to Endlers, Pacific Blue Eyes, Empire Gudgeons, Cherry shrimp, Glass Shrimp (local creek ones) and Macrobachium shrimp (also local caught ones) and now less one Khuli loach. Next project is to remove all the branches in the bird aviary and replace with all new branches we have pruned from trees around the yard.
So first job on the pond cleaning agenda was pruning a way into the pond (bathtub) that is beside the pond which had a massive lily growing in it and had a large Ixora growing over the top of it. I had no idea aside from the water lily and duckweed what else was still living in the bathtub so it was a tricky job of getting the lily out and then siphoning out the black water until it was clear and I could see any fish. Once I was sure the bathtub was clear of any fish or shrimp I then filled it with clean water in readiness for the other bigger water lily from the pond to sit in. While the lily out of the bathtub went into a large tub of water.
It took both of us and a lot of straining muscles to drag the pond lily out along with all the other bits and pieces it had engulfed with its roots. Then I was able to turn my attention to siphoning out water, unclogging the mesh cover over the siphon that stops and fish or shrimp going for a one way ride, and carefully pulling out handfuls of dead tree leaves. All the while I was either doubled over the side of the pond or actually in it carefully sliding my feet along the floor hoping to not stand on the Khuli loach, gudgeons or macrobachium shrimp.
Finally I was able to see and catch the loach
And then we decided to move the pond around 1/2metre from its current position, that meant we needed a load of sand to make a suitable soft bed for but first we had to get to 1000L pond out of the way. Finally the sand was collected from the local hardware store and we shovelled out the sand to make the new bed for the pond to sit on. Then we moved the pond back into its new position and finally I was able to start refilling the pond while we hacked our way through the lily roots to remove the fountain and the various bricks, and the now smaller chunks of lily could be put back into the pond.
Now I just need the water to resettle and the lilies to re-establish and my pond will be back to its over grown wild self in no time. But at least I now have a better idea of who is living in there. Namely the pond is home to Endlers, Pacific Blue Eyes, Empire Gudgeons, Cherry shrimp, Glass Shrimp (local creek ones) and Macrobachium shrimp (also local caught ones) and now less one Khuli loach. Next project is to remove all the branches in the bird aviary and replace with all new branches we have pruned from trees around the yard.
We are starting off with a nice darken tank because the power surge in my house (created by my other half) caused the fish tank timer to blow as well as the heater (with out my knowledge) so the light was on all night!
