Maintenance of a Monster Tank

[MeAko]

Water change. I kinda thought that the weekly WC won't be a must for monster pond/tanks. So I went through the first month or two without a major water change. When I tested the nitrate, it was around 80-100ppm. So I started doing 20-30% WC 1-2x/week.
Note: Now, I do a 50%/week WC.

To pump out water and gravel vac at the same time I use a Rio 1000GPH pump attached to a PVC attached to a flexible hose, I pump the water out to 4 pcs of 50G Blue drums which the household help use to water the lawn. I bring in the garden hose and attach it a few feet above the pond and let the water replacement drip in, it takes about 8-12 hours for the water replacement to drip in fully. I don't use dechlor as I believe the chlorine dissipates and the amount left is comfortably dispersed in the pond, causing minimal, if any harm to the fish.

Pond Decor. I have realized that the more tank driftwoods, big rocks, pebbles, substrate etc that I put in, the more places and crevices are created for poop, dirt, food particles etc to hide. So, I have removed practically all pond decor: my nitrates and water clarity have improved by leaps and bounds because of it, I believe.

Before

After

 

[Pharaoh]

I use Blueline titanium heaters and a Ranco controller. I have a 1,000W and a 500W.