Pond move, need hints and advice...

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kumdoalan

Feeder Fish
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Jan 28, 2008
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Ok, as the winter ends I have to make plans to move my pond up out of my basement and into a porch where it will be forever.

This is the pond that I worked on the filter this winter with great advice i got from members of this forum.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122810

What I need to know...
QUESTION #1 -
I will have to drain and fill new water into the pond once it's moved.
I will use that anti-clor stuff, but when should I turn on the pump to the filter?
(I dont want to kill my filter)

QUESTION #2 -
It may take 2 or 3 days to move the pond, drill the holes for running pipes, and filling and treating the water.
I plan to try to save my filter's bio media and keep everything alive.
Would just dumping the kitchen pot scrubbers of the filter into a plastic tub filled with water and with an airstone keep the filter alive?

QUESTION #3 -
The pond's new indoor location will receive sunlight during the last half of the day, I want to have floating plants in the pond, HOWEVER I will have 2 Koi (one foot long) in this pond.
What type of plant should I use?
(do I need to really worry that the plants will all be eaten?)

QUESTION #4-
If there is a danger to the plants, has anyone ever tried to use some type pf bag or a netting to place the plants roots into as a means to protect them from being eaten?
 
The only time I ever moved a pond was when mine popped so I cant give any solid advice, so heres what I guess I would do, if I had to....

I'd get a big tub to keep the fish in for the move and ship the filter in that, still running so its getting the fish pooh for the two days. I wouldnt put it in a bucket with an airstone as over two days the bacteria would die (I think) without food... An airstone would also change the balance of bacteria in the filter as it would change the amount of oxygen, the ones that like it will prosper the ones that dont will die...

I'd save as much original water as possible in the tub to shift to the new pond, and top up with water dechlored before I put it in to stop it killing the bacteria on the pond walls substrate.

I have never managed to stop any of my herbivorous fish eating my plants. My Uarau have even eaten my amazon swords...

Anyway, just my guess at how to do it, maybe someone who knows will come along... Good luck!!!!!
 
Let us know how you get on, and take some pics...I'm gonna have to move two ponds and 12 tanks when I leave here, so I'd like to know how you get on!!!!
 
The problem with attempting to save any water from the pond is that Im going to move the pond upstairs.

So I can't just run a garden hose to a barrell upstairs as I got no pump that could push water that high or far.

And the idea of putting water in buckets and walking up the stairs is a non-starter.

So thats why I have a concern about my filter staying alive.
Im going to likely end up filling the whole pond and the filter with brand new, (right out of the tap) water.
So there is a concern here that I will be killing my filter and needing to cycle it all over from scratch.

The problem with that is that I dont really have a good place to store the Koi for 2 weeks as that goes on, so the Koi might need to be dumped into a new pond with new water and a dead filter...
Now I would use that anti-clor stuff they sell to help condition the water, but how long does that stuff take to work?

This sounds like I need a different plan to me.


So my question is, how can I save the life of my current filter, and move it where it may be unconnceted for 2 or 3 days, and then when it does get connected it will be filtering new tap water?
 
Without puting it in a tub with the fish I dont know. Can you arrange the move in one day? If the filters only off a couple of hrs should be okay.
 
King Edward;1558954; said:
Without puting it in a tub with the fish I dont know. Can you arrange the move in one day? If the filters only off a couple of hrs should be okay.
Click to expand...
well...

I think the problem is that I have to:
Lower the water level of the fish,
. .Catch the fish, get them safe in a tub with air,
Then finish lowering the water level.
. .Take every wood trim part off the pond that can be removed.
Take out the liner with great care.
. .Get 3 or 4 friends to help move the main pond plywood box out of the basement room, up the stairs and over to it's new location.
. .Replace the liner.
Mark the place on the back room wall where the water lines will run.
. .Drill holes in the wall and measure for pipes.
Go to lumberyard and get the correct pipes and needed fittings.
. .Glue pipe and connect the pond filter to the pond
Allow pipe fittings to dry.
. .Fill pond with tap water and dump in correct amounts of water Conditioner and Anti-Clor

Allow enough time for water conditioner to work.
. .Test pump and fittings to make sure no leaks.

NOW, at this pont we can start to think about how to add the fish...

So when I look at the plan so far, I see a great chance of things to go wrong during the first attempts to do any of the list above.
Things may take more than 3 or 4 days to finish.
This means that while my fish will be more or less fine stuck in a plastic tub during the move, I know I have to find a way to keep the bio-media alive and yet allow me to empty the filter barrel so that I can move it upstairs and get it into position and connected with glued pipes.

So, how do you keep a bio-media alive (mostly kitchen scrubbers and open-cell foam)in a plastic tub or garbage can?
 
So, how do you keep a bio-media alive (mostly kitchen scrubbers and open-cell foam)in a plastic tub or garbage can?
Click to expand...

powerhead to keep water flow but you will have a small die off so keep an eye on the pond :)
 
frasertheking;1559096; said:
powerhead to keep water flow but you will have a small die off so keep an eye on the pond :)
Click to expand...

QUESTION:
How to work it?

I empty all the biomedia out of their barrel filter.
I dump the biomedia into a plastic garbage can.
I add some pond water?
How much water?
The powerhead is underneath the biomedia?
 
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