OASE Pondvac 3, anyone get one yet?

[schildkoi]

and that changes things how?

I guess the point(s) I am making here is that it is really an unneeded expense and if a piece of equipment is to be used, its probably at a point in time where the Koi would already be suffering (layer of pond puddin already forming).

I would think that a wiser long term investment would be to add drains, even retro drains.

Steve

[dcny]

Good memory Steve E. I had almost forgotten about "the Freddy".

Steve H, it was basically a pump hooked up to a large cartridge filter mounted on a small dolly hand truck. I can't find the link for it anywhere now. Gene from KoiVillage has a similar DIY vac without the cartridge filter - http://www.koiclay.com/diy/pg3.htm.

-Dan

[junglegeorge12]

Go to Home de po and get a wet vac, then stop by walmart for a pool vac to attach it to. Or just go to walmart and get a small pool filter pump and vac to hook it to, that'll be non stop too.

[Akinosan]

Fancy Koi has the new pond-vac for about $400. Its a must if your doing alot of ponds, works great!

[bekko]

A pool pump won't work. Tried that and they can't handle the false kamani (almond) leaves, sticks and monkey pods. A filter is out of the question - it will clog in a matter of seconds. Wet vac will fill up too quick, the fitting is too small and it doesn't have enough suction. Pool hoses are a little on the small side but the next size up (2") will probably work. I'm thinking an electric mud hog diaphram pump or a non-submersible grinder pump. The mud hogs are usually gas and too expensive. The grinder pumps I've seen are all submersible and can't be used with a suction hose.

-stevehop kins

[schildkoi]

Here's a picture of Tom Lansing's "Freddy">

Steve

[MikeM]

The POV1 was said to be junk, but the POV2 supposedly worked well. So, a family member gifted me with one. I found it far too cumbersome and not efficient for getting leaves from the bottom. It was easier and quicker to get in the pond and use a hand net. The POV2 went in the trash after taking up space for a couple of years. I could still use something effective for my lily pond, but it will take a lot of positive reviews from folks still happy AFTER a year of leaves, etc. before I'd spend on one. The maker has been doing their R&D at the expense of the consumer. So, I don't trust them to have worked out the bugs just because they say they have.

[Steve E]

Thanks for posting a picture of "The Freddy" for me Steve C. I lost my Round To It and did not get one taken of mine yet.

I fastened a 2" 45 deg coupling to the end of the 2" vaccum hose and just vaccumed through the open butt. It would pick up oak leaves, both the 1.5 inch and 2 X 3 inch ones. Rocks also would find their way into the leaf basket. If one has a large amount of leaves just add a larger leaf basket. Using a check valve will make easier to prime if the leaf basket needs to be emptied frequently. Once I got the pond clean I could vaccum the entire floor, approx 400 sq ft, without cleaning the filter. The addition of a three way jandy valve gives the choice of either pumping to waste or running it through the filter.

The filter does not have to be a part of the design. It will remove small particles and other solids. But using a 1 hp swimming pool pump will move a large amount of water in a very short time. One way of doing a water change.
Steve

[junglegeorge12]

a raw sewage pump capable of handling solids should work($89 in ho de po). a pool pump works on mine but i dont get very many large leaves or sticks.

[bekko]

I tried the Flowtec sewage pump from the ho despot too. I like those pumps and use them a lot, but you have to keep them submerged or they will boil their oil. First, I put the pump in a 7-gallon bucket with the pump outlet plumbed to a bulkhead in the bucket lid and a suction hose plumbed through the side of the bucket. This actually worked pretty well for a couple of minutes. Then, the hose clogged with bamboo leaves, the hose (with the spiral reinforcing) collapsed to half its original length, and the bucket imploded with a bang. In the next try, I milled down a piece of sch 80, 2-inch PVC so it would fit snugly into the sewage pump's suction port. A suction hose and discharge hose were connected and the whole thing was lower into the pond so the pump would stay cool. This too worked for a minute or so until the propeller became jammed by a mass of shredded bamboo leaves. If it can't handle bamboo leaves, there's no way it would handle tropical almond leaves or monkey pods.

Admittedly, if I spent an hour each day with the skimmer net and even a whimpy vacuum, I might be able to keep up with it. However, an hour a day is more time than I can afford. Presently, I just work through the ponds four times a year with nets. No fish have ever been killed by the muck which is stirred up, but it is really nasty looking. Most of the ponds are operated as flow-through from an artesian spring with aeration. To run skimmers and bottom drains on each one would increase the electric bill twenty fold.

-stevehops