Pond vac?

[selfraising]

Hi
Just wondered if anyone has used one of these and whether they are worth buying or is there some other method I could use? I have a small pond but there is a lot of silt/mud in the bottom. Part of me thinks I should leave it in there because of the wild life and part of me thinks that I should remove some of it.

[blackkitty]

It is a good idea to remove some of the xtra silt etc in ponds but I've always done it towards late autumn as that's when there's the least wildlife to disturb. At present there's lots of frog and toad spawn and then there're newts mating....

[vicky]

I would definately leave it for now due to wildlife (as blackkitty says).
I'd only do it the once to get rid of the bulk and then let it return to the natural balance. Pond vacs are only useful if you have a koi pond which doesn't have a natural balance (ie too many fish in area) and has to be artificially maintained with filters/uv/pumps etc which have to be cleared out regularly. A seive might be better (and certainly cheaper!) for a 'one off' clean. Remember to leave the muck on a plastic sheet next to the pond for a few days to let the wildlife creep back in.

[Headfry]

We have one!
I will check the make if you wish but....
1, Its huge for what it is- think storage here
2, It does not seem to perform at all well
3, you will need somewhere for the sludge to ooooooze - put the filter bag on the flower bed- then spent time clearing up said flower bed!!
4, It was not cheap!!!

We had to try and clear our pond a little last weekend- pump kept jamming with leaves etc. Our frog spawn has not hatched yet, but I would not do it through choice now- Autumn is way better.

Anyone know how to clear sludge from ponds?

[Printemps]

I've just cleaned out my pond and having siphoned off most of the water, I was able to get a lot of the sludge out by scooping it out with a dustpan!! Apart from taking out the fish I rescued two frogs but I never have spawn in my pond, so for that reason I was happy to do it now, rather than at the end of the year. I was able to put the sludge onto the compost heap too.

[selfraising]

Hmmm I think I will clean it out but leave it until the Autumn. I don't get any frog spawn as I have a few fish (goldfish) but I do get lots of frogs migrating to the pond in the summer and I usually have newts in there too.

Headfry if storage is an issue I might try Printemps method with the dustpan as I don't have that much space.

Thanks for all your replies. Another question, are there any products out there that might break down the sludge a bit that is safe to put in the pond?

[lynda66]

i bought a pond vac, one of them you attach to a hose, flipping useless ... i tend to remove the water clear ot the rubbish then put the water back and fill with half fresh water but definitely in early spring before stuff starts mating or late autumn when everythings dying back ... then in spring remove the dead leaves from plants etc and from the water. .... i use an old sieve, or a pair of stockings on a wire frame works as well as the vac..

[selfraising]

Thanks Lynda66 funnily enough was looking at those, but I won't bother now having read what you've said!