Spring cleaning

Muckin' out the pond

Unfortunately, this Spring I had a major algae outbreak in my koi pond. It got so bad, that my 3000 gph pump

got all gummed up and wouldn't pump the water steadily.

That meant I had to do a deep cleaning to the pond for the first time since I built it.

Not too bad though considering I put it in 4 summers ago!

Here's a link to my youtube channel and the building of the pond video.http://youtu.be/j5EcunDF6lA

This is the pond being drained. It doesn't look as bad as it smelled!

Yup, the balding, slightly over weight, middle aged dude is me. 

Totally holding my breath while I muck it out!

I decided to remove all the stones from the very bottom of the pond. This should help keep the pond cleaner longer.

A very freaked out neighbor.

Fillin' it back up. It looks a lot cleaner now!

I kept all my koi and goldfish in this barrel while cleaning.

I hooked up a smaller pump in the barrel to circulate water and added a home made venturi siphon for extra oxygen.
The pump was a gift from some family friends. Thanks Mr. & Mrs. E!

Full up and all systems go !

My water irises were in full bloom.

 When I put the fish back in, I used the extra pump to add

a bubbler in one corner of the pond. I think it turned out all right. I ran the pump line into the bottom of the sea shell

and it comes out in a fan pattern.

Here's what it looks like in action...