Pumps and fountains

During the winter all the water lilies died and Colin disappeared. He was too exposed to birds. The algae became thick during winter and I had to manually remove it. I used an object that was too sharp and accidentally pierced the plastic liner.

The pond began losing water and I had to drain it and remove all the plants to repair the puncture. I took the opportunity to do some reshaping and I put in some more shelter for the fish. A more reliable pump was required. My car mechanic did some research for me and recommended a house alarm battery as it can withstand getting wet in the rain and being regularly run to empty. A local camping store recommended I use a bilge pump. These pumps are used for pumping the sludge out of a boats bilge so has good application in a pond environment where the water can include algae.

The new pump and battery have worked very well. I have restocked the pond with fantail goldfish and white clouds. The fish are essential for keeping down mosquito larvae. I was also given some tadpoles that were big enough not to be eaten by the goldfish.