DIY Pond Algae Destroyer for under $300

I was soooo tired of raking algae out of my pond. I tried really expensive chemicals and they worked great for like a month. Finally decided to take matters into my own hands and modified a "trash pump" into a pond algae destroyer-sucking machine thing!! AND it works amazingly.
I do not get paid for anything on my videos- so I don't mind sharing I built this using a 2" Predator Trash Pump from Harbor Freight (about $240, but goes on sales) and then everything else I bought at Lowes!
Feel free to ask any questions, be safe and knock that algae out!!

[@cooper8318]

I appreciate that you turned a chore into a fun job

[@iKnoMuzik]

Me and my buddy started a pond cleaning business a couple years ago for summer money, and we were doing straight net skimming on .25-.5 acre ponds and would take us 2 weekends to finish. This will cut our rates in half. Very blessed to have gotten this information. Thank you sir

[@msumner4117]

Good luck! This works great in about a foot or more water. If you get too close to the shore you'll start sucking up dirt. Remember to "prime" the hose first or the suction won't take... but once it goes... holy moly your arms will thank you! Also, I found a metal grass rake works best for the stuff on the shore versus nets. Just rake it and toss it right out of the pond.

[@iKnoMuzik]

Have you ever used this with duckweed? Duckweed kinda floats on top so I wonder if it would work the same.

[@msumner4117]

@@iKnoMuzik I haven't personally, if it has roots into the water it will grab them but you can't take the nozzle out of the water or you will lose suction. Has to stay right at the top where you get like 75% water and 25% air or less. I saw other videos that show how to knock out duckweed you may want to check out.

[@FIFApepper]

@iknomuzik do you do cleaning only or do you so chemical work? I was looking into doing a biz too

[@smokeeater8387]

I wonder if you dumped it into some milk crates and put it on a garden for some organic matter if it would be good for it. Might be worth trying in a small part of a garden in case it’s not a good idea.👍🇺🇸

[@bagermaster-club]

You can take a more serious approach to cleaning the reservoir. Assemble a mini dredger from two motor pumps - one for mud and the second for hydraulic erosion. And with the help of the Bagermaster suction nozzle, you can remove bottom sediments and pump sand from the bottom to a distance of up to 50 meters. You can deepen the pier.

[@deanguando1335]

This is the best I've seen.

[@GrapplingGorillas]

Wow! This is amazing man I am going to go buy the hose today and start my pump up asap

[@meltuc2594]

If there aren’t any fish in the pond drop a few bags of pool shock and use your pump to circulate the water. Within 6 -10 hours the water will be cleared up.

[@tuwannarico]

Wow!! Now you have an genius idea here!! This is awesome!! Good job!! Thank you!!❤️

[@aliveandwell2078]

That is so satisfying!!!!

[@Pointerfinger_1]

Man, I wish I could borrow that!

[@c50ge]

Mount your pump on the side by side(make sure the exhaust isn’t blowing on the bed if the side by side. It would melt plastic or burn paint) make a “filter” on your trailer to catch and drain algae so you can dispose of it instead of having to handle it again. Then go dump your trailer.

[@mikeduarte8635]

You should turn pump around so it dumps in your trailer and the expanded metal will catch the plant matter

[@winnipegnick]

Or a large bucket or bin with holes in it to let the water out. He could then take the buckets and toss them into a compost pile or forest nearby.

[@tarpanc34]

just throw a very very large round roll bail of hay in the pond keep it bound up in its ball. few weeks later you will be amazed with the live aquatic healthy plants and fish.. i used to do my small pond every few years no moss happy fish....

[@msumner4117]

I've heard of this before. When I had a Koi pond in my last house I tried this with a small amount of hay and didn't see much difference, if any. That said, a whole bail may be a much better outcome. Seeing as I have a hay farm... won't be hard to give it a try. ;)

[@TopFitnessStrategies]

This is a great idea! Thanks! Just curious, have you ever used chemicals to clean up algae? If so , what have you used and what results did you get?

[@msumner4117]

I have. I worked with the local farm pond store and they recommended Cutrine (in 5 gallon pails, about $175 each). Frankly, it worked great... for about 3 months. My pond requires 2 buckets to properly spray- so I would be spending $350 at least twice a year to treat... versus spending $300 once for this contraption and then doing a little good old fashioned raking. If you have a smaller pond... like an acre or less, I can see Cutrine being a smart and easy option.

[@johnb2674]

Now that it’s been 2 years now how has the pump held up? Thinking about buying one to water my lawn during drought’s.

[@msumner4117]

The pump is fine, but keep in mind I use it only once a month in the Summer... so probably not a fair estimate of the lifespan in "normal use".

[@johnb2674]

@@msumner4117 thanks for replying. Perfect, I’ll use the pump as often as you do so this is very helpful.

[@montemoore9708]

Fun, but isn’t going to do much long term. You’ll need to remove the silt from the bottom of the pond or that algae will come back year after year after year. Did you by chance try to suck any of the silt off of the bottom?

[@stephenormsby3662]

Genius

[@obamazadork]

So I’ve been thinking of this also, and tried something similar. But like another commenter said, the filamentous algae tends to plug up the pump. I wish I could chop it up somehow first, then suck it up. Any suggestions out there??

[@msumner4117]

Not 100% sure what filamentous algae is... is that not what I was sucking up in this? Seems like it would be the same stuff as once you get it going, it just pulls it right in. I can tell you whatever I suck up here is just minced though, it's not going to stop this pump if you can get it through the hose. If you check out the timecode at about 3:45, and then at about 4:15 you can see what is left in the pile. I think this would work for you.

[@obamazadork]

@@msumner4117 Thanks so much for the reply. Filamentous algae blooms from the bottom of the pond and is really long and stringy and tough. I'll give it another try, maybe it won't clog the pump if I go slower. I have a 3" trash pump from Harbor and you would think it would work even better!

[@msumner4117]

@@obamazadork Maybe you are going too fast like you said and maybe you don't have enough suction. I took my 2" pipe down to a 1" opening (the PVC wand). Maybe you should take yours down to 1.5"-2" to increase the suction. The hose size will also eliminate being able to pull too much in that will gunk up the pump. I can't speak to filamentous algae though as the stuff I have grows from below but mostly floats on the top. Sounds like nasty stuff!

[@winnipegnick]

There are algae rakes that you may want to use to cut the filamentous algae 1st, so it's floating and then try using the pump in the video.

[@TopFitnessStrategies]

Hey dude, how deep is your pond? Or, what's the shallowest point? Are you seeing algae grow the most in the shallow?

[@aaronwentzel5383]

This is awesome! Thansk for the video. Curious how it’s still working? Any issues not using the intake strainer?

[@msumner4117]

Hi Aaron. It still works great however, I "upgraded" the hose because I needed more slack so I didn't have to move the pump as often. I put two 20' hoses in tandem for 40' total and the size is 1.5". I also increased the strength of the hose because I noticed in a few places the pump was possibly trying to squeeze it some (it's just plastic). So $60 later it's nearly foolproof with a larger opening so it moves even more water and gets hung up less when you hit huge clumps (or the dirt accidentally).

[@aaronwentzel5383]

@@msumner4117 In the video it looks like you use the 1.5” hose. I just bought my supplies today. Are you saying you went to a wider hose or just better material? Thanks!!!

[@msumner4117]

@@aaronwentzel5383 Just better material. The plastic hose I initially used will work fine for you, I think if you love the machine and use it a ton though you may want to "upgrade" the hose though as the thin plastic one is under a lot of stress. Here's what I bought at Lowes: www.lowes.com/pd/smartpond-Black-Pond-Tubing/1000596755. You can get a double-sided 1.5" barb connection to hold them together nicely. Good luck!

[@conqueringlion420]

You ever heard of a 2” hose

[@ronelkins1057]

He clearly explained why he isn’t using a 2”.

[@conqueringlion420]

@@ronelkins1057Apparently you also didn’t hear what he said

[@wiktorpoliszczuk1372]

👍👍👍👍

[@RoundTopJohn]

Is it possible that your 25 foot hose you got at Lowes is 1.25 "

[@219fisherman4]

Is this a semi trash pump or full trash pump? And you mentioned 2” I believe right?

[@idodishez1969]

So I built one of these this weekend. Using almost identical parts. 2” semi trash pump from harbor freight. 20’ 1.5” intake hose from Lowe’s. I didn’t have any luck. Epic failure. I’m my case the algae is mostly on the surface. So I have to place the suction pipe ON the surface and not BELOW surface. Problem is anytime I break the (water) seal to place the suction pipe ON the surface, the pump loses its prime and it just sucks air until it catches up again. Also, a lot of my algae is stringy. Like long weeds. It was constantly plugging up the intake on the pump. Has to remove the intake port and pull out all the stringy crap that was wound up in the pump impellers. Ended up going back to removing with a pool skimmer. Not sure what I did wrong or different. But this definitely didn’t work for me.

[@msumner4117]

Man that's terrible. If you can't return the items then I would suggest trying a little bigger hose then. Thinking about how you could rig something like a flat vacuum nozzle to use under the water surface that would pull the floating algae down. Mine pulls in the stringy stuff with no problem... were you going at it too hard/fast by chance?

[@msumner4117]

Also, maybe check out what this guy did- looks like he used a tupperware container and it "sucks" the surface algae in. That would just be a simple modification of the one you have. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYiYfoKbftaMZrc

[@johnmckee7937]

9​@@msumner4117

[@user-bf4us3tc1h]

The set up works great but the algae comes out pulverized. And appears to just run back into the pond with the water

[@msumner4117]

Look at about 4:10, yes the algae is pulverized but it doesn't run back into the pond, it forms a bit of a mound.

[@scottrodcustoms1]

Been thinking about doing something like this, except for using it to specifically pull out leaves and muck in my tiny pond. Do you think this would work? Perhaps a 3" trash pump?

[@winnipegnick]

I'm interested in knowing this as well.

[@annek362]

I also have some lily pads... would a 2" work or should I go for a 3" also what are your thoughts on a dewatering bag ?

[@msumner4117]

I personally believe my current setup (having had plenty of lilies in previous Koi ponds) would just mince lily pads.

[@eddevarona8448]

Wow, what a great idea. I was thinking of doing something like this because I’ve busting my tail scooping it out with a manual pool skimmer. One question. When it does clog up, how difficult is it to unclog the pump? What do you have to do?

[@msumner4117]

The pump itself doesn't get clogged, it is plenty powerful and will dice any algae that goes into the well. What gets clogged is the wand/tube if you suck in too much algae too fast because it clots up. If you watch the video I have to kind of let it pull itself in... if you go aggressive you will clog up the wand quickly. So it does require a bit of restraint and patience... but it's so fulfilling to watch you will generally be fine with that.

[@eddevarona8448]

Oh, ok. Thanks a lot for the quick response. I thought the pump itself got clogged. I just picked a new pump from HF and as soon as I gather up the rest of the stuff, hose, fittings etc. I 4:47 ’m going to give it a shot. Is your wand 1 1/2” or did you drop it down to 1”?

[@msumner4117]

@@eddevarona8448 I went with a 1" because it was stronger. Remember to prime the hose and the pump with water and the hose be under water when you start the pump. It's a bit of a pain in the neck to get it running- then it's heavenly. When I get it going I tend to try to keep it going as long as I can- lately I had the wife drive the ATV around the pond pulling the pump while I walked the shoreline.

[@eddevarona8448]

Ok, so you went from 2” inlet to 1 1/2” suction hose then down from 1 1/2” to the 1” wand. Then by stronger, do you mean stronger suction thru the 1” or stronger wand handle? I think that’s a great idea to have the wife drive the 4-wheeler and you walk the pump around. I got the wheel kit for my pump too so I should be able to do that too. Thanks again for all your ideas. I think it’s really going to save my back!👍

[@eddevarona8448]

One more question and thanks for all the info you already gave me. Have you tried this with the new 1” wand yet” i reduced mine down from 2” to a 1 1/2” to 1” reducer fitting and put a length of 1” pvc for the wand, but it seems to be too restricted and doesn’t take stuff in like yours did with the 1 1/2” wand. Just wondering if you’re having any luck with the 1” wand? Thanks again👍

[@glennmail]

What model is the trash pump, and where did you get it? Also, where did you get the adapter hardware to connect the 1.5" hose. Awesome idea.

[@msumner4117]

Sorry for the late reply. I bought the trash pump at Harbor Freight, it's a 2" model. The adapters I bought at Lowes.

[@keithglunt1008]

@@msumner4117 Is it "semi-trash" or "full-trash"?

[@idodishez1969]

Semi or full trash pump?

[@genesorg1341]

Did you have any issues with the pump clogging? I have dense filamentous in my pond.

[@msumner4117]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. It actually does best with more dense because it helps keep the vacuum. If you get air in the hose, you can lose your suction and that's a pain to re-prime it. You may need a bigger hose... if it's that dense, you might need to stick to some chemical methods.

[@jamesbowman1767]

Where does the water go? I'm trying to figure out how I could do this off of my pontoon.

[@tuwannarico]

You would need a bucket to catch it.. the water and scum come out together.. he shows u it dumps on the ground and at the end he picks up the scum water goes into the ground only scum left! So u could get something to sift the scum out and let water go back into pond!!

[@winnipegnick]

I was told by a person that they had a floating dock next to their boat that caught the mud and weeds but let the water flow back into the lake. You could have a barge with plenty of rubber buckets that have holes in the bottom to let the water out but will keep in the algae and mud?

[@gusdivittorio7345]

What is a purpose if you're just gonna put the waste in your yard ???

[@woodwardranch1532]

It will dry out and add nutrients to the soil if you leave it in your yard. If you leave it in your pond it spreads and takes over

[@winnipegnick]

After a day or two it's easy to pick up and you can toss it into your compost or a forest near by.

[@z3phyrdok]

Sounds like you need a check valve

[@msumner4117]

What's that? Would love to know if there's something simple that could help optimize it.