DIY Pond *SPRING OPENING* and CLEAN-OUT!

[@jackanddan]

It’s that time of year to open up the pond if you have an outdoor one that is lol….. those goldies are looking magnificent, sir. Happy happy kids in there!!

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thanks bro! 👊

[@DeeDee_Viera]

What a talent you have! This was an amazing build from the beginning (yup, I was invested). The attention to detail and the overall maintenance is immaculate. I can't wait to attempt a build like this for my turtle.. if the fish are loving this setup, I can only imagine how my turtle will thrive!! Great job and thanks for sharing! I can't wait for the new videos! 🫶🏾🌻

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thank you! I love turtles!!! 🐢

[@jamespalmer3716]

this is by far the best above ground diy pond ive seen i watched your video when you built it last year and thought im doing this. well a year later and im still thinking it haha its deffo getting done this summer i just hope it turns out even half as good as your.. would be better if you could come to newcastle and build it for me tho 😂😂 youve done an amazing job cant wait to see what youve got in store for this summer

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Haha 😆 thank you! 👊

[@chefshakur4728]

Damn that’s crazy. I remember when u built this and i don’t even follow u lol. Glad this came back around on my feed. Following this time!

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thank you! 😁👊

[@carlb4278]

Brilliant videos really helpful and pond looks amazing. have decided to add BOTH the bin and bog filter to my 7500l koi pond.how often do you clean/backwash these filters ? Thanks

[@jamespalmer3716]

any chance in future videos if you do more DIY ponds can you also put prices up. and can you say how much this pond cost you mate..

[@justinstuart8382]

Great pond that !

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thank you! 👊

[@greywolf97883]

love the videos keep them coming.

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thanks, I will do! 😁👍

[@martynskoipondandgarden4581]

Cracking update ginger buddy. The pond is looking 👍

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thanks bro! 👊 😎

[@oliverskinner8962]

Thats a nice little set-up and its done really well over winter sometimes its better to keep it small and manageable and just keep goldfish ! As for the sponges yeah I'd clean them with tap water too as you have so much biological media between the two filters that killing some of it off the sponges won't harm your pond in the slightest ! On another note i would put some EA K+ black sinking media in the top of the wheele bin filter in media bags but completely covering every inch (without gaps) just to trap any dirt that gets through the sponges it will do the same sort of thing that a EA Tempest would do and just polish the water a bit better. Still like i said nice pond and even with a small pond it goes to show just how useful a pond vac is !!!

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thank you! Yeah, I was actually thinking about adding some of that k+ black sinking media to the top of the mechanical filter. 👊

[@CesarTreetops]

liked and subbed because of the marsh marigold flower :-)

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

😁 Thank you! 🪴

[@DravinClaw]

Nice setup. I've had my pond for over 30 years I never had a problem with cleaning out my filters with tap water or even filling up / toping the pond up. The one constant pain I had was winterizing the pond and getting it ready for spring just cause something would go wrong like a pump would stop working or a random leak or it would look like pea soup after fixing every little thing it's only the past 2 years that things have just worked with zero problems but sadly this will be last season with the pond due situations beyond my control. I've always been tempted to do a bog filter setup but never the time to do it. The constant question I get asked is "what do you do with the fish when it gets cold out.?" I tell them I take the UV pressure filter out clean it and store it for the winter and between the waterfall and aerator even if it does freeze it won't totally freeze due to the fact that most of the pond is below the frost line and won't freeze. (I'm on Long Island ,NY in the US)

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thank you! Yeah, when I first heard about bog filters they just made sense to me. Also I like DIY so I knew I would enjoy building it! That’s a shame you have to shut your pond down ☹️ cool that you had it for 30 years though!

[@DravinClaw]

@@GingerFishyOfficial The constant maintenance was always a pain and just looking bog filters made me wish we would have done that sooner, I inherited all the maintenance but it made my mom happy. I'm not too sure when I will be closing it down I think I'll put up a video of it soon.

[@quackchung]

Well done mate, a fine job indeed. 01 - I personally would hinge the mechanical filter lid to rest on the back fence. 02 - Hide or cover the outlets pipes and front lights, as they're an eyesore. You could leave your winter framing on without the perspex covers as it looks more streamlined and natural...IMO. I don't think you need an airstone in the mechanical filter, as both outlets disturb the main tank's water surface enough to allow for good gas exchange for enough oxygenation. Plus you must be spending an absolute fortune on materials, so I'm surprised you don't have a circular saw at the least to aid your builds! Thanks for the uploads... Great.

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Yeah, defo agree the mechanical filter lid would be good hinged. I did try put the lights under edge of the decking that surrounds the pond, but they wouldn’t fit, so they ended up on the top, not ideal but I don’t mind them too much. I might try to cover the outlet pipes at some point if I can think of a good way to do so. Thanks for watching, and taking the time to comment! Much appreciated. 👊

[@quackchung]

@@GingerFishyOfficial Even a bit of sack cloth wrapped around them would soften them.

[@olliekerslake3296]

Great pond and channel, I’d be interested to see a video around feeding and routine if possible?

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Yeah, I’m thinking once it’s been running for a year, doing a video to show the maintenance I do! 👊

[@Andy_Underwood...]

Looking good man 👊

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thanks bro 👊

[@bipolarpolarbear8645]

I have some specific questions about Blue Phoenix Goldfish care. My husband loves them and I finally found a breeder that I got one from, however I just want to make sure I properly take care of it until he’s home. He’s currently deployed so it’s a surprise. I’m looking for the perfect filtration system for it with low flow so it doesn’t cause too much stress on the fish when it swims. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[@ranger178]

i clean my pond filters with water from garden hose and never have problems but i usually do one filter at a time so we have all in one fountain with pump filter uv light and waterfall has intake filter and filter at top since it is about 7 feet of stream away, I figure if i do one at a time dirt stirred up with bacteria seddels on clean filters anyway.

[@suzannemoran7281]

Hi , your pond is looking fantastic this year, great video as per usual. I like the way you have potted up your lily , I think that I will do mine a similar way. Is your pond vac easy to clean and put away ? I still haven't got around to buying one but I think they are an essential for a nice clean pond. 😊

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thank you! Yeah, the pond vac is really easy to use, clean and put away. The only slightly tricky thing is that the end of the pipe that drains the water away needs to be below the vac itself, otherwise it won’t drain properly, so I sometimes lift the vac up slightly onto something, just to help with it draining. Definitely a handy bit of kit though! 😊

[@suzannemoran7281]

I will have to buy one when I eventually set my new pond up. 😊

[@grumpygramps129]

What goldfish do you have ? They look amazing.

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

I’m not 100% sure, I just got them on gumtree from people looking to rehome there pet goldfish.

[@janetkemerer3842]

I would love to buy this whole set up from you.

[@HappyDane484]

How often do you have to clean out the mechanical side? Looking to build something similar, but a little smaller, and indoors for a turtle I inherited. They're pretty messy creatures.

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Hi there! I haven’t cleaned out the mechanical side since the Spring Clean out, and the flow rate is still all good. Having said that though, I do do a fairly regular vacuum of the bottom of the pond. Also I have since added a little pre-filter, which is basically just a piece of course sponge sat on top of the pump, which i clean weekly, I think this helps keep the main mechanical filter from clogging up as quickly as it might. This probs wouldn’t work in your situation though as the turtle would probably bite holes in the sponge. Hope that helps. 👊

[@nevs1992]

is there aquatic soil in the water cress tubs or just gravel/pebbles? my ponds gone green after buying some pond plants in soil tubs from the garden centre. Not sure whether to wait it out to see if it settles or to get rid of the plants.

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

No aquatic soil, just planted in gravel. Yeah, the soil may have released excess nutrients into the water and caused the green water.. it probably will sort itself out given time.. but you could always take the plants out and rinse the soil off, then replant in just gravel. Do you have fish in the pond? If you have the right amount of fish, they should produce enough nutrients for the plants without the need for aquatic soil. When you grow the plants in gravel they may not grow quite as well as when in soil, but they are more beneficial when it comes to controlling algae and green water. 👍🌿

[@nevs1992]

@@GingerFishyOfficialok thanks. Yeah there’s fish in there. I might just wait a few weeks to see if it settles. I was a bit dubious when the guy said it would be fine in the store I bought it from🤦‍♂️

[@matthewsmith22]

Looking grand mate! How's it going now it's actually a bit more spring like?

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thanks mate, it’s looking good! Fish looking a lot more active and plants growing well. Starting to get a bit of string algae though, and the water lily doesn’t seem to be doing much.. how your pond doing?

[@matthewsmith22]

@@GingerFishyOfficial yeah, it's getting there thanks mate, pulled out loads of hornwort and elodea at the weekend, the bog's starting to flower, quite a few babies have survived the winter. Might do a short video and what I did to improve the bog at some point

[@sc0ttw22]

Amazing dilligence with the cleaning! Is that a chicken run? You should do videos on them too

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Thank you! It is indeed a chicken run.. I’m thinking of doing a full garden tour at some point over the summer, and thought I’d show the chickens in that!

[@sc0ttw22]

@@GingerFishyOfficial sounds great, I eventually want to keep some myself! There’s lots of DIY stuff you can build in/for your coop. Auto closing door kits out there

[@suzannemoran7281]

Great idea. I look forward to seeing more of your lovely garden. 😊​@@GingerFishyOfficial

[@fishtales2597]

Hi my fish were inside till end of feb due to me redoing my pond diy and then have been outside uncovered since then, no issues with fish just a spot of string algae which during the odd spell of sunshine is normal. i wonder sometimes that by keeping the fish in the dark does this affect them in some way due to them being covered over for a few months.

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

What sort of cover is it? Does it not let any light though?

[@xenbait5195]

Just wondering as wanting to do something similar where did you get the tub from

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

I got it from World of Water, but if you search ‘980L Laguna tub’ there’s a few places selling it 👊

[@elizabethdominis730]

Do you get snails in your ponds? I’ve done thorough cleaning, and yet there’s always one that survives!!

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

I’ve not seen any snails in this pond. But I do have them in some of my more ecosystem style ponds. They can be handy for eating left over food and also can help a little with eating algae and decaying plant matter. It’s pretty difficult to completely rid a pond of them though, as plants will pretty much always come in with eggs on them. Just try not to over feed the pond and they shouldn’t breed too much out of control. 👍

[@ArtemkaPannat]

02:53 hahaha perfect comment

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Haha, luckily it didn’t 😂

[@tharindunuwantha1341]

Why u don't add Uv light ????

[@asithaperera2732]

I think you shout forget put Uv Light .its good for water & fish

[@sheryljeanne]

Lot of work

[@ranger178]

where is the purple bull rush? is it still asleep mine like to wait for warm water. we don't do any real water changes there is an overflow pipe that carries excess water away to backyard so we just spray in some fresh water till it overflows and spraying on fine mist we use no chlorine remover we just have chlorine so it evaporates with spraying not chloramine you would need treatment for that.

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Yeah, I’m a bit worried about that purple bull rush plant, hopefully will come back soon… it’s the only plant that hasn’t started to grow back..

[@jamespalmer3716]

WHEN YOU BRINGING OUT A NEW VIDEO??

[@GingerFishyOfficial]

Soon Bro!! Just editing now! 👊

[@ControlAroundRockLines]

This seems like an awful lot of effort, money & equipment just for a few gold fish. Surely that pond could easily sustain some small koi too?

[@oliverskinner8962]

No it couldn't it's too small for koi even if the filtration is up to the job. It's all DIY so it didn't cost a lot but even small koi will grow quickly and outgrow that pond looking at the size and number of goldfish I'd say the pond is overcrowded as it is but obviously the filters can cope !

[@andrea9512]

Viel Arbeit , aber wunderschön. Die Fische sehen glücklich aus. 🥰👍

[@zakiikaz1753]

I wouldnt put koi in there. They grow much quicker and bigger than goldfishes and will outgrow this pond in a year or two

[@SomethingFromTheShed]

Sometimes, money and effort are a small rpice to pay for relaxation time

[@SomethingFromTheShed]

Iv watched your videos from front to back and totaly understand why you put in the work and effort. The amswer is simple. The enjoyment and self peace you can get from it is unspeakable. There are no words that i can use that whould explain how much better you must feel after having a good old cuppa next to this beautiful place. Well done pal.