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It is a tough row to hoe. Overfiltration gives wonderful results but it is more "work" than many ponders are willing to provide. This is where a goldfish-only pond really shines. Koi will keep you (and your filters) busy.

For what it's worth I am not a fan of lava rock. It is heavy and hard to keep clean. In addition it does dissolve (very slowly) and God knows what heavy metals it contains. It's luck of the draw IMHO. Think ceramics.

Hi Sheryl
I forgot what thread I posted that on and can't find it now. Didn't get a response right away and lost track of it.
I did a search for the words and found your Message. It also brought up a message that was posted last summer with directions, I think. Haven't opened it yet.
I don't want to spend all that money on a vacuum either. My filtration cannister sprung a leak last Thursday (and I've been out of town all holiday) so I need to replace/patch it too! These ponds surely keep us busy!
What happy work though.
J-net

[quote="sheryle"]this is the same thing that i am going through
stirring the "soup".....
did you get any response or help?
the only suggestions i received was
about the expensive sweepers...still wish there was another
less expensive way....
sheryle[/quote]

This thread has discussed several items so I have sort of lost track of what folks are looking for.
for the vacuum question.
I originally used a garden hose run down a hill and just siphoned the muck off of the bottom accomplishing a water change at the same time. As the pond grew I went to a shop vac. It worked very well for a time. You just need to go slow so as not to stir up the muck. Neither of these options cost me anything since I already had the hose and vac
Now I have a pump dedicated to the task (I think I paid about 100 bucks for it). I still choose to pump the water off the pond and not return it so I get to do a water change at the same time. Again the main thing is to go slow to not stir up the muck.

For the filter it is best to determine what you want to filter first. One filter will not fill all the filtration needs in a pond (IMHO).
happy ponding
John-Paul

This is my vacuum setup

the pump is attached to a shop vac hose and a wand I found somewhere
I have to run the pump on its slowest setting or it will suck the pond dry in short order

hello,
i dug out the old swimming pool sweeper (the kind you hook to the garden hose)
it worked great, it even picked up the rocks that my great-nephew throws in (he's 2)..
i couldn't believe all the crud it got out....my husband said it wouldn't work...s
o i saved the bucket to show him....
i also dug out the pool filter system again..
i had said earlier i was trying it and it didn't work...the water entered and exited the bottom so it wasn't filtering...
but we put a tube in it (it fits right in the center of the tank)..and now it basically works where the water fills the system from the bottom,
filters up through pot scrubbers and and exits through the tube in the center back down and out.....it really moves the water....
pumps 2000 gph...(my pond is @ 1000 gallons)
we know it is cheap to use since it filtered our old pool, we never noticed the electric bill going up much ..
now i have a pump on the waterfalls (filtered by a flower pot and furnance filter)
a floyd filter powered by another pump hooked to my old laguna filter ( a store puchased system)....
and still my water is green , slowly clearing but taking forever....
i have been using koi clay and most of my string algea is clearing up...

sheryle

One way to get rid of the green is to add shade.
When I originally built the deck with a small pond it stayed green all the time. I added a canopy to the deck and now it is clear a s a bell.

Thank you John Paul. I tried one of those vacuums that hooks up to a garden hose. Didn't do anything but stir up the muck. I'll try the shop vac method next. I appreciate all the good hints.
J-net