BonniesPlants.com

Any suggestions on a good vacuum?
Thanks,
Cindy

I have a PondoVAC 3 from OASE. Its expensive but what makes it unique is the unit contains two internal tanks. When one fills up it automatically switches to the second tank while the unit empties the filled tank. When the second tank fills up it switches back to the first while emptying the second tank. Process keeps repeating itself, therefore you never have to stop vacuuming to empty the tank like a regular ShopVac.

I've had it for two seasons now and have had no problems with it.

Steve

Yowza...they are pricey

I did find one for $313.00 with free shipping.

It looks like a nice unit.

Thanks for the input...
Cindy

yeah, some say its the Mercede's Benz of pond vacuums. A price of $313 is pretty good. At the time I think I paid a little more. If you don't mind stopping to dump out the water, then Easypro makes a unit that is a little cheaper. I just couldn't be bothered to stop every 20-30 seconds to empty the container.

One thing to note. The unit comes with four vacuum tube extension sections. They are all made of plastic. One is clear which is nice so you can see the crud passing through. The issue I have is when you put all the extension tubes together its hard to get sufficient pressure from the nozzle to the pond floor since the more pressure you apply the extension tubes want to bend. To overcome this issue I try to use shorter extension tubes to reach throughout the pond. One side of our pond contains a retaining wall. A plant shelf sites about 2ft below the surface along this wall. Unfortunately in order to reach this side of the pond I need to go in. though I could reach it using all four extension tubes, I find going in and using fewer tubes does a better job. This is another reason why I like not having to stop to empty the container.

I found the discharge tube that is supplied to be a little short for our application. What I did to extend it was buy a couple two Fernco couplers with a short piece of PVC tubing and a 30' pool hose. Now I pump the water far away from the pond.

Good luck,
Steve

I talked to the guy I get my supplies from and he wanted $660 for the unit...I told him about the $313.00 with free shipping and he says he will meet the price....

Now that is a lot of markup

Cindy

yep, when they first came out they were around $400 then prices dropped. Right before I bought mine prices were going back up. It wasn't unusual to see prices at $500 or greater. Crazy. The folks I bought mine from said prices were up because of demand and OASE having price increases that year. Who knows.

I know you can still find a PondoVac 2 much cheaper (previous model), which contains a single container . When the container is full the vacuum switches off automatically and a valve opens up to allow sludge and debris out through a hose. The process is suppose to take only 30 seconds. Once emptied the unit switches back on and you can start to vacuum again. The difference with this unit and the PondoVac 3 is that the newer unit doesn't switch off. I didn't want to wait the 30 seconds for the container to empty. I like the continuous vacuuming.

What size is your pond and how deep is it? Do you have a skimmer installed to help catch the floating debris? Another option if you don't want to spend that kind of money is a number of manufactures make inexpensive vacuums that utilize the water pressure from your hose. Also, not sure if your a DIY person, but posted on this site is a link to build your own. If you can't locate it, I can resend it too you.

I have skimmers installed so its rare that any leaves are being vacuumed. Most of what I vacuum is dead algae that doesn't make it to the bottom drain. Every now and then it will suck up some small pebbles or acorns that ended up in the pond. Overall though I've been quite happy with the unit.
Steve

We have a PondoVac 2, have had it a few years.

It works great, kind of pain to wait for it to empty, but it is fairly quick. It does not work well in very large pond. My lower pond is 30 by 40 and it is a hard to reach without moving the machine around. It does work great in the upper and middle ponds and all the other ponds and tanks where we have fish for sale.

Bonnie

I have a 8X13 pond we just put in this year. It angles down from 12inches to 34 inches. I am quite sure we did many things wrong as it was our first and I did not use any templates

But overall I am pretty happy with it.

I got the vacuum...the local pond guy met the $313. price...we are going to use it this afternoon.

Thanks for your input and I would be happy to look at your DIY instructions if you want to post it again.
Cindy

Good luck with the new vacuum. Hope it works well for you. Remember that the discharge hose needs to be lower than the vaccuum. If not you will here the unit quickly trying to switch back and forth between the two chambers since the water is being backed up.

When you get a chance post some pictures of your pond. Everyone enjoys seeing pictures.
Good luck.
Steve

I bought a Pondovac3 off of E-bay before Thanksgiving. I negotiated a price of $281.00 (included shipping). I haven't had a chance to use it yet because of the snowfall in recent weeks. However, this weekend the forecast is calling for temps in the 50's, and as long as it's not raining, I may fire it up.

I'm looking forward to trying it out.

Shelley

Shelley,

That's a great price. I really like enjoy using the vacuum. Very easy to use and easy to clean. The clear extension tube is nice feature. Allows you to see all the crud that is actually being sucked up. I purchased a 30' pool hose and substituted it for the discharge hose that Oase provides with the vacuum. Our pond is 30' long so the hose they provided wasn't long enough to empty the crud out far enough away from the pond.

The only thing I wish I could figure out is how to substitute the extension tubes they provided with something a bit more stiff. I've found the unit works great with up to 3 tubes attached and in certain areas of the pond even 4 tubes connected together works good. Our pond is 5' deep and trying to reach across the pond using 4 or 5 extension tubes doesn't provide great leverage. But overall though I've been pretty happy with the unit.

Make sure you take care of the two filters they provide. I rinse them out after each use. You can by replacement ones, but they get expensive to replace.
Good luck,
Steve

Thanks for the tips Steve. It's too cold to try the pondovac III out this weekend. I think I have to wait until the temps warm up.
I look forward to vacumming the pond soon!

Shelley

so basically a $40 pond pump is not any good like the one laguna offers?

http://www.lagunaponds.com/lagunaeng/maintenance/pondvac.php?link=126

This vacuum works off the water pressure of your hose. I have no experience with using these type of units. But I beleive unless your water hose has considerable pressure the vacuum will not work properly. I know there are several manufactures that make similar units. We have a fairly large and deep pond so wanted to get something that could generate plenty of suction to pick up any heavy debris that may have sank to the bottom. Sorry couldn't be of further assistance.
Steve

I used to sell a similar brand. Ditched it as it does not do a good job. One thing you have to have mega water pressure.


Bonnie