Chatting with thousands of fellow pondkeepers means that we get to hear some interesting and unusual stories. Read the solutions some of our water gardener friends have come up to solve their pond problems.
Another busy year at Pondkeeper Towers, this time of the year is a great time to reflect, we always receive a wide selection of calls throughout the year and inevitably I suppose, there are two or three which really stick in the mind. ‘Pondy people’ know that creating and maintaining a pond is never an exact science and it’s always interesting to hear how customers solve pond issues in their own unique way.
One chap had purchased the excellent PondXpert PondPush pond pump which can pump dirt particles up to 6mm in size through its strainer cage. He had a particularly troublesome pond with lots of debris on the bed; main reason cited was its location next to several large trees. The impellor was constantly getting blocked with the dead foliage and this in turn was hindering the usually high performance of this pond pump. He looked at a number of solutions including a skimmer with integrated pump and a satellite strainer cage but would you believe, he looked up at his washing line and noticed a pair of his good lady wife’s tights and had his eureka moment. He proceeded to cut the foot off the old tights and place around his pond pump (note: always a good idea to ask the wife first before attempting this!). He claimed that he never had to clean his pump out all summer long and the fountain it was pumping ran continuously.
Similarly this reminds me of other customers who wanted to stop small frogs, pond snails, newts and such like getting sucked into their pond pump. One chap used a large colander carefully placed over the pump! Some customers use old pond baskets placed upside down over the pond pump which also did the trick!
We would always advise lifting the pump off the bed of the pond if possible (perhaps on a brick) to reduce the chance of debris blocking the impellor and positioning any new pond venture away from trees which are likely to cause havoc in the autumn.