Best products from r/ponds

We found 38 comments on r/ponds discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 73 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.

Top comments mentioning products on r/ponds:

u/CogitoNM · 8 pointsr/ponds

You're 'getting' a 275g pond, but you need a liner. Just curious, but where did you get that gallon number from? Volume of the hole I assume?

Either way, there is only one thing you need to understand about ponds, but it's a big thing and has many branches of understanding.

The Nitrogen Cycle

Essentially, Fish waste (liquid) is Ammonia. Ammonia is converted by biofiltration (bacteria colonies) into Nitrates and Nitrites. These two plant soluable forms of Nitrogen are plant food.

Dealing with this liquid waste and its conversion into plant food is the fight against algae. If you have enough plants doing their job then you won't have enough plant food for the algae. If you don't have enough plants you will have algae growth.

That's all biology. Next is technical. You have three distinct types of filters you need to have to keep your pond clean.

  • Mechanical: Something to catch all the floaty bits: Leaves, fish poo, etc.

  • Biological: Something that holds the bacterial colony that converts the Ammonia to Nitrates. This is usually a bag of lava rock, bio balls, etc. This is pretty easy because the bacterial colonies live everywhere in the pond, it's just nice to have something around the pump that also does this job.

  • Phytological: Plants. Lots of 'em. In general you need ~20-50% of your pond surface area as plant filtration. The more the better, and the more active plant filtration the better. An example of active plant filtration is having a waterfall with a tub attached to it. The water is pumped to the waterfall barrel, which then flows through the plants, then falls back into the water. This is opposed to passive plant filtration, which is just plants in the pond where they just filter whatever water and nutrients that come their way. Active plant filtration does make a huge difference.

    So, imaging your pond, you have an amoeba shaped thing full of water. On one side you have your pump and on the other side you have a waterfall weir (this is a good example of one with a slot for a filter pad - mechanical / biological filtration, though personally I like to have a Rubbermaid Stock Tank with a bulkhead fitting and a 3" PVC tube coming out for the spillover. Easy and provides a fantastic area for plant filtration). The placement of the pump and the waterfall on opposite ends of the pond means you get a good water flow. No dead zones, etc.

    Also, point of consideration, if your pond is 275g you should get a pump no smaller than 300gph or thereabouts. You want to cycle the pond at least once per hour. Moving water helps the filtration.

    Next, and of secondary importance, is to make sure you have an adequate Dissolved Oxygen content. This is usually maintained by having a waterfall, but if you don't have that you can get an airstone or aerator. Something like this, but obviously not so large. But, if you have a decent waterfall or fountain you will be fine.

    Anyway, if you have these three types of filtration, mechanical and phytological being the most important, and a good pump, you will have a happy pond.
u/UsernameExMachina · 3 pointsr/ponds
  1. I got the container at a place near Nashville called Southeastern Salvage. I couldn't find anything online, but here’s what the barcode sticker says:
    HF1562LAW
    LG antique white planter
    745896421086
  2. Paver base from HD to level the container.
  3. The fountain is the Beckett Container Garden Fountain Kit. It's available at Home Depot and Amazon. I added some aquarium filter media which really helps with cloudy water.
  4. Typical pond liner from HD. This was the smallest size at my store and still way more than I needed.
  5. Aquarium safe silicone.
  6. River pebbles from Home Depot for substrate - I know most pond-owners don't recommend this, but my container is small enough to vacuum the gravel when it gets gross. This choice was may too natural/orangey and makes the fish harder to see.
  7. I happened to have a broken concrete block (like this) which made a a nice base to keep the pump off the bottom and leaning another piece on it gives the fish a hiding spot.
  8. Floating plants: water lettuce and water hyacinth. Aquatic plants: hornwort, anacharis and golden creeping jenny I pulled out of my flowerbed and tossed in.

    The build was pretty simple, when you break it down. It took a while just with life stuff getting the way and I didn't do everything exactly to this order - adding floating plants before I was done sealing the edges, didn't do the final liner trim until very last etc., but this is the gist:

  9. I chose the location and made a pile of paver base wider than the bottom of the container.
  10. Set the container on the paver base and set a large bubble level across its top. Pushing down, I worked the container back/forth/side/side until it was level all the way around and felt pretty stable.
  11. Spread out the liner in the container (letting excess hang over sides) and filled with water making sure there were no bubbles or anything. I should have done a better job working out/consolidating the wrinkles/folds at this point. It was pretty hard when it was full, but it turned ok (not great). Once the container was full, I trimmed most of the excess to make it easier to work with, leaving about 12" all around.
  12. I went ahead and put in some gravel, the concrete block pieces, and fountain at this point, though I should have waited to make it easier to work out wrinkles in the liner. I used the fountain to remove water until the water level was about 6" below the rim to keep the liner pressed against the sides, but allow me to access the edge. Then, I tucked the liner under the rim of the container and trimmed some more excess. Next, I used aquarium safe silicone to adhere the liner under the lip of the container rim so the edge of liner is concealed by the lip of the container. I used clamps in a few places to hold it in place while the silicone set. I had to be careful to keep the outside dry where the liner contacted the silicone to get a good seal. I did another pass later to remove the final bit of excess and add silicone where needed.
  13. Filled it back up adding pond water conditioner, added plants and fish. I used this new tank bio starter stuff too. I lost 1 goldfish on day 2 so it was probably on its way out anyways but the rest seem healthy after about 2 months.
u/lvpond · 3 pointsr/ponds

My pond is 5 feet deep, about 5000 gallons, turtles, fish, etc. I had same problem and solved it by buying and installing underwater cameras and hooking to my existing surveillance system. With this setup we watch inside from the comfort of our tv.

I bought them from Amazon and had them up for a year. Super happy with them.


Barlus Underwater Camera 304 Stainless Steel IP68 1080P 2MP POE IP Camera with 16ft Special Cable Lens 3.6MM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CY12ZRR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_DYE2DbWF76359

Here is a post I did with one of the videos so you can get an idea:


https://www.reddit.com/r/turtle/comments/dk55ji/a_little_res_action_from_my_2_males_and_1_female/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Good luck!

u/zanxus · 1 pointr/ponds

Thank you for the help! I inherited this pond when I moved in...but I believe this is what I have. https://www.amazon.com/Laguna-4000-Clear-Flo-Kit/dp/B00T3L4KNU/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=laguna+4000+clear+flo+kit&qid=1554230131&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull

Here is a picture of the pond. https://imgur.com/a/KrOkpmV
Sub Pump I use is: https://www.amazon.com/Superior-Thermoplastic-Submersible-Utility-10-Foot/dp/B07HYX2XGX/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_5?keywords=Superior+Pump+91250+1%2F4+HP+Thermoplastic+Submersible+Utility+Pump+with+10-Foot+Cord&qid=1554230544&s=gateway&sr=8-5-fkmrnull

Fish enjoy hiding behind the rocks as they are just lined by the wall. Makes it super hard to get them out.

I appreciate all the help and suggestions.
How do I clean the pond in the future when I have fish in there again? Do I need to do the drain again?

u/lvsnowden · 2 pointsr/ponds

We have the Enbrighten puck lights around our pond and they're awesome. I've purchased several LEDs for the pond/garden over the years, but these Enbrightens are the best. However, they come in 6 pack and may be overkill depending on your size.

https://www.amazon.com/Enbrighten-41017-Selectable-Commercial-Weatherproof/dp/B07C34T1J5/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=enbrighten&qid=1565889409&s=hi&sr=1-5&th=1

There are some weatherproof LED lamps with remotes on Amazon for $16. I bought these originally, but needed more lights on a single strand. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071NDG8TH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We have some flame bulbs as well, but those are better suited for Halloween, in my opinion.

u/GreenChileEnchiladas · 5 pointsr/ponds

Well, since it's a rubber (I assume 45mm EPDM rubber) then the patching is pretty easy. Most likely the cut / hole will be obvious.

But you will have to remove the rock. Just get a Patch Kit (something like this) and start removing the rock all around the edge.

When you find the cut, clean it thorougly and let dry. Make sure the day is warm and dry as you don't want it to be wet or too cold. Scuff up the liner, smear the glue, let it sit for a few seconds to tack up, and then smash that puppy on there. Rull it thoroughly and let it sit for ... I really forget. I believe it was like 30minutes. I could be wrong.

The patch will be stronger than the liner.

u/miotroyo · 1 pointr/ponds

I live in So Cal where there is a lot of sun and warm weather which is very good for algae, so I bought this UV filter and it totally changed my green water pond to a crystal clear one. UV Filter at Amazon

Just turn it off when you add microbe treatment.

u/carlsbl · 1 pointr/ponds

Do not use chemicals to control algae, ever. By a small UV filter and within a week thinks should look clearer. Never use bleach in a pond.

Something like this is cheap and effective.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01824RDNC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

u/spreerod1538 · 1 pointr/ponds

Get a filter with a UV light on amazon, it'll clear the water right up and requires probably the least amount of work. the bulb will need to be changed every year, but they only cost about $20 for 2... you'll also need a pump.

I struggled doing it without a UV light for years... then finally got the aforementioned filter with UV light and it fixed in 2 or 3 days. But as I said, stay on top of the light.

I have this one, it's pretty big...

https://www.amazon.com/Goplus-Pressure-Filter-4000GAL-Light/dp/B016M6DODK/ref=sr_1_2?crid=AX1B1LXYPVUY&keywords=goplus+pressure+bio+filter+4000gal+with+13w+uv+light&qid=1565725957&s=gateway&sprefix=bio+filter+UV+light%2Caps%2C252&sr=8-2

u/cnshoe · 1 pointr/ponds

That is what I assumed. Thanks!

​

This is the spike I used on them a few weeks ago.

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003R40M3Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

u/AdamsAtwoodOrwell · 2 pointsr/ponds

Has anyone tried a floating alligator ? We’ve had good luck keeping the birds out. We’ve kept koi and a goldfish for nearly 8 years, and we’ve never lost one to a bird. I saw a heron perched on the side of the pond once, but it flew away when I approached.

u/im_actual_trash · 5 pointsr/ponds

Yes you can get fancy guppies, and male look prettier, but if you wanted you could get girls, or both but you’ll have lots of babies (that can be a plus). Sponge filters aren’t expensive.

Just find a properly rate air pump for your size, typically they have the rating in the description. You’ll also need a piece of sponge, airline tubing, and an air stone

airline tubing

sponge

You should be able to find airstones for $1-2 at a local fish shop. You’ll also need an air pump rated for your pond size.

u/Happyjarboy · 2 pointsr/ponds

If you don't use a heater, than when you catch your koi, you can bring them inside and let the bucket sit overnight so the temperature is the same as the tub. If your pond was filled with the same water your tub is, I would not worry about water parameters. If on city water, it needs to be dechlorinated. Since it hasn't froze yet, I would catch a few koi a day, put them in a bucket, bring it in overnight, and then put the koi in the tub.

Does the pond have a filter? 18 4 inch koi is a big bioload, you do not want to cycle your tub, you want to either transfer the ponds filter inside, or get the new filters going on the pond now, to build up bacteria. The less you feed, the less load you put on the filters.

The filters are basically the same.

https://www.amazon.com/Hikari-Bacto-Surge-Foam-Filter-Gallon/dp/B00GOFS8YK/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=large+sponge+filters&qid=1571373365&sr=8-2

or see the Lustar – Hydro-Sponge V Filter for Aquariums up to 125 Gallons