Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants vacuums--which ones work?

I had a duckweed issue until I took control and used flouridone (generic name) this year and it's worked well. I still have dead leaves, some dead duckweed, and some algae that blow onto the shore and other than scooping it out with a pool skimmer, I'm thinking a pond vacuum might work (or some other version of a shop vac or pump to suck out the debris). What works for this application? I've seen some $300 pond vacs with the auto shut off and de-watering valve--thought I might be able to rig a shop vac for the same, or use some other type of portable gas powered pump to do the same. What do you all do to clean out leaves that have gathered?

I "leave" em alone. 12 acres of leaf cleanup would take up my entire summer. hehe

brilliant.

We don't call him Weissguy because - well , actually, he calls himself Weissguy.

I have 12 acres of woods and some neighbors who think I should rake them up in the Fall, to keep them from blowing next door. I think they're the same neighbors who want to spray all out pastures and hayfields to kill the dandelions.

Bennie, have you seen the prickly rope threads? How big a pond do you have.

1/3 acre. I've seen the prickly rope.

The prickly rope is intriguing, but since we have water fowl habitat (wood ducks, green herons, etc.) I don't go near their nesting sites, especially this time of year. my access around the periphery of the pond is limited.

"my" end, the pond closest to my gardens, is maybe 40 feet of frontage with a rock border (i'll post some pictures later). I have a "cleanout" dug in to the shoreline for the wind to funnel the debris into a place I can scoop, but inevitably leaves and algae and duckweed get caught between the rocks, etc. and eventually rot. I'm looking to clean those leaves out and put them to good use, in the garden as compost. (as well as all the other highly rich organic muck/gunk I can suck out of the bottom).

The premise of the pond vacuum is to suck out the water/debris, then de-water with a valve, leaving the residue behind. It would probably take several de-watering cycles before I have a full canister of stuff.

I could try the same thing with a shop vac, but a) they don't have the de-water valve (any leads?) and b) the hose is pretty short--I'd have to put it on a sled or some way to move it around the rocky shore. (or really big wheels!)

that said, pond vacuums are expensive and I'd like feedback from anyone who owns one to see if it's worth a try.

Well, stay tuned and give this a bump maybe come Monday if nothing appears.

bump

I have never heard of anyone vacuuming leaves out of a pond. Maybe a trash pump with a long suction would work.

there is an area, maybe 30 feet long, that I'm interested in, all accessible. The semi-circle formed makes for roughly 700 sq. feet in area. this end of the pond is where mostly floating debris collects, as well as a lot of organic muck on the bottom. Looks like I'm on my own on this one. i've seen some youtube videos on pond vacs that might work.

I essentially put a screen on the pond-side of the cleanout area and de-water into that. This will send the muck into an area I can clean out.

Let us know how it turns out. Someone will want to know in the future.

Like ME!

has anyone used one of these?

http://www.proskim.com

I had a heck of a time finding this website--not very "connected" with search engine topics. The patent on this product might assist me in creating my own for my personal use that might be close to this or shoreline mounted. The idea is spot on--I "invented" this concept in my head, and then found this site, which essentially did the homework for me.

Even after most of the duckweed is gone, I struggle to get all the leaves that drop--this would be a big help.

This looks like it's priced for commercial use--golf courses, etc. who have multiple ponds to do. Has anyone purchased this to rent out or do the work? Seems like a money maker.

Looks like a neat tool. However, unless it gets it all, it will require periodic maintenance.

Interesting product. IMHO huge price tag ($6,000). I agree with you Bennie, I think that you can build something similar for much less money. Some sort of trash pump pulling in surface water, dumping it into a filtration box and then returning the water to the pond. You probably could create some form of aeration effect with the return water. Seems to me like the two maintenance issues would be (1) the intake or hose system clogging and (2) the need to empty the filter media.

Keep us posted on what you come up with.

I agree with Jeff.A trash pump set at the proper depth should do the trick at a fraction of the cost.

Thanks Hedy,

1) the intake on the system is non-clogging since it's a cutter pump impeller (see stancor.com sc-50) so it cuts leaves, debris as it enters the pump, which is very close to the intake. I would probably do the same--keep the pump as close to the intake as possible so that leaves are cut up without any length of tube to get caught up in like a shop vac.

2) The proskim system uses gravity--the duckweed/watermeal/leaf infested water is pumped at the floating unit and then onto an inclined screen where the duckweed rolls off onto a catch area or the ground.

I think there are a couple things I'd like to incorporate.

a) use the pump to not only skim surface weeds, but optionally attach the intake to a hose to pull it off the bottom, around rocks, etc.--should be just a hose off the intake. On normal trash/effluent/cutter/seware pumps, there is no circular "inlet" to attach a hose--that is added separately. I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult. Proskim attaches a circular vortex creation to get the proper flow of surface weed into the pump.

b) when not skimming weeds, turn the intake 90 degrees downward and on the discharge side disconnect the hose to shore and in place connect a nozzle for a fountain. Should be easy. This guy builds them from a fountain pump.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/for/1233158101.html

granted you'd need a longer cord or just have a fountain close to shore.

The point is that one motor should be able to do all functions ideally.

got a trash pump in mind? there are so many manufacturers and styles, sizes, etc.

I see what you did there.

Another thing, I'm spending roughly $150 a year on Whitecap. A $6k gizmo has a long payback--40 years. it's not just the duckweed/water meal, but the leaves. Not sure why, but willows dump leaves every day it seams--makes for a mess.

I think with duckweed control, i wouldn't be collecting a lot of material, but the process of skimming weekly would keep a nice looking pond. It's almost july and I've not yet collected a compost bin of duckweed/leaves.

Prior to chemical treatment, I could skim a compost bin almost daily.


I'm surprised the water level hasn't been affected all that much--I thought duckweed might keep water from evaporating.

Bennie,

We have used this Power Max pump (4in model) for a couple of years to pump water from the Harpeth river to our irrigation pond for the golf course. We had used Honda pumps before, and with a flash flood in the middle of the night, we were out 1500.00 bucks. These cost less than 500.00 delivered.

Turns out this company makes the Honda pumps for them. Honda only adds a cast iron housing and better impeller. We have been extremely happy with them. Having to push water up a 15ft hill to the pond, I wasn't expecting it to do much but was pleasantly surprised.

Check it out...


Powermax 4in pump

that's a lot of water! Thanks for the post!

Hal,

Would that pump handle duckweed & leaves? I've been watching this thread for a while and want to build something too.

Track,

You would probably need to do some intake modification. I plan
on trying something later this year. I'm in the concrete business and we have developed a fiber feeding machine. The fiber comes in Super Sacks, which some of our ready mix customers are using for washout. I think it would be perfect for straining out all the muck in our shallow ponds.

I planned on using a backhoe at first, but might try using the trash pump first.

This link might give you some ideas.

[url=http://www.piranhapump.com/agitator_slurry_pumps.html][/url]