We had the first trouble-free pond season this past summer. There were no leaks, algae blooms, predator attacks or other problematic issues like we normally experienced in previous years. The liner will be properly finished and leak-free for the long haul next year. Algae control was simply a matter of installing a UV light in the sump. Waiting for the Herons to finish migration and keeping the surface covered with water plants effectively thwarted them and the raccoons.
A fourth problematic pond issue was also solved just a couple days ago. Last year I tried putting in a few 1000-watt heaters to hold the water temperature up into October. That was pure folly. It worked, but nearly doubled the electric bill in just two weeks. So I found that running hot tap water into there for an hour raises the water temperature about 6°F. I think the basement water heater is probably more efficient for this purpose than the aquarium heaters. Wish I knew the safe cutoff temp-difference point for moving the goldfish.
We still have at least another couple weeks of warm weather coming, but with temps dropping into the 40’s overnight, the water gets too cold this time of year. The issue is too much of a temp swing transferring them from outside to inside. I can get them within around 6-7° now, then I siphon some tank water into the bucket and let them wait a few minutes to adjust before chucking them into the basement aquariums.
There may come a time we let them hibernate and run it year ’round. Just need to determine how it might be possible to reliably prevent a hard freeze in sub-zero temps.
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Some of those hazy-looking shots are wildfire smoke. The last pic shows the filter material pulled out of the sump. It takes awhile to get it all hosed down and put away, but not real difficult, overall.