Swell Compact Sludge Vac

Swell Compact Sludge Vac What is this pond vacuum cleaner?This Swell Pond Vacuum Cleaner is our best-selling pond vac. It's specially designed to remove dirt, debris, sludge, and fish waste from the bottom of your pond before it breaks down. This isn't the most glamorous pond keeping task, but it's essential if you want to maintain a healthy pond and attract lots of pond life!These pond vacuums will not only keep your garden pond clean and free of muck, but also your pond filter. By removing fish waste and other waste solids from the bottom of your pond with a pond vac, you'll reduce the amount that your pond filter picks up. This means you'll spend a lot less time maintaining your pond filter.How do pond vacuums work?This pond vac looks just like a regular vacuum cleaner, and they work in a very similar way. To operate this pond vac, just turn it on and use the telescopic pipe to reach the bottom and sides of your garden pond. As you move the pond vac slowly back and forth over your pond's substrate, it'll suck up water and any loose debris.All this waste and water is deposited into a spacious, 25 litre collection tank that, when full, can be easily removed and rinsed out. The muck that comes from the bottom of your pond can act as great fertiliser for surface plants, so make the most of it and chuck it over your garden.This pond vac comes with four different suction nozzles, each designed for slightly different uses. It also comes with several attachments for you to extend the length of your pond vac's handle, helping you to reach deeper parts of your garden pond.After using a pond vac, you'll notice that your pond's water level may have dropped a little. Top it up with some fresh, dechlorinated water after you've finished your maintenance session to make sure your pond pumps, pond filters, and/or water features continue working at their optimum levels.What kind of debris can these pond vacuums handle?These pond vacuums are designed to suck up soft waste solids, like fish waste, sludge, algae, dirt, and decomposing leaves. Just like a regular indoor vacuum cleaner, these pond vacuums aren't suitable for sucking up large items like twigs or stones as they can easily block the hose.How often should I vacuum my pond?There are no hard and fast rules about how often you should get your pond vac out and give the bottom of your pond a good clean. It's up to you and ultimately depends on your pond's size (surface area and volume) and whether or not you keep pond fish.For those of you who keep a lot of pond fish, like Koi or goldfish, then your pond will need to be vacuumed semi-regularly. This is because fish produce a lot of waste that, over time, adds to the sludge at the bottom of your pond. If you have a simple wildlife pond that doesn't contain any fish, then you won't need to vacuum half as often. It's a good idea to vacuum your pond at end of autumn to remove all of the decomposing leaves that will have inevitably built up in your pond during this season. It's also recommended that you vacuum your pond at the end of winter. This will get your garden pond looking in tip-top shape for spring and summer.What size pond will these pond vacuums handle?These pond vacuums are best suited to cleaning small and medium-sized ponds. For larger, deeper ponds, we recommend you choose a more powerful pond vac from our extensive range of pond vacuum cleaners.Packaging update in progress - old or new design may be sent. Product is the same.