PondHero Sludge Muncher Pond Vacuum Plus Dirt Collector Basket

I have no problems with the PondHero Sludge Muncher pond vacuum itself. It's got a lot of suction power and clears heavy sediment and algae with ease.The main problem is with the filtration of the water before it is returned to the pond. I bought the pond vac along with the PondExpert filtration basket, assuming that the basket would filter out fine particles: it doesn't. However, the addition of a PondoVac debris bag on the outlet of the basket solved that problem.The second issue with the filtration is that, as another reviewer has noted, the outlet is gravity fed. Therefore, you have to find a way to make the pond vac higher than the filtration basket. The use of a patio coffee table to raise the pond vac solved that.Finally, the pond vac doesn't seem to let water out of the outlet while the vacuum is sucking up sediment. So, you have to stop the vacuum every few minutes to let the water drain and filter.So, as you can see, this pond vac system isn't the easiest to use but, having used it a couple of times now, it is effective.

This machine was totally useless and had to be returned. It sucked for one small session of about two minutes, thereafter the override valve came on and the whole thing stopped working. Tried again the next day and override valve would not release. I cleaned it out and tried several more time but had to admit defeat in the end. One the occasion that it did suck it took ages to get the muck up the pipe and had to lay the tube down flat to get it going. This is a manufacturing fault. This is not the retailer's fault. The retailer accepted return without question and could not have been more helpful but the product is real rubbish in my opinion

Our pond was built about 8 years ago using a rigid plastic liner. Over that time it had built up lots of sludge and algae. I thought it was time to do something about it, so I ordered the sludge muncher. I cleaned up an old plastic dustbin and filled it with pond water using buckets and carefully captured the fish from the pond. Then I set the pond vacuum to work. Its mode of operation is to suck for about 30 seconds and let the water drain then suck again in a continuous cycle. We let the water drain onto the garden or an adjacent field and didn't use the dirt collector basket. We found this method very effective and the pond was completely emptied and nearly all the sludge was emptied. The pond was filled with fresh treated water and the fish were carefully returned to the pond, so far (four weeks later) with no losses

The fitting together took some working out and I still haven't worked out how to fit the basket which is supposed to be an add on. Fitting the parts together as per a ordinary vacuum was simple and the machine took up an amazing amount of sludge etc from the bottom of the pond. For this usage, I can certainly recommend the machine by the time I had finished there was quite a mound sitting on the side of the pond, waiting for all the bigawogerts to slink off back to their watery hell.

the vac works fine although the 30 second clean and wait can get irritating. Basket it pain to put together, the mesh is not fine enough and a lot of dirt and sludge goes back into the pond. main annoyance is the pump outlet is gravity fed so the vac must be higher than the basket. not always an easy task as it stands 2 feet high and must be in close proximity to the pond. - pond vac scores 4 and the basket 1 so average 2 stars

Took all the tips, set the cleaner above pond level, discharge straight onto lawn. Ran for about half an hour (the thirty second thing that others worry about - it runs for 30 seconds, discharges for 30 seconds) is fine - wasn't an issue for me). But after about half an hour in a dirty pond I had about half a carrier bag full of dirt for my efforts. I took a pond net, scraped it along the bottom of the pond in the area I had just been vacuuming, and came away with more dirt in one swipe than I had managed in a supposed half hour of hoovering. Basically, a lot of effort for very little return.

Being disabled I found the PondHero Sludge Muncher Pond Vacuum Plus Dirt Collector Basket so simple to use and it is so easy to clean the pond with. I took 3 hours before to clean the pond but with PondHero Sludge Muncher Pond Vacuum Plus Dirt Collector Basket 10 minutes. Well worth buying.

Really happy with this purchase, great value for money, it has been invaluable in helping me clean out a pond I've not been able to tend properly since a back injury. This makes things so easy without the need for any major water changes. Had a slight problem with a rubber seal on a discharge hose but the problem was quickly and efficiently dealt with by the excellent customer services department. I'm more than happy to recommend both this item and the company to anyone wishing to purchase.