250 gallon (8' x 4') pond with rigid liner. I just moved in last Sept, built my own biofilter, which by the way works great. Here is the issue: got a good submersible pump that was there when I moved in. It pulls PVC piping arranged in a sort of I shape, underneath the 1-2" river rocks lining the bottom of the pond. The problem is that it seems that the PVC is becoming clogged now. If I unscrew the connection to the PVC so the pump is pulling right from the water, it screams out of the biofilter and fountain. If I plug the PVC under the rocks back in, it works great for about a day and a half and slowly slows down. Now if I turn the pump on and off a few times, it clears up for a while. Is it possible that the PVC piping underneath the rocks is too clogged? (Man, it takes all day to take the rocks out and clean, so I sure don't want to do that!)...maybe I should not worry about it, as my ammonia levels and nitrite levels are zero or darn close to it. What if I disconnect the PVC, attach a baffler to the pump intake and just use that? Would I lose something by not having the piping system under the rocks? Any help on this matter is sure appreciated! I love my pond and the fishies, and want them to do well!

Some other questions for anyone...how long should it take for a water lilly to grow from a bulb? How do hyacinths and water lettuce winter? (I live in Seattle)

Thanks again...

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