My pond won't stay clean, someone help
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Posted: Apr/22/2006 5:19 PM PST
 I've tried everything, i dont know if the chemicals for the water expired or what, but if you guys/girls can help please give me some knowledge of you triumphs over the stupid algae. I clean it almst every week and after a while it gets mirky and then really green and you cant see anything:banana-wa |
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Posted: Jun/27/2006 9:17 AM PST
I was just gonna bump this into Todays Post, looks like it got overlooked or no one knows the answer. I don't know what to tell u, but are u still having this problem and do u have a filter system of some sort? When my pond was active we built a filter system out of lava rocks. They are porus and worked well. I never had to use chemicals in it. trudy |
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Posted: Jun/27/2006 9:54 AM PST
How big is your pond and how much sunlight does it get? Is it a new pond? You could maybe throw some snails or algae eaters in. If it's like a fish tank, and I'm guessing here, it might need to "bloom" or get it's natural filter going with its own bacterial growth, which is normal. It will clear up after a short time. I just set up a barrel pond with no mechanical filtration, only had it a week so I'm new to this pond thing, but have had fishtanks for years. In my fishtanks i have learned the less i mess with them the better.I had a gorgeous 55 gallon tank up for over a year and my DH convinced me to "clean" it and it killed everything in it. I was so mad. Cleaning it out every week seems too much. But more info would be helpful. Michelle |
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Posted: Jun/27/2006 3:35 PM PST
Hi, Need to get some plants in there and cover at least 80% of the surface with them if you're in full sun. Also, Barley liquid or bales is available at Lowes etc. It works great to prevent the algae from growing. It is also safe for fish etc. How big is your pond and do you have a waterfall or some sort of moving water and a filter? Diana |
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Posted: Oct/14/2006 2:00 PM PST
Hi Ponders!! I had green till the temps went down to 20 and the snow came down, I then ran out side very early in thecold windy,snowy morning, drained and scooped water out ,cleaned and covered my pond,tomorrow is another year. I think I will scream if my water turns green again.!! I have 4 fishes and a few plants I brought in ,not sure what that lily pad plant is suppose to do ,(stay in water or dry out and sleep for a few months). Any clue? Has/does anyone try over wintering water/pond plants? Have a Great Day... Kale 
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Posted: Oct/14/2006 7:24 PM PST
In my zone I didn't do anything to the plants or fish. My pond is at least 2 ft. deep and the fish would go down to the bottom when it got ice on top, although it wasn't a thick sheet. Come spring I would have to clean out the winter litter such as pineneedles and leaves. Actually it would be more like June or July cause the fish layed their eggs in the litter. Then I also clean up the dead out of the plants. DH got my pond back going again back in the summer and so far so good. trudy |
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Posted: Oct/15/2006 8:30 AM PST
hey kale, i have a small ''pond'' that is only 90 gallons. I am not sure how deep it is, but about 18-24 inches of water I believe. I have wintered over my goldfish in there for 4 years now. Now that we have had frost, I will take out all my floater plants and discard them into compost. The water lily I have had for a couple of years and all I do is clip off the foliage and then sink the whole pot to the bottom of the pond. I do that with all the hardy water plants. The others are just like annuals. My pond is always a stinky mess in the spring, but the fish like it and they shut down for winter now and I wont feed them anymore this season. To get air to my fish over winter.. I use a small heater like you use in a water trough, it works great! Hope that helps you in some way.
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Posted: Oct/15/2006 11:48 AM PST
Sounds like your getting some good advice here All we use is the Barley straw, that we put in a onion bag...don't use chemicals. We replace this twice a year, and yes, I agree with garden mom, it really should be covered 80%, with floaters. Our water lilies get so large they cover probably 50% of the pond, once they start. Kale, we also cut back and just put back in the pond, for the hardier plants. |
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Posted: Oct/15/2006 2:20 PM PST
I Thank you all !:banana-wa Only problem I have is... I cleaned and dried my pond already,there is no way my filter would make it through the winter and the amount of leaves that are going to be inside the pond would be a killer on the filter and me cleaning it. I know come spring those helicopter thingies are by the bagfulls so I was going to wait till after May to set it up again. I have the lily ball (root system is in a net, not soil and pot) and fish in a very small rectangle pot with a bubbler going to keep oxygen flowing for the fish and plants. Poor fish are kinda squooshed but they are breathing *LOL My pond is only about 18inches deep and I thought they'd freeze anyway.Chattycarnation, what is a small heater you use? Water trough, dont know what that is  Next year can I just buy those plastic flowers they sell at the dollar store to cover the surface and throw them away as they get yukky? I dont foresee live plants covering it I dont have the $ for new plants.I spent over my limit and not sure the ones I have will produce next year. The cost of pond plants is unbelievable  Did anyone have the lily that lives in the net? Maribeth,I read briefly about barley straw, didnt quite grasp what they they were saying. You just buy a little barley straw put it in an onion bag and set it down in to the water? Interesting enough Trudy that is great news about your pond doing good so far! I find it a big job with lots of time needed for caring I knew it would be but Hubby bought me the pond anyway, now Im trying to figure it all out, which is happening with all your assistance:banana-wa :carrot: Ill try the barley straw..just order it online or do local pond stores carry it? Thank you all!  Kale
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Posted: Oct/29/2006 4:38 AM PST
Quote: Originally posted by Kale How big is your Pond,Im sure it is bigger then 90 gal. that is what I have username5, I will look into that..I know anything to do with Ponding is costly.Than You all for the conversation ,you all have me thinking ,you may be saying*lolKale If your pond is 90 gallons then forget about the UV filter, not even remotely practical. With 90 gallons of water + fish you are going to have algae no matter what. It is comparable to having an outside fish aquarium. I am certainly not knocking the small ponds, I think they are super terrific. But the only way to even attempt keeping them algae free is to have no fish, never fertilize anything and stock it with plants that will shade the water and suck every last nutrient from the water. Don't get your hopes up though as it probably won't be enough. Now, I can beat your 90 gallon pond with my 2 gallon dish pond! Algae is simply a fact of life. In fact the thing is still on my deck enduring sub freezing nights and the plants are all dead, but I can still see algae remnants. To keep the algae under control I simply watered with the jet nozzle on my hose and blasted it out. didn't get rid of it, just kept it under control (sorta).
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