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Posted: Oct/28/2006 8:25 PM PST
You need a UV + Bio Pond Filter. The UV kills the algae dead, dead, dead and the biofilter removes the dead algae from the closed system. This costs a bit of money upfront, but it means you keep algae permanently under control with no chemicals. The wildlife visiting your pond will certainly appreciate the lack of chemicals and you will appreciate not having to constantly clean the pond manually in a futile attempt to get rid of the algae. Yes, you will have to remove sediment buildup from the bottom of the pond a couple times per year to keep the water clean and clear of dead plant matter like leaves, but that's about it. you can try to control algae by limiting the nutrients in the water by not fertilizing plants, feeding fish only what they can eat quickly, planting so the water surface is shaded and all that, but if you are doing this and still have an algae problem then you need a UV+ bio filter. It is that simple. They can usually be found as combo units. |
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Posted: Oct/29/2006 2:50 AM PST
Quote: I guess I just want to see my white rocks and pebbles in the moving water that are on the shelves and bottom. And... not hear visitors say ill your water is green ! Is it suppose to be green? Then I have to explain why my water is greenOriginally posted by Whitmore1 Another options is to accept the algae as a natural part of any pond system. That's what I do and it looks fine. Or they wil say Oh thats nice with no interestI know the frog and fish didnt mind*LOL Its all a matter what what you want to see I guess. I like the sound of the water outside my windows,then I look and it isnt "pretty".Hubby said he doesnt matter. I guess it may be the challenge of Ponding we clear water seekers are gaging our sucess on. Clear water relaxes me when I sit there and look at it. Besides I want to see my fishies  I truley enjoy watching them just swim around.Do you have fish? or may be better said how big are yur fish? 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 
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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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Posted: Nov/06/2006 4:54 PM PST
Username5, I just wont except it to be a fact that a 90 gal pond has to have algae. I went to a yard sale and the lady had a pond with no algea! And she had fish! large one! She did have wonderful shade too though. I have spoken to several people that had 90 gal ponds and no algae in full sun awaiting thier plants to shade the water. All cant be full of algae and not admitting to it. What do fish do to the water that causes algae to multiply? Is it in fact the fish? Or the Sun or both working together against me? Humm... I had my little kiddie pool full of tadpoles then I put fish when they no longer needed it and I didnt get algae like my pond..why is that ? They had full sun , no plants other then the duckweed. Kale
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Posted: Nov/06/2006 7:06 PM PST
Quote: Originally posted by Kale What do fish do to the water that causes algae to multiply? They poop in it Fish waste is a nitrogen source and the algae eats the nitrogen. Sunlight is the other factor. A pond in the sun will have more algae problems than the same pond in full shade. A pond with fish in the sun is asking for trouble. You might ask your friends with the ponds what chemicals or filtration system they are using as the pond isn't algae free without their doing something. You can try aerating the pond, shading the pond, exchanging the water regularly, adding chemicals a filter etc. I guess that in your position I would just ask the folks who had ponds in comparable situations what they are doing since they don't have algae. While I think my above recommendation of a UV/bio filter is overkill for a 90 gallon pond, it *would* stop the algae. You certainly can maintain an algae free pond, it is simply that with a small pond and fish in the sun you are not going to have a 'naturally' algae free pond. |
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Posted: Nov/09/2006 10:39 PM PST
Hey there, maybe the article I wrote on Ehow can help you... [URL="http://wehow.ehow.com/how_2001970_create-mos tly-self-maintained-water-feature.html"]http://weh ow.ehow.com/how_2001970_create-mostly-self-maintai ned-water-feature.html[/URL] |
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Posted: Nov/09/2006 11:54 PM PST
username5, What about frogs? Do they go in the water as well? Wouldnt the nitrogen cause the plants to grow faster? And another thought, why did everyone say to put the pond in full sun if it needs such shade?!! Can I shade it with a bridge or something? Maybe just move the pain into mid day shade!! .RKayne, Welcome to GG :banana-wa and thanks for the link I will read it as soon as I have a while to really read it.I did peek and seemed interesting enough to take heed. Thank YOU! Kale
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Posted: Apr/10/2007 6:35 AM PST
When I had my pond up North and I was very new to ponds. There where days that I was going to just give up. But after reading and a lot of phone calls I found some very interesting things to make the water clear. One is the PH level in the water which will slow down the alge. The one thing that I add which helped the most was a pool sand filter. I ran it on a timer two time a day for one hour. I also added snails to the pond which help and look great after they get some size. When I sold the place I wanted to take the pond with us. With a pool filter you will need a check value at the suction end, and a sink screen end. |
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Posted: Apr/10/2007 9:16 AM PST
Quote: Originally posted by RKayne Hey there, maybe the article I wrote on Ehow can help you...http://wehow.ehow.com/how_2001970_create-mostly-se lf-maintained-water-feature.html Hi RKayne! That's a really great idea about using knee-high nylons. I'll definately be trying that one! Of course this means I'll be "borrowing" my S.O.'s car detailing ones  Dora/Garden Goddess |
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Posted: Jul/11/2007 8:08 AM PST
I went through the same thing with my 100-gallon pond when I first set it up. The water was constantly green. The answer to my problem was adding more plants. My pond is now 4 years old. The water lilies are taking over! The cattails are prolific! My water is crystal clear! A pond expert told me that there must be about 70% of the water's surface covered with plants in order to keep the water clear. What happens is: the sun's energy is absorbed by the water and is used to grow algae if there is nothing else using that energy. More plants could be the answer! Good luck! |
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