TelBoy

Before this gets muppetised, does anyone have any serious suggestions as to how i can stop this damned blanket weed growing in my pond?

Currently i'm spending about 15 minutes every day just fishing this stuff out. Is July/August the time of year when it's at it's worst? I've only had the pond for just over a year so i'm not sure what happens when, but this stuff is bugging me to distraction.

I don't have fish in the pond, just various plants, but don't really want to start pouring in a load of algicide, unless this is the only option?

Any suggestions? Ta.

Terry

MarkO

Get some of those hay-bale things from the garden centre. They work a treat.

David_Wallis

there are chemicals for this.. but as you said above..

David

TelBoy

Mark, hay-bale things..?? Wassat then? A real hay bale? It's only a small pond...

EvilBevel

Couple of things... blanket weed prevents your pond from turning into pea soop (suspended algae) ...

Most of the time, you get algae from having too many nutrients in the pond (fish poop, dirt that runs off into your pond etc...) More plants do help a bit, but not much if the nitrate level is too high.

Shade also helps if the pond is in direct sunlight all day.

How old is the pond ? If it is a new one, it is just "cycling".

Don't pull it all out, just the excess as the string algae actually help to balance your pond.

Throwing things into the pond to get rid of it will not work anyway ... algae feed on dead algae. Barley straw has been reported to help in some ponds, but not in others (and actually worsened the problem, as it starts to rot).

UV filters only help for suspended algae, not for blanket weed.

Think of all the magic bottle solutions as the dumpvalve of ponding

Any pointers on how large the pond is ? Number of fish ? etc.. would help.

MarkO

Basically, hay has some chemical effect (I don't know what) and so you can buy these little 'bales' (about 6"x6"x2") which you float in your pond. They stop the algae forming.

Ask at your local aquatics centre - they're bound to know.

EvilBevel

FAQ from rec.ponds newsgroup ...


To achieve clear water, instead of pea soup green water, in your pond you
should:

~ Realize that algae is tough! It exists in extreme conditions, like ice, just
fine. It has many, many different
forms. It even has a home page! http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/projects/algae/
And, finally, without algae we wouldn't
be here so we should treat it with a little respect ;-)

~ Learn as much as you can about the natural balance of a pond and realizing
that new ponds must go through
a growth period which usually means green water before balance occurs. Even if
you set up a pond with lots of
plants they still need to catch their breath so to speak before consuming their
fair share of nutrients that algae loves.

~ Mother Nature designs pond to have
- LOTS of water
- few fish
- many plants
- and subtraction and addition of new water from time to time
- predators

She lets the fish find food on their own, lets the fish fertilize the plants,
encourages predators and lets the plants run rampant.

She never cleans her ponds out unless she sends a flood. If things really get
out of control she throws up her hands and lets the chips fall where they may -
lets the pond fill in, turn emerald green, flood it out, earthquakes,
hurricanes, record snowfall, elections too close to call - whatever...

~We pondkeepers stuff in lots of pretty fish, spoil them rotten with tasty fish
chow, over fertilize our plants and do everything possible to discourage
predators.

~ When designing a pond
Plan on 20 gallons of water per goldfish
Start with a minimum of 1,000 gallons for koi and an additional 100 gallons of
water per each additional koi
and plan for as many plants as you can stuff in.
A filter *DIY is best* and something for water movement (waterfall or
fountain).
Also consider a bottom drain and a skimmer.

~ Do not use chemicals, killing algae just makes lots of suddenly dead algae,
rotting algae robs the pond of oxygen and makes more stuff for the new algae to
feed on (unless you have a bottom drain to get it out).

~ Do not worry about green fuzzy algae on the side of the pond, that is good
algae and helps balance your pond.

~ Ignore a little string algae. Remove it with a small rake or by hand.

~ Lower your fish stocking, not over feeding fish - algae loves fish waste
(lots of yummy phosphorous)

~ Add lots plants of any type, marginal plants such as reeds, cattails, iris,
pickerel weed, arrowhead, floaters such as water hyacinth, water lettuce and
lots of underwater plants such as anacharis uses the nutrients up that the
algae would like.

~ Shade - lilies, the floaters (water hyacinth and water lettuce) and
artificial shade - shade cloth, umbrella, arch or trellis planted with vines,
No sun for the algae. 60% coverage is nice.

~ Clean up debris from the bottom of the pond,
less decaying stuff for algae food.
Trim dead growth from the plants and removing tropicals if you live in colder
climates.
Net the pond during the fall to keep leaves out of the pond.
The less dead plant matter in the pond the better.

~ Cut back or stop fertilizing plants - same principle.

~ Plant in fine gravel and top with larger rocks if you have koi.

~ Mechanical filtration of the fish waste - usually a settling chamber in your
filter, or the first row of brushs, filter media.

~ Biological filtration - more than you think you need as your fish are going
to grow and you will probably add more fish to your pond via purchase or your
fish breeding in the pond. (This does not help with the algae problem but
contributes to the overall health of your fish and any critters.

~ Construct a veggie filter - an area, 10% to 20%, of the size of your pond
surface area. A couple of inches deeper than the plant baskets (the rigid black
mesh baskets made specifically for water plants) you are going to use to plant
in. Plant the baskets with marginal plants with fine gravel. Pump the pond
water through at a turnover rate per hour 1/2 to 1/4 of the pond volume.
Veggie filter uses up many of the nutrients and provides a good place for
bacteria to grow. Build it with a bottom drain (or two) for ease of cleaning -
very important or you'll end up with backups and leaking over the edge. <A
HREF="http://www.wernersponds.com/veggiefilter.html">Build a Bio Pond and
Veggie Filter</A>
or
A veggie filter can be as simple as floating water hyacinth at the top of your
stock tank filter. Mine get to be almost three feet tall with leaves as big as
my hand.

~ Purchase sludge eating product - concentrated bacteria culture. I use BZT.
<A HREF="http://united-tech.com">http://united-tech.com</A>

~ Some folks love their UV sterilizer. Does cost some $. And you have to change
the expensive bulb every year.

~ Add a bale of barley straw to your pond for string algae.

~Phosphate Remover - It comes in a large clear container (maybe about gallon
sized) but it's also available in a smaller quart sized carton. It's usually
near the aquatic plant fertilizers and different chemicals available such as
ammonia remover and such.
You measure out the amount suitable for your pond size, place it in a mesh
bag, and first soak it in a pail before you put it in your filter. You need to
soak it because it gives off heat when it first gets wet.

~ Read this web page for interesting theroy on the life and times of algae
http://www.koiclubsandiego.org/GRENH2O.html

~ Make sacrifices to the Pond Goddess.
Run to your nearest garden center and buy a gazing ball,
a dragonfly garden stake and bullfrog spitter.
Place around your pond and ask humbly for clear water.

~ Patience, patience and eternal optimism.


k30a

TelBoy

EB,

Good info, thx.

No fish - i didn't want to put any in for a year or two till the pond had stabilised, but this stuff is making me think twice.

It is in full sun, providing shade would be difficult unless i planted something big in front of it, which would then mean i couldn't see it!

I think the biggest probelm is that it isn't very big. About 4" x 3", 2" deep for about 60% of this surface area, the rest is a plant shelf about 1" deep.

When it's hot i do have to top it up quite regularly, and when it rains it doesn't take a lot to make quite a difference to the water level, so the amount of "constant" water in there could be quite low.

Do have a UV filter, so it's only blanket weed causing me problems. If i didn't remove it, wouldn't it just get worse and worse and eventually become just a blanket weed filled hole? It just looks so unsightly, i can't bring myself to leave it in there..

muppet paster

Be warned, i used to sell aquatic stuff, and there is only one Algicede that actually works, and guess what, i can't remember which one!


Sorry, was never into the pond stuff, catfish i was into

Cheeky Jim

Interesting thread this one. My parents are having exactly the same problem with their pond.

It was built last year - it's about 10 ft by 6ft across and about 4ft deep. They have a stream and a waterfall cascading over rocks, total height drop about 3ft, but staggered into less than 1ft drops.

The problem they are having is the stringy type algae that forms mainly near or on the waterfall. It grows at an alarming rate, we clean it all out and 10 days later the rocks are covered.

There are about 6/8 goldfish, none larger than 5 inches in length, there are also plenty of plants.

It has a pump that pumps water back upto the top of the garden, which feeds the stream and waterfall. It has a UV light and also a big foam filter.

Just wondered if this is caused by the age of the pond, too many fish, etc ..

Any pointers?

Cheers,

Jamie

gregh

we have a pumped pond with UV filter and magnet and still use a chemical which DOES control blanket weed and ain't killed any fish or frogs that I know off.

It's made by Interpet and called Pond Balance. Over £20 for a small box but have been using it for years.

regards,

greg