On 3 Jan 2005 16:57:03 -0600, Otto Pylot wrote:

Howdy all,
We had an outdoor pond installed last July. About 1100 gallons with a 5
foot waterfall meandering down a 6 foot stream. Biological filters
(including lava rocks) with an autofill valve. We have 5 Shibukin gold
fish (with countless mosquito fish as well!) so far and plan on putting
in some Koi this summer. We treat it every two weeks with Pond-Zyme
Plus and it has stayed crystal clear until the rains came. We've had a
lot of rain here in Northern California the last few weeks and now
there is a lot of string algae growing. Nothing is on the rocks where
waterfall is only in the pond itself. Water is flowing smoothly and the
fileters are looking good. Is this normal for the weather condition and
will the string algae go away or do we need to do anything now? This is
our first winter season so we're not sure what to do and we'd hate to
put in any chemicals that would harm the fish or make the pond
chemically dependent. Thanks.

Otto,

Do you have any test kits? With all that rain you should be watching your
pH and KH, and run ammonia & nitrite. Any test you have, check your water
parameters. Every time you have a problem check your water parameters.

String Algae can pop up for no reason, but most often IME, a sudden change
in the water chemistry brings it on. It will go away and is probably a good
thing right now, as I suspect something is out-of-balance due to reduction
in buffering and/or ground run-off. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
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