Thread: Green sludge
View Single Post
  #4   Report Post  
Old 02-09-2005, 12:51 AM
Snooze
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"KerplunKuK" [dot]uk wrote in message
...
I had a previous problem with algae which I cured successfully, but now I
am suffering with a sludge issue. I have a pond that is 5m x 5m x1m and
has adequate filtration and plant cover. The fish are not overfed, and eat
everything I give them. I now have a green sludge forming around the
plants in the pond and covering the base, it clogs over the pump and is
very difficult to remove.
Any advice to what could cause this issue? Would pictures of the sludge
help?


Drain the pond to the point where you can safely wade into it, maybe about
45cm deep. See if you can get a wet-dry shop vac, pump out the sludge into a
few buckets. Just dump it around the garden, think of it as fertilizer. It
might have a smell for a day or two, but after it dries up, the smell goes
away.

The sludge is the accumulation of dead bacteria and algae, fish waste, dust
and leaves that were blown into the water, the carcass of aquatic insects.
It's natural, every so often we all have to clean it out of our ponds and
dispose of it. A lot of times you can just use a pond skimmer net to scoop
out the thicker sludge.

-S