Fiurst off pay no attention to the poster Rons. He created a moderated
gorup and is hell bent on converting folks to his newly formed grup so
he has little to say that is of value and only tries to sway folks to
a heavily censored forum.

No, pottery usualy is fine. There may be lead etc in some but at the
PH a pond operates in the leeching of lead or other compiounds is not
a problem as plants nor fish would be alive. Its common practice to
use most any pottery objects that stricks ones fancey in pond useage.

Alga is going to come form sun light, dust and nutrients. The more
plants yu have the mopre nutrients are pulled out. A decent filter wil
help pull nutreints as well but it has to be kept clean. PArtial water
changes helps as well. Providng some shade will also aide in reducing
algae. Reduce feeding and make sure yu have aany accumulated bottom
junk etc cleaned out so it does not fuel more algae. Since you do
not have fish there are quite a few products out there that is quite
effective in reducing or eliminating algae. You can use regular
powdered alum and it will lokck up the phosphates which algae needs
to bloom, and thus kill or eliminate it. Use approx 2 tablespoons of
alum to the 50 gal for a start mix, and increase on a weekly basis if
needed. It will not harm any plants nor fish, and alum is one of the
most common elements found in the ground. It can be bought at
pharmacies etc quite readily..........and t works.

Back to pottery, if you find somethng use it, its kiln fired and
exposure to water does not harm it long term or short term.

Better yet with the wheel barrw than using any liner for it. No matter
how yu try and lay in the lner yur gonna be hassled with buckles and
folds etc, and a hard way to finish the edge. Carry the barrow to any
place that sprays in the Rhino Liner pickup truck bed liner material
and tellthem to apply the typical thickness coverage to the barrow.
Its impervious to water, and the same materials are used in geotextile
/ pond systems. They spray Rhino liner or an equal item directly onto
soil and when cured it forms a water tight barrier. It works perfect
for lining things like a wheel barrow to make it rusta nd water
proof. I have had 6 1/2 whiskey barrels sprayed with the stuff 2 years
ago to make them leak proof and make them useable and not need to buy
preformed liners for them. The rhino liner material is sprayed
directly over the barrells staves on the wood itself and I have yet to
have a leak. It cost me $40 to have all 6 barrels, and a large 35 gal
cast iron cook pot sprayed, but if I was to have bought the preformed
plastic liners they would have run me $20 each.. plus there is no
liners made for lining a cast iron cook pot, and it would have been a
real bear trying to make a typical liner conform to a cook pots
shape.......As a plus, the liner that is sprayed in is available in a
few different colors besides black. There are other brands besides
Rhino LIner, Dura Liner is yet another, but they all work equally
well.

Regards



On Thu, 03 May 2007 22:55:43 GMT, WCJ wrote:

Greetings group,

I have a few questions I'd appreciate some help on.

1) My mom's pond (pre-fab, perhaps 50 gallons) has a severe problem with
string algae. This is new to me, as I've been living in another state
until recently and never saw this problem in my own ponds. The pond is
quite shielded from the sun, but does have some exposure. What can be
done to eradicate this algae and keep it from coming back?

2) Does pottery need to be treated somehow before incorporating it into
a pond (as a water feature, for example)? There are no fish in the
pond, so I'm not worried about that, but I need to know if the pottery
itself should be protected from the water with something. Also, is
there anything in particular to look for when buying pottery with the
idea of using it in a wet environment?

3) I have an old wheelbarrow I'm toying with the idea of turning into a
small pond. Would lining it with heavy-duty plastic trash bags be
sufficient, or should I buy actual pond liner for it?

Thanks!



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I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!