Spring pond plans....
 

Or pond is a bit of a mess.. the filter(s) I built the last few years have
failed, and I need to hunt down a 50 gal or more container to try to build
one last filter system. I'm hoping for something that's low maintenance once
I get it up n running.

I know our pond is overstocked with fish, so I'll most likely have to
relocate some to the local pet store as well.

We can still get snow up til mid April, so I do have some time yet before
major work has to take place. I'm pretty sick of doing this every year, and
this will be the last attempt, before I just throw in the towel on it.

GareeeC

Spring pond plans....
 

Gareee,

I have forgotten how big your pond is and what efforts you have made
with filters. Is there any way to get a veggie filter in place? I am
biases toward them because they have been so simple and effective for
us. What have you tried that failed?

Jim

Spring pond plans....
 

The problem with veggie filters, is we can still get snow until mid april,
and by then the algae is already in full swing. (the pond is actually
totally green now, even though we're still getting snow at night, and below
freezing temps.)

There are very few stores here that stock pond plants, and they seem to take
forever to grow for some reason here... and I've spent so much on plants now
I've no real desire to spend another bundle on them, when they just founder,
and die off in a few months. Iris are about the only thing that have really
taken off, and the lilly pads are doing well now.

Big problem is finding a covered container for a filter, and the uv filter
hasn;t done practically anything at all to impact the algae.


"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in message
...
Gareee,

I have forgotten how big your pond is and what efforts you have made
with filters. Is there any way to get a veggie filter in place? I am
biases toward them because they have been so simple and effective for
us. What have you tried that failed?

Jim

Spring pond plans....
 

On Mar 5, 11:11 pm, Gareee© wrote:
The problem with veggie filters, is we can still get snow until mid april,
and by then the algae is already in full swing. (the pond is actually
totally green now, even though we're still getting snow at night, and below
freezing temps.)

There are very few stores here that stock pond plants, and they seem to take
forever to grow for some reason here... and I've spent so much on plants now
I've no real desire to spend another bundle on them, when they just founder,
and die off in a few months. Iris are about the only thing that have really
taken off, and the lilly pads are doing well now.

Big problem is finding a covered container for a filter, and the uv filter
hasn;t done practically anything at all to impact the algae.

"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in ...

Gareee,

I have forgotten how big your pond is and what efforts you have made
with filters. Is there any way to get a veggie filter in place? I am
biases toward them because they have been so simple and effective for
us. What have you tried that failed?

Jim

Does anyone on this list have links to some good veggie filter plans?
I'm looking at introducing one to help keep the algae at check but I'm
not sure how involved it would be.

Doug

Spring pond plans....
 

The UV should get the green water. You might see if the flow rate
through it is slow enough for the UV to do its job. Ours takes a
while to clear the water, but does it.

The loss of plants is a bummer. Does anacharis survive up there? Are
there any native plants that could help you? What grows wild aroung
there? We have irises. Their roots are some use, but they don't grow
with enough speed to grab nutrients. The green algae get moving
before the vasculars and eat nutrients in the water. Once the
vasculars start their growth, the gree algae fades. We us our UV in
the period before the vasculars get rolling.

Could you do anything hydroponically, like flowers or something with
their roots in a veggie filter equivalent? Anything with roots in the
water and growth.

While I think about it, watercress grows like mad in the early
season. Water celery does fine after that. Would you like some? It
has an huge root mass for filtration and grows fast on top. The cost
would be postage.

Jim

Spring pond plans....
 

On Mar 5, 11:11*pm, Gareee© wrote:
The problem with veggie filters, is we can still get snow until mid april,
and by then the algae is already in full swing. (the pond is actually
totally green now, even though we're still getting snow at night, and below
freezing temps.)

There are very few stores here that stock pond plants, and they seem to take
forever to grow for some reason here... and I've spent so much on plants now
I've no real desire to spend another bundle on them, when they just founder,
and die off in a few months. Iris are about the only thing that have really
taken off, and the lilly pads are doing well now.

Big problem is finding a covered container for a filter, and the uv filter
hasn;t done practically anything at all to impact the algae.

"Phyllis and Jim" wrote in ...



Gareee,

I have forgotten how big your pond is and what efforts you have made
with filters. *Is there any way to get a veggie filter in place? *I am
biases toward them because they have been so simple and effective for
us. *What have you tried that failed?

Jim- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi Gareee,
I'm going to jump in here with Jim. I think veggie filters are the
way to go.
Have you tried water celery. I'm located in NJ and my pond had a
layer
of ice yesterday, but the water celery is already starting to green
up. The
watercress is also starting to show signs of life.
We did have a few warm days and I guess that got the plants started.
I
think you should give this type of plant a trial. They are cheap
enough, I can
send you some if you'd like as soon as they get growing. I'm sure Jim
will
agree that it doesn't take many to start a filter.
Bonnie
NJ

Spring pond plans....
 

What you can do to help with the algae is a 2 inch mat of polyester batting. put a
pump in the bottom of a bucket, put the batting on top and let it drag the water thru
the batting. you need to be able to pull the bucket up, remove the batting and rinse
the green out pretty well. the idea is to REMOVE the algae not just kill it off and
return the nutrients to the pond.

I had the same problem and when I did this last spring it removed most of the algae,
cleared the water but left enough algae to continue to clean up the pond. This year
I am trying water celery in a bucket IN the pond over winter. I had a set back when
the koi got into the bucket to ravage the celery and the roots. I will work on the
design this year. My pond is covered with a plastic "lean to". Water celery is the
most winter hardy of the stuff I have tried. the water cress turned black and died,
but I think I will try rooting the stuff inside and seeing if well rooted stuff will
do better. In the meantime the water celery that is left is sprouting nice green.

So I am thinking about a bucket that will sit in the water but with a tomato cage
lashed to it and plastic wrapped around to keep the air a bit warmer and drop my
water heater into the bucket. a flow of water from a pump enters somewhere.

absolutely no sign of spring for the next 10 days here in the frozen tundra zone 5,
Milwaukee. Ingrid

On Wed, 5 Mar 2008 22:11:41 CST, Gareee© wrote:
The problem with veggie filters, is we can still get snow until mid april,
and by then the algae is already in full swing. (the pond is actually
totally green now, even though we're still getting snow at night, and below
freezing temps.)

Spring pond plans....
 

built right over the pond. http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/2000/details.htm


On Thu, 6 Mar 2008 17:23:33 CST, DaddyOooh wrote:
Does anyone on this list have links to some good veggie filter plans?
I'm looking at introducing one to help keep the algae at check but I'm
not sure how involved it would be.

Doug

Spring pond plans....
 

Sorry for the lack of replies..been working a lot of hours of late, and have
not had time to even read the ng.

The built over pond veggie filter idea looks like a possibility. $20 worth
of Watercress were devoured by the fish within a week, and water celery sent
by someone in the group went the same route. I swear I have pyrannah, not
goldfish. .LOL!

I'll have to see about building something over the pond, and then populating
it with plants. Iris are doing well in the pond (some are actually still
green for the first time, even though we've had quite a few freezes) lillies
are doing well in the pond as well, as a few survivors from plant
aquirements.

I'll take some pics and post them.. maybe someone has an idea that might
help.


--
Gareee©

Spring pond plans....
 

http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/VF/veggie_filter.html
here is another, the one I had in my basement for a while
you can even build it in the pond .... just make it so the fish cannot jump in to eat
the veggies up. Ingrid

On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:52:48 CST, Gareee© wrote:
The built over pond veggie filter idea looks like a possibility.
I'll have to see about building something over the pond, and then populating
it with plants. Iris are doing well in the pond (some are actually still
green for the first time, even though we've had quite a few freezes) lillies
are doing well in the pond as well, as a few survivors from plant
aquirements.

Spring pond plans....
 

On Mar 6, 6:25*pm, Phyllis and Jim wrote:
The UV should get the green water. *You might see if the flow rate
through it is slow enough for the UV to do its job. * Ours takes a
while to clear the water, but does it.

The loss of plants is a bummer. *Does anacharis survive up there? *Are
there any native plants that could help you? *What grows wild around
there? *We have irises. *Their roots are some use, but they don't grow
with enough speed to grab nutrients. *The green algae get moving
before the vascular and eat nutrients in the water. *Once the
vasculares start their growth, the green algae fades. *We us our UV in
the period before the vasculares get rolling.

Could you do anything hydroponically, like flowers or something with
their roots in a veggie filter equivalent? *Anything with roots in the
water and growth.

While I think about it, watercress grows like mad in the early
season. *Water celery does fine after that. *Would you like some? *It
has an huge root mass for filtration and grows fast on top. The cost
would be postage.

Jim

Sweet flag planted on a PVC floating grid makes a great veggie filter
and will grow even in winter. Also anacharis will often overwinter.
Are you using any kind of sludge remover and cleaning out the the
leaves etc? Extra waste is what's feeding you algae. Are you using a
large enough filter, skimmer and pumps. List what you have and we
maybe able to suggest ways to help keep your pond clean. Have you
tried getting rid some of your fish on Craig's list or your local pond
club? I will also have plants as early as April. see Richdeer3 for
more info. Also check out the article pages on controlling algae and
sizing your pump.

Can you tell me how big is your pond and the efforts you have made
Use of filters. Is your pond pump filtering water properly and what other problems, you have.