Hi all,

I have an approx. 600 gal. small backyard liner pond with a waterfall and
pump and a Tetra "green barrel" bio filter.
This spring, I have noticed what looks like oil on the surface of the water.
I especially noticed this when I would toss in some pieces of orange for the
goldfish to munch on.
Is there a good way to filter that out of the water that will not hurt the
fish? Someone suggested to me to add a drop of two of dishwashing liquid to
the water, but that doesn't seem like a good idea.
The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

Thanks,

Sean
Cincinnati, OH

--
Bloodspoint Studio
http://www.bloodspoint.com/
"All your base are belong to us."

"Sean R. Kerns" wrote :

This spring, I have noticed what looks like oil on the surface of the
water.
I especially noticed this when I would toss in some pieces of orange for
the
goldfish to munch on.

Oranges have aromatic oil, it probably will evaporate or stick to the
edges in a few hours.


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.461 / Virus Database: 260 - Release Date: 3/10/03

Sean R. Kerns wrote:
Hi all,

I have an approx. 600 gal. small backyard liner pond with a waterfall and
pump and a Tetra "green barrel" bio filter.
This spring, I have noticed what looks like oil on the surface of the water.
I especially noticed this when I would toss in some pieces of orange for the
goldfish to munch on.
Is there a good way to filter that out of the water that will not hurt the
fish? Someone suggested to me to add a drop of two of dishwashing liquid to
the water, but that doesn't seem like a good idea.
The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

Thanks,

Sean
Cincinnati, OH

--
Bloodspoint Studio
http://www.bloodspoint.com/
"All your base are belong to us."



Hi Sean,

Could it be oil from the orange? If it is, you need
to do nothing.

The simplest way to rid the pond of oil is to let it
overflow. In other words, put enough water in to make
the oil flow out of the pond. If it is just a little,
put newspaper on top and slowly drag it to the edge of
the pond and lift. That should do it.

Some pumps will throw oil when they are about to die.
What pump are you using?

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

Have you been using any two cycle engine yard equipment? I found that
when I was using my leaf blower, I ended up with an oil film on the
pond. If you have a skimmer, you can clean up the oil by throwing
clean sawdust on the water. The sawdust should not contain any
pressure treated wood or walnut sawdust. It will absorb the oil and
collect in the skimmer.

I am assuming the orange is without the peel. Citrus peel contains a
lot of oil.

"Sean R. Kerns" wrote in message ...
Hi all,

I have an approx. 600 gal. small backyard liner pond with a waterfall and
pump and a Tetra "green barrel" bio filter.
This spring, I have noticed what looks like oil on the surface of the water.
I especially noticed this when I would toss in some pieces of orange for the
goldfish to munch on.
Is there a good way to filter that out of the water that will not hurt the
fish? Someone suggested to me to add a drop of two of dishwashing liquid to
the water, but that doesn't seem like a good idea.
The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

Thanks,

Sean
Cincinnati, OH

"Sean R. Kerns" wrote:

The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

It is entirely possible, and natural to get a tiny bit of oil, if your
pond is frequented by wildlife. It is just natural body (feather, fur)
oil that gets washed off.

As suggested, some means to overflow your pond, so that the floating oil
drains away.

"John Hines" wrote in message
...
"Sean R. Kerns" wrote:

The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

I saw a PBS show years ago, where they demonstrated oil's ability to thin
out to just a few molecules thick. They took a teaspoon of cooking oil and
placed it on a park-sized pond. A time elapsed camera showed the oil
spreading over the entire pond.

BV.

When I had a kingfisher dive bomb my
pond he would leave a tiny oil slick and
a feather behind in exchange for a fish.


k30a

"John Hines" wrote in message
...
"Sean R. Kerns" wrote:

The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

It is entirely possible, and natural to get a tiny bit of oil, if your
pond is frequented by wildlife. It is just natural body (feather, fur)
oil that gets washed off.

As suggested, some means to overflow your pond, so that the floating oil
drains away.

I get this fairly frequently in my natural pond - especially after prolonged
periods without rain and I have no pumps etc. and I don't feed the fish .
The birds idea sounds fairly good, I noticed some oil on the surface of my
pond today and co-incidentally there was a lot of evidence of birds bathing.

under NO CIRCUMSTANCES USE DETERGENT. it will kill the fish.
it is organic oil. take individual newspaper sheets (all now use veggie inks, no
problem) and float in the surface and pull it up and out by one edge .. if you look
at the water you will see an area that is oil free as you slide the paper out and
then the oil slick fills in. keep doing this until you dont see the oil covering the
pond. I tried the overflow, etc, etc. nothing worked but newspaper. Ingrid


"Sean R. Kerns" wrote:
I have an approx. 600 gal. small backyard liner pond with a waterfall and
pump and a Tetra "green barrel" bio filter.
This spring, I have noticed what looks like oil on the surface of the water.
I especially noticed this when I would toss in some pieces of orange for the
goldfish to munch on.
Is there a good way to filter that out of the water that will not hurt the
fish? Someone suggested to me to add a drop of two of dishwashing liquid to
the water, but that doesn't seem like a good idea.
The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

"Sean R. Kerns" wrote:
The other thing I noticed a little while ago was that the "oil" seems to
disappear at night, which makes me wonder if it's even oil at all. Is it
possible it's just some kind of algae haze?

I saw a PBS show years ago, where they demonstrated oil's ability to thin
out to just a few molecules thick. They took a teaspoon of cooking oil and
placed it on a park-sized pond. A time elapsed camera showed the oil
spreading over the entire pond.
BV.

And that's how they kill mosquito larva in ponds. ;o) Only works on a calm
day though. ~ jan

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

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Time to replace pump! My pumps are only guaranteed for two years & i run
them 24/7 all year ! So after one failed after 25 months & i had to pay
for replacement i now take them back to home depot for free replacement
every 18 to 23 months, they never question returns !
BILL