I have a 20,000 gallon (17'x47') lily pond which is spring fed. It
filled up in 2 days so the flow is good. The spring water's temperature
is 50 F. The pond's temperature is up to 65 F. When first filled with
water, it quickly covered over with string algae but the string algae is
beginning to die. When I skimmed it off, the scum was full of snails
which I saved and put back into the pond. I put 12 trap door snails in
the pond 6 weeks ago and they have multiplied at a fantastic rate.
Frogs have come into the pool at an alarming rate. The marginal plants
are beginning to bloom. The water is reasonably clear. Here is what I
have done:

€ Planted 12 water lilies which are finally beginning to reach the pond
surface.

€ Planted about 64 marginal filter plants in baskets with clay soil and
no fertilizer around the edge on plastic greenhouse benches about 5
inches below the water surface.

€ Introduced trap-door snails into the pond.

€ Sunk oxygenator plants on the bottom.

€ Floated a mini-bale of barley straw near the spring pipe.

€ Introduced 100 native minnows.

€ Introduced bacteria to help eliminate the dead algae.

No filter, no UV, no pump, no Koi, no problem (I hope).

I think it will manage on its own now. I just skimmed the algae off the
top once in the last 2 weeks. I am stopping skimming since I don't want
to loose any more snails. I am in zone 6 and have had a lot of hot
weather.

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Sounds wonderful!!


kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A