Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
String Algae and nutrient balance
What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never
really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"Bill Stock" wrote in message ... What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. It's still growing here in the west of Scotland, and the pond temp is nearly 10c ! Peter |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
"Bill Stock" wrote in message ... What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. It's still growing here in the west of Scotland, and the pond temp is nearly 10c ! Peter |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"Bill Stock" wrote in message ... What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. It's still growing here in the west of Scotland, and the pond temp is nearly 10c ! Peter |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
"2pods" wrote in message ... "Bill Stock" wrote in message ... What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. It's still growing here in the west of Scotland, and the pond temp is nearly 10c ! Damn, that Scotland is a cold place. How the hell do you keep the castle warm? Don't the GF freeze in the moat? SA is still growing here too and the pond temp is about the same as yours. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"2pods" wrote in message ... "Bill Stock" wrote in message ... What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. It's still growing here in the west of Scotland, and the pond temp is nearly 10c ! Damn, that Scotland is a cold place. How the hell do you keep the castle warm? Don't the GF freeze in the moat? SA is still growing here too and the pond temp is about the same as yours. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Damn, that Scotland is a cold place. How the hell do you keep the castle warm? Don't the GF freeze in the moat? SA is still growing here too and the pond temp is about the same as yours. We can't keep gf in the moat anymore, as it's full of Loch Ness mini monsters for the winter but there are plenty haggis to throw on the fire to keep warm ;-) Peter |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Damn, that Scotland is a cold place. How the hell do you keep the castle warm? Don't the GF freeze in the moat? SA is still growing here too and the pond temp is about the same as yours. We can't keep gf in the moat anymore, as it's full of Loch Ness mini monsters for the winter but there are plenty haggis to throw on the fire to keep warm ;-) Peter |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
"Hal" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:02:45 -0400, "Bill Stock" wrote: What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. I wish I could tell you I know exactly what causes it, but I can't. I can tell you the year I had it very badly was the year I tried to keep the general hardness and carbonate hardness up over 100ppm. At the time I guessed the addition of baking soda and plaster of paris must be creating the conditions right for the type of string algae I was encountering and stopped adding them. I went back to a sock full of garden lime to maintain KH, GH and pH, and reworked my plant pond. I took the gravel (river pebbles) out and put in a line with holes to send jets of water across the bottom and the string algae mostly went away. I say mostly because I have a short clump on the side where Goldie (gold colored comet.) rests occasionally, so I assume the current of moving water isn't as strong at that spot, but it could be the fish is hiding?? I can't say the moving water is the answer, nor the high KH, GH, and pH the culprit, but those are the obvious things I changed. Not so obvious could be a number of things about the plant pond that just went away. For one, there was a good bit of detritus among the stones holding the underwater plants in place. most of the underwater plants died, covered in string algae. I salvaged a bit of anacharis, but two other types of underwater plants disappeared completely. I don't know how to get rid of it, but I wish you well. Thanks, I've just started getting into PMDD for the aquarium plants. Since I now have enough micronutrients to last the millennium, I may experiment with the pond next year. The pond plants did not do that well this year, although the Potassium helped. I suspect there must be some other nutrient missing, either Iron or Magnesium. I may end up with the healthiest Algae in NA, but it's all about learning. |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
"Hal" wrote in message ... On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:02:45 -0400, "Bill Stock" wrote: What's the scoop on Sting Algae, does it prefer cooler weather? I've never really had that much other years, but this year it's noxious. I went to do a pre-fall cleaning of the pond a few weeks ago and this stuff came out in clumps. I can't say I noticed this stuff during the summer, but the pond was more or less on autopilot this year. The only thing different this year was the cooler weather and the Potassium I was adding for the plants. I wish I could tell you I know exactly what causes it, but I can't. I can tell you the year I had it very badly was the year I tried to keep the general hardness and carbonate hardness up over 100ppm. At the time I guessed the addition of baking soda and plaster of paris must be creating the conditions right for the type of string algae I was encountering and stopped adding them. I went back to a sock full of garden lime to maintain KH, GH and pH, and reworked my plant pond. I took the gravel (river pebbles) out and put in a line with holes to send jets of water across the bottom and the string algae mostly went away. I say mostly because I have a short clump on the side where Goldie (gold colored comet.) rests occasionally, so I assume the current of moving water isn't as strong at that spot, but it could be the fish is hiding?? I can't say the moving water is the answer, nor the high KH, GH, and pH the culprit, but those are the obvious things I changed. Not so obvious could be a number of things about the plant pond that just went away. For one, there was a good bit of detritus among the stones holding the underwater plants in place. most of the underwater plants died, covered in string algae. I salvaged a bit of anacharis, but two other types of underwater plants disappeared completely. I don't know how to get rid of it, but I wish you well. Thanks, I've just started getting into PMDD for the aquarium plants. Since I now have enough micronutrients to last the millennium, I may experiment with the pond next year. The pond plants did not do that well this year, although the Potassium helped. I suspect there must be some other nutrient missing, either Iron or Magnesium. I may end up with the healthiest Algae in NA, but it's all about learning. |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:02:45 -0400, "Bill Stock" wrote:
What's the scoop on Sting Algae Can't help myself....... if you have the true Sting variety, use caution when removing. ;o) , does it prefer cooler weather? Absolutely! This is why we cover the the Demon Pond (and my Lily Pond) with shade cloth for fall/winter/early spring. Keeps the leaves out and keeps the sun blocked just enough so the SA can't grow, yet the dormant lilies are not impaired by it at all. ~ jan ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
~ jan JJsPond.us wrote:
On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:02:45 -0400, "Bill Stock" wrote: What's the scoop on Sting Algae Can't help myself....... if you have the true Sting variety, use caution when removing. ;o) LOL. , does it prefer cooler weather? Absolutely! This is why we cover the the Demon Pond (and my Lily Pond) with shade cloth for fall/winter/early spring. Keeps the leaves out and keeps the sun blocked just enough so the SA can't grow, yet the dormant lilies are not impaired by it at all. ~ jan Does it _prefer_ cooler weather, or is it just using up the extra sunlight now available because the lilies are dormant? I think you'd have just as much string algae in the summer if you didn't have the lilies. I guess it does thrive at temps where most other plants are dying back, though. -- derek |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
"Derek Broughton" wrote in message ... ~ jan JJsPond.us wrote: On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:02:45 -0400, "Bill Stock" wrote: What's the scoop on Sting Algae Can't help myself....... if you have the true Sting variety, use caution when removing. ;o) I obviously missed something here. Do Algae removal and baptism go hand in hand? LOL. , does it prefer cooler weather? Absolutely! This is why we cover the the Demon Pond (and my Lily Pond) with shade cloth for fall/winter/early spring. Keeps the leaves out and keeps the sun blocked just enough so the SA can't grow, yet the dormant lilies are not impaired by it at all. ~ jan Does it _prefer_ cooler weather, or is it just using up the extra sunlight now available because the lilies are dormant? I think you'd have just as much string algae in the summer if you didn't have the lilies. I guess it does thrive at temps where most other plants are dying back, though. -- derek |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Derek Broughton wrote:
~ jan JJsPond.us wrote: On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:02:45 -0400, "Bill Stock" wrote: What's the scoop on Sting Algae Can't help myself....... if you have the true Sting variety, use caution when removing. ;o) LOL. , does it prefer cooler weather? Absolutely! This is why we cover the the Demon Pond (and my Lily Pond) with shade cloth for fall/winter/early spring. Keeps the leaves out and keeps the sun blocked just enough so the SA can't grow, yet the dormant lilies are not impaired by it at all. ~ jan Does it _prefer_ cooler weather, or is it just using up the extra sunlight now available because the lilies are dormant? I think you'd have just as much string algae in the summer if you didn't have the lilies. I guess it does thrive at temps where most other plants are dying back, though. Smart man. |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Derek Broughton wrote:
~ jan JJsPond.us wrote: On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 12:02:45 -0400, "Bill Stock" wrote: What's the scoop on Sting Algae Can't help myself....... if you have the true Sting variety, use caution when removing. ;o) LOL. , does it prefer cooler weather? Absolutely! This is why we cover the the Demon Pond (and my Lily Pond) with shade cloth for fall/winter/early spring. Keeps the leaves out and keeps the sun blocked just enough so the SA can't grow, yet the dormant lilies are not impaired by it at all. ~ jan Does it _prefer_ cooler weather, or is it just using up the extra sunlight now available because the lilies are dormant? I think you'd have just as much string algae in the summer if you didn't have the lilies. I guess it does thrive at temps where most other plants are dying back, though. Smart man. |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|