UK is in the Western hemisphere, it is currently mid-winter approaching
Spring. We are about 40 miles North of London. To date this winter, no snow,
ambient temperature varying between 32 and 50 degrees F.
I have a small pond, self-dug, about 800 gallons, made about about 10 years
ago. It did have an eclectic mix of fish, but two major catastrophes
occurred, both within the last year.

1/ My birthday and Father's Day were a week apart last year - my family
bought me several small Koi from THe Japanese Koi Co - UK fishery about 2
miles away, the largest Koi supplier in the UK. Within a week my pond fish
mostly died - I was left with just 5 fish, and had major problems
hospitalising them, completely draining the pond, totally cleaning and
re-conditioning.

(Have since discovered that the Japanese Joi Co (Henlow, Bedfordshire) is
locally known as the One Stop Shop - customers only shop there once .... my
experience is not uncommon).

2/ Having found two more reliable suppliers (one, 25 miles, the other, about
10 miles away) restocked the pond last year with a few small Koi. They
thrived and survived just fine, till last week. Then came the heron ....
I'm now down to just 3 fish left. My carelessness - forgot to re-cover the
pond with a net frame I made.

With 10 years or more pond-keeping (and, prior to that, near 30 of
tropicals) I am fairly competant - pond fish in particular, 9 years with no
major casualties. I have water testing kit, but have yet to successfully
defeat blanket weed. Despite the low temperature, blanket weed is thriving,
I'm taking it out by the net-load. My water is clear and pure, and within
limits for all tests.

I've had the "electronic" water treatment (the coil thing round the water
outlet from the filter) for several years - cost me £99 (about $170) and
it's worthless. Enzyme treatments do work, but at $30 a throw, expensive for
just a few weeks freedom - and I'm not happy about the reduced oxygen level
when they're employed.

Am thinking about the "I Tronic" solution - in UK, £120, ($218) but - read
the reviews. This works chemically by passing pond water over a copper
anode (thus introducing a copper salt into the pond). Seems like it's a
VERY fine line between annihilating the blanketweed (which it does, VERY
effectively) and poisoning the fish ... just a very few parts per million
and the water becomes toxic to fish.

I realise I haven't posed a question - it's a mix of subjects and I hope
some contributors will add their comments and experiences to share the
combined knowledge and wisdom.

Sincerely, Len.

"Yabbadoo" wrote in message
...
UK is in the Western hemisphere, it is currently mid-winter approaching
Spring. We are about 40 miles North of London. To date this winter, no
snow,
ambient temperature varying between 32 and 50 degrees F.
I have a small pond, self-dug, about 800 gallons, made about about 10
years
ago. It did have an eclectic mix of fish, but two major catastrophes
occurred, both within the last year.
=============================
Blanket weed became a thing of the past when I added MORE pond plants to my
ponds. Remember to ALWAYS quarantine new fish before adding them to you
pond. No matter where you get them from you have no idea what they may be
infected with.
--
Carol.... the frugal ponder...
"When I feed the poor, they call me a saint;
when I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist. "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 13:07:30 -0600, "~ Windsong ~" P@P wrote:

Blanket weed became a thing of the past when I added MORE pond plants to my
ponds. Remember to ALWAYS quarantine new fish before adding them to you
pond. No matter where you get them from you have no idea what they may be
infected with.

Ditto that, and don't scrub off the fuzz algae from the sides. ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

Alas, I have no means of "quarantining" fish - I do check and rely on the
answer from the suppliers (that their fish have been quarantined - they say,
for a month before being offered for sale). In the emergency last year I
did use a 55 gallon barrel, filled with conditioned water with added salt -
plus an air pump - this worked for a day or so, but I wouldn't want to
stress my fish for any longer time in that - some were pretty big, with only
"up and down" swim room..
It also worked as a "hospital" tank for one fish which developed a powdery
coating all over - 2 days in briny water cured it. (Actually, on
reflection - since the new stock will be small Koi, this could work - how
long would you think is reasonable for "quarantine" for already-quarantined
fish?)

I'm interested as to which plants would "cure" blanket weed. I have a lot of
plants on the margin (roots in the water) which thrive and multiply very
well indeed. However, blanket weed amasses in their underwater roots just as
prolifically as elsewhere.

Thank you for your interest and advice.
Len
"~ Windsong ~" P@P wrote in message
...

"Yabbadoo" wrote in message
...
UK is in the Western hemisphere, it is currently mid-winter approaching
Spring. We are about 40 miles North of London. To date this winter, no
snow,
ambient temperature varying between 32 and 50 degrees F.
I have a small pond, self-dug, about 800 gallons, made about about 10
years
ago. It did have an eclectic mix of fish, but two major catastrophes
occurred, both within the last year.
=============================
Blanket weed became a thing of the past when I added MORE pond plants to
my
ponds. Remember to ALWAYS quarantine new fish before adding them to you
pond. No matter where you get them from you have no idea what they may be
infected with.
--
Carol.... the frugal ponder...
"When I feed the poor, they call me a saint;
when I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist. "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I live just west of Cambridge, CAMBS so you must be fairly close!
The coil thingies are the same as the regular plumbing fixes for
preventing calcium ions from sticking to hot water systems.

They are designed to be identical in operational effect to fixed magnets,
but I suspect they tend to de-gauss objects and therefore have no effect.
Permanent magnets on the other hand DO stop calcium sticking as I've used
a Liffe one in my house for 5 years since getting rid of the old chalk
filled hot water tank, and the new one still has a shine on the inside.

I just stuck a big magnet off of an old speaker into my 4" gravity return
and haven't had a blanket weed problem since, although that might be
coincidence..

Copper is toxic to fish and plants, I'd avoid that. Also the dead weed
will then feed the new growth and you'll get twice as much.

The only useful thing I've heard is to use a bigger filter than you need
(perhaps add a trickle filter - a barrel water butt full of porous ceramic
with a few 2" perforated tubes to allow the air around) and to mix air
into the water just before it enters the filter.

Interestingly I solved a year long problem with algae in my pond by
getting a big air pump and dumping a couple of big airstones in the water
- it worked like magic, so it might help the eco-system deal with blanket
weed too..

Graham


################################################## #######
# Email: gpw at ironman (dash) consulting (dot) com #
################################################## #######

Graham - thanks! I have a large air pump and 2 stones, but believed that
adding oxygen to the water would only promote algae growth (The "enzyme"
solution is described as "enzymes using all the oxygen, thus depriving
blanketweed of it, and therefore markedly cutting its growth"). So, except
for the "hospital" barrel, the air-pump has not been used.

Like you, I've a computerised de-ioniser on the pond, and another in the
house. As far as I can see, neither work - the electric kettle still
"chalks" up. I have a fixed magnet - I'll see if it makes a difference -
thanks for that tip.

The I-Tronic blanket weed solution is expensive, and clearly works by adding
copper in minute quantities (but, which copper salt is it?) I take your
point about the toxicity - ANY copper will immediately kill all molluscs
(snails) and it's clearly a very fine balance to kill blanket weed and avoid
killing fish. I'm investigating that (plus, the actual copper salt
generated - seems to me that adding a gram or two from a chemist is far
cheaper than £120 plus anode replacement. This could be acheived without
danger by removing the fish, dosing with copper, killing the blanket weed,
then draining and replacing the pond water - in theory, anyway.

I'll try the air-stone thing first, as you suggest. I'm not really keen on
adding chemicals unless they're beneficial!

Yes, you're not far from me, less than an hour's drive (which means you are
in Japanese Koi Co, Henlow, Beds, catchment area. DON'T go there for fish !

Thanks again, Len.

"Graham" wrote in message
news
I live just west of Cambridge, CAMBS so you must be fairly close!
The coil thingies are the same as the regular plumbing fixes for
preventing calcium ions from sticking to hot water systems.

They are designed to be identical in operational effect to fixed magnets,
but I suspect they tend to de-gauss objects and therefore have no effect.
Permanent magnets on the other hand DO stop calcium sticking as I've used
a Liffe one in my house for 5 years since getting rid of the old chalk
filled hot water tank, and the new one still has a shine on the inside.

I just stuck a big magnet off of an old speaker into my 4" gravity return
and haven't had a blanket weed problem since, although that might be
coincidence..

Copper is toxic to fish and plants, I'd avoid that. Also the dead weed
will then feed the new growth and you'll get twice as much.

The only useful thing I've heard is to use a bigger filter than you need
(perhaps add a trickle filter - a barrel water butt full of porous ceramic
with a few 2" perforated tubes to allow the air around) and to mix air
into the water just before it enters the filter.

Interestingly I solved a year long problem with algae in my pond by
getting a big air pump and dumping a couple of big airstones in the water
- it worked like magic, so it might help the eco-system deal with blanket
weed too..

Graham


################################################## #######
# Email: gpw at ironman (dash) consulting (dot) com #
################################################## #######

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 14:45:56 +0000, Yabbadoo wrote:

Graham - thanks! I have a large air pump and 2 stones, but believed that
adding oxygen to the water would only promote algae growth (The "enzyme"
solution is described as "enzymes using all the oxygen, thus depriving
blanketweed of it, and therefore markedly cutting its growth"). So, except
for the "hospital" barrel, the air-pump has not been used.
Well for my algae the air pump took about a week to almost completely
clear the pond, now I can see fish, and even the bottom in some places
My huge multi-stage filtration system was enjoyed by the fish but ignored
by the algae. See:
http://www.koiclubsandiego.org/library/green_water.html
as this is the only story that fits what I have experienced in my pond..

If you are taking large amounts of blanket weed out, it's obviously
finding ideal conditions to grow in again - maybe there is an amount of
nitrate or protein in there?

One side effect of having an air pump running in the surface is that for
the first few days I got masses of foam - like icebergs they were. It's
the same type of green tinged foam I used to find in my trickle filter so
I wonder if the huge increase in aeration and water movement might get rid
of some plant nutrient, or be breeding some super aerobic bacteria that
cures all ills

I'm now looking for a reasonable skimmer system....

I've heard the Henlow place advertised on the radio but never been there
- I'm baby sitting fish of a friend so I haven't ever bought any koi. Saw
some nice ones at world of water the other day though (Watford) but I
think this is a bad time of year to buy small fish - any opinions?

Cheers,

Graham

Like you, I've a computerised de-ioniser on the pond, and another in the
house. As far as I can see, neither work - the electric kettle still
"chalks" up. I have a fixed magnet - I'll see if it makes a difference -
thanks for that tip.

The I-Tronic blanket weed solution is expensive, and clearly works by
adding copper in minute quantities (but, which copper salt is it?) I
take your point about the toxicity - ANY copper will immediately kill
all molluscs (snails) and it's clearly a very fine balance to kill
blanket weed and avoid killing fish. I'm investigating that (plus, the
actual copper salt generated - seems to me that adding a gram or two
from a chemist is far cheaper than £120 plus anode replacement. This
could be acheived without danger by removing the fish, dosing with
copper, killing the blanket weed, then draining and replacing the pond
water - in theory, anyway.

I'll try the air-stone thing first, as you suggest. I'm not really keen
on adding chemicals unless they're beneficial!

Yes, you're not far from me, less than an hour's drive (which means you
are in Japanese Koi Co, Henlow, Beds, catchment area. DON'T go there
for fish !

Thanks again, Len.

"Graham" wrote in message
news
I live just west of Cambridge, CAMBS so you must be fairly close!
The coil thingies are the same as the regular plumbing fixes for
preventing calcium ions from sticking to hot water systems.

They are designed to be identical in operational effect to fixed
magnets, but I suspect they tend to de-gauss objects and therefore have
no effect. Permanent magnets on the other hand DO stop calcium sticking
as I've used a Liffe one in my house for 5 years since getting rid of
the old chalk filled hot water tank, and the new one still has a shine
on the inside.

I just stuck a big magnet off of an old speaker into my 4" gravity
return and haven't had a blanket weed problem since, although that
might be coincidence..

Copper is toxic to fish and plants, I'd avoid that. Also the dead weed
will then feed the new growth and you'll get twice as much.

The only useful thing I've heard is to use a bigger filter than you
need (perhaps add a trickle filter - a barrel water butt full of porous
ceramic with a few 2" perforated tubes to allow the air around) and to
mix air into the water just before it enters the filter.

Interestingly I solved a year long problem with algae in my pond by
getting a big air pump and dumping a couple of big airstones in the
water - it worked like magic, so it might help the eco-system deal with
blanket weed too..

Graham


################################################## #######
# Email: gpw at ironman (dash) consulting (dot) com #
################################################## #######



--
################################################## #######
# Email: gpw at ironman (dash) consulting (dot) com #
################################################## #######

On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 11:54:03 GMT, "Yabbadoo" wrote:

Alas, I have no means of "quarantining" fish - I do check and rely on the
answer from the suppliers (that their fish have been quarantined - they say,
for a month before being offered for sale). In the emergency last year I
did use a 55 gallon barrel, filled with conditioned water with added salt -
plus an air pump - this worked for a day or so, but I wouldn't want to
stress my fish for any longer time in that - some were pretty big, with only
"up and down" swim room..
It also worked as a "hospital" tank for one fish which developed a powdery
coating all over - 2 days in briny water cured it. (Actually, on
reflection - since the new stock will be small Koi, this could work - how
long would you think is reasonable for "quarantine" for already-quarantined
fish?)

Please read this, ALL OF IT, about why to quarantine:
http://tinyurl.com/55kv6

If you can't quarantine, and feel safe that the koi don't have any of the
viruses mentioned at the above website, the very least you should do is
salt dip them before putting in your pond. This will prevent them bringing
in a load of parasites that might take off on a stressed fish. It will not
prevent them for pH or temperature shock or getting sick from something
their immune system isn't accustom to in your pond.

I'm interested as to which plants would "cure" blanket weed. I have a lot of
plants on the margin (roots in the water) which thrive and multiply very
well indeed. However, blanket weed amasses in their underwater roots just as
prolifically as elsewhere.

Do you have any lilies to shade the surface? Or any surface shading plants
or artificial (shade cloth) will also help immensely. ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

DEFINATELY wrong time of year to buy new fish - went to my new supplier just
after the heron incident, all his fish are kept in-store, and he had very
few and recommended not to buy any till Spring (after Easter) when the
ambient outdoor temperature becomes more amenable.

According to my water chemical test kit, water is good - certainly clear
(can see right to the bottom) and altho I|'ve had that "foam" it was long
ago and in very small quantity (just after "enzyme treatment" for blanket
weed) - easily cured by removing it with small-mesh net, took a few minutes
over a couple of days.

I've also been to a "World of Water", don't know if it's the same one as
yours, it was off the A!, onto the A10 close (or in) Enfield. Good -
knowledgable staff, reasonable fish choice and prices, I bought some. The
heron enjoyed his fish supper.

Will be installing the air pump ssonest, and will check out the link to San
Diego (got to go out now)
Thanks again,
Len
"Graham" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 14:45:56 +0000, Yabbadoo wrote:

Graham - thanks! I have a large air pump and 2 stones, but believed that
adding oxygen to the water would only promote algae growth (The "enzyme"
solution is described as "enzymes using all the oxygen, thus depriving
blanketweed of it, and therefore markedly cutting its growth"). So,
except
for the "hospital" barrel, the air-pump has not been used.
Well for my algae the air pump took about a week to almost completely
clear the pond, now I can see fish, and even the bottom in some places
My huge multi-stage filtration system was enjoyed by the fish but ignored
by the algae. See:
http://www.koiclubsandiego.org/library/green_water.html
as this is the only story that fits what I have experienced in my pond..

If you are taking large amounts of blanket weed out, it's obviously
finding ideal conditions to grow in again - maybe there is an amount of
nitrate or protein in there?

One side effect of having an air pump running in the surface is that for
the first few days I got masses of foam - like icebergs they were. It's
the same type of green tinged foam I used to find in my trickle filter so
I wonder if the huge increase in aeration and water movement might get rid
of some plant nutrient, or be breeding some super aerobic bacteria that
cures all ills

I'm now looking for a reasonable skimmer system....

I've heard the Henlow place advertised on the radio but never been there
- I'm baby sitting fish of a friend so I haven't ever bought any koi. Saw
some nice ones at world of water the other day though (Watford) but I
think this is a bad time of year to buy small fish - any opinions?

Cheers,

Graham

Like you, I've a computerised de-ioniser on the pond, and another in the
house. As far as I can see, neither work - the electric kettle still
"chalks" up. I have a fixed magnet - I'll see if it makes a difference -
thanks for that tip.

The I-Tronic blanket weed solution is expensive, and clearly works by
adding copper in minute quantities (but, which copper salt is it?) I
take your point about the toxicity - ANY copper will immediately kill
all molluscs (snails) and it's clearly a very fine balance to kill
blanket weed and avoid killing fish. I'm investigating that (plus, the
actual copper salt generated - seems to me that adding a gram or two
from a chemist is far cheaper than £120 plus anode replacement. This
could be acheived without danger by removing the fish, dosing with
copper, killing the blanket weed, then draining and replacing the pond
water - in theory, anyway.

I'll try the air-stone thing first, as you suggest. I'm not really keen
on adding chemicals unless they're beneficial!

Yes, you're not far from me, less than an hour's drive (which means you
are in Japanese Koi Co, Henlow, Beds, catchment area. DON'T go there
for fish !

Thanks again, Len.

"Graham" wrote in message
news
I live just west of Cambridge, CAMBS so you must be fairly close!
The coil thingies are the same as the regular plumbing fixes for
preventing calcium ions from sticking to hot water systems.

They are designed to be identical in operational effect to fixed
magnets, but I suspect they tend to de-gauss objects and therefore have
no effect. Permanent magnets on the other hand DO stop calcium sticking
as I've used a Liffe one in my house for 5 years since getting rid of
the old chalk filled hot water tank, and the new one still has a shine
on the inside.

I just stuck a big magnet off of an old speaker into my 4" gravity
return and haven't had a blanket weed problem since, although that
might be coincidence..

Copper is toxic to fish and plants, I'd avoid that. Also the dead weed
will then feed the new growth and you'll get twice as much.

The only useful thing I've heard is to use a bigger filter than you
need (perhaps add a trickle filter - a barrel water butt full of porous
ceramic with a few 2" perforated tubes to allow the air around) and to
mix air into the water just before it enters the filter.

Interestingly I solved a year long problem with algae in my pond by
getting a big air pump and dumping a couple of big airstones in the
water - it worked like magic, so it might help the eco-system deal with
blanket weed too..

Graham


################################################## #######
# Email: gpw at ironman (dash) consulting (dot) com #
################################################## #######



--
################################################## #######
# Email: gpw at ironman (dash) consulting (dot) com #
################################################## #######

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 11:11:24 +0000, Yabbadoo wrote:

DEFINATELY wrong time of year to buy new fish - went to my new supplier just
That's what I thought - thanks for confirming that!

I've also been to a "World of Water", don't know if it's the same one as
yours, it was off the A!, onto the A10 close (or in) Enfield. Good -
knowledgeable staff, reasonable fish choice and prices, I bought some.
The one I went to was the M25 Hunton Bridge branch - there are loads of
fish places at Enfield, I'll have to check them out in the spring!

The heron enjoyed his fish supper.
The person whose fish I am looking after used to have two parallel
buildings (his house and a large garage), so he put a series of very fine
garden wire lines between them - about 24" apart, about 8 feet high.

He even saw Herons perched next door looking at his fish - but they never
went near the pond as they didn't want to fly through the wires or get
trapped underneath them with a cat, etc. The benefit with that method was
that one almost never noticed the wires - it was a perfect system.
I've built a sort of tent version over mine but I will upgrade it to
a higher system this year, more like his.

Cheers,

Graham
--
################################################## #######
# Email: gpw at ironman (dash) consulting (dot) com #
################################################## #######