In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

It depends how much copper. Copper is great if a clear but near
sterile pond is wanted.

Steve

--
Neural Network Software http://www.npsnn.com
EasyNN-plus More than just a neural network http://www.easynn.com
SwingNN Prediction software http://www.swingnn.com
JustNN Just a neural network http://www.justnn.com

"Martin" wrote in message
...

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

The Dutch used to put powered copper electrodes in the water of their large
boat
houses to reduce weed. It's probably banned now.
There are no fish left in the IJsselmeer because either
a) Over fishing - government version.
b) The water is too clean, so no food for the fish to feed on. Fishermen's
version.
There is going to be a three year ban on fishing.
--

Martin in Zuid Holland

======================================


Martin I hope we are not getting confused with "Cathodic Protection" which
is a whole different ball game.

Mike


---------------------------------------------------------------
www.friendsofshanklintheatre.co.uk
www.hmscollingwoodassociation.com
www.rneba.org.uk
www.nsrafa.org

On 2014-03-06 15:53:23 +0000, Martin said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

The Dutch used to put powered copper electrodes in the water of their
large boat
houses to reduce weed. It's probably banned now.
There are no fish left in the IJsselmeer because either
a) Over fishing - government version.
b) The water is too clean, so no food for the fish to feed on. Fishermen's
version.
There is going to be a three year ban on fishing.

Bit like putting copper on the keel of a boat to deter barnacles etc.,
I suppose.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2014-03-06 15:53:16 +0000, Stephen Wolstenholme said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

It depends how much copper. Copper is great if a clear but near
sterile pond is wanted.

Steve

I'd have to go back into the book but I think it was a koi pond.
Certainly a heron is mentioned...
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2014-03-06 23:00:17 +0000, Martin said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 17:07:44 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 2014-03-06 15:53:23 +0000, Martin said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

The Dutch used to put powered copper electrodes in the water of their
large boat
houses to reduce weed. It's probably banned now.
There are no fish left in the IJsselmeer because either
a) Over fishing - government version.
b) The water is too clean, so no food for the fish to feed on. Fishermen's
version.
There is going to be a three year ban on fishing.

Bit like putting copper on the keel of a boat to deter barnacles etc.,
I suppose.

and copper based antifouling.

Is that what's been banned because it damages sea creatures?
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2014-03-07 08:13:06 +0000, Chris Hogg said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

A strip of bare copper wire along the ridge of a house roof is
supposed to keep the roof clear of moss. I'm not quite sure what form
of life moss is, but copper is poisonous to many life forms (eg it's a
popular fungicide, and above a certain concentration can inhibit plant
growth) so it wouldn't surprise me if it prevented algal growth in
ponds. But it raises the question as to what else it would kill,
animal and vegetable. You might end up with a sterile pond.
Controlling algae is better done by controlling the nitrate levels in
the pond by not (over)feeding the fish. Duckweed may be similarly
controlled. If the fish aren't fed, the nitrate levels in the water
will be low so won't encourage the DW, and the hungry fish will eat
what's remaining. No DW or algae problems in my pond.

If we don't feed our fish, they eat the frog spawn. ;-( We're feeding
lightly now.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

"Sacha" wrote in message ...


Bit like putting copper on the keel of a boat to deter barnacles etc.,
I suppose.

and copper based antifouling.

Is that what's been banned because it damages sea creatures?
--

Sacha


===============================================

I agree with you there Sacha, I thought it had been banned back in the
1970's when I was involved with the Marine Industry.

Mike

---------------------------------------------------------------
www.friendsofshanklintheatre.co.uk
www.hmscollingwoodassociation.com
www.rneba.org.uk
www.nsrafa.org

On Thu, 06 Mar 2014 17:08:45 +0000, Sacha wrote:

It depends how much copper. Copper is great if a clear but near sterile
pond is wanted.

Steve

I'd have to go back into the book but I think it was a koi pond.
Certainly a heron is mentioned...

Yes, there were fish in the pond IIRC.

(I found the book a little heavy handed, though...)



--
Gardening in Lower Normandy

In article ,
says...

A strip of bare copper wire along the ridge of a house roof is
supposed to keep the roof clear of moss.

Cormaic installed one on his home roof and swore by it.
On the strength of that, J made a copper cap for the point of our
hexagonal summerhouse; to prevent moss on the cedar shingle roof and
that still works too.

Anne W Jackson (who also used to post here) used to have a business
installing copper roof strips; iirc Glasgow Council were an enthusiastic
customer until the price of copper rose so high it turned those roofs
into targets for thieves ;-(

Janet

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

I'm sure I have seen ponds and water features with copper coins thrown
in and still have algae floating in them, ok the copper comtent is
less than it used to be but there are a fair number of older ones
around.

G.Harman

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Fri, 07 Mar 2014 21:59:10 +0000, wrote:

I'm sure I have seen ponds and water features with copper coins thrown
in and still have algae floating in them, ok the copper comtent is
less than it used to be but there are a fair number of older ones
around.

'Coppers' should be re-named 'steels' these days. They're made of
steel, with only a thin copper coating, and have been for about 20
years. Due to the increasing value of scrap metal, the old 2p piece
contained 3p's worth of copper and was actually worth more as scrap
than it's face value! The steel ones are also magnetic, so you can
tell the proper copper ones using a magnet.

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales
==================================================

Chris that's rather like the present day Beer Kegs, worth more as scrap
metal so publicans are chaining their empties up if they are in such a
position to easily lift!!

Mike


---------------------------------------------------------------
www.friendsofshanklintheatre.co.uk
www.hmscollingwoodassociation.com
www.rneba.org.uk
www.nsrafa.org

On 2014-03-07 10:18:14 +0000, Emery Davis said:

On Thu, 06 Mar 2014 17:08:45 +0000, Sacha wrote:

It depends how much copper. Copper is great if a clear but near sterile
pond is wanted.

Steve

I'd have to go back into the book but I think it was a koi pond.
Certainly a heron is mentioned...

Yes, there were fish in the pond IIRC.

(I found the book a little heavy handed, though...)

Yes, I agree, in parts it was a bit convoluted and 'mystic' but
nonetheless I enjoyed it and it drew me in. A friend had read it and
recommended it to me, mainly thinking of the garden aspect, I suppose.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2014-03-07 11:29:08 +0000, Martin said:

On Fri, 7 Mar 2014 08:51:48 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 2014-03-06 23:00:17 +0000, Martin said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 17:07:44 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 2014-03-06 15:53:23 +0000, Martin said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

The Dutch used to put powered copper electrodes in the water of their
large boat
houses to reduce weed. It's probably banned now.
There are no fish left in the IJsselmeer because either
a) Over fishing - government version.
b) The water is too clean, so no food for the fish to feed on. Fishermen's
version.
There is going to be a three year ban on fishing.

Bit like putting copper on the keel of a boat to deter barnacles etc.,
I suppose.

and copper based antifouling.

Is that what's been banned because it damages sea creatures?

Only by the Dutch in inland waters. Antifouling containing TBT is the chemical
that is banned everywhere.

Ah yes, that's what I was thinking of.

I'm not sure what the situation is with commercial boats/ships often they are
excluded from this sort of ban.

No idea how much it's used nowadays. I just knew it had been used to
protect the hulls below the waterline and to deter weevils, barnacles
etc.


--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

On 2014-03-07 21:59:10 +0000, said:

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 15:34:45 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

In The Garden of Evening Mists, the woman learning from the Japanese
master is set to making balls out of copper strips. These are thrown
into the pond and sink. He tells her this is to deter algae. Has anyone
ever tried it and I wonder if it would work on the accursed duckweed?

I'm sure I have seen ponds and water features with copper coins thrown
in and still have algae floating in them, ok the copper comtent is
less than it used to be but there are a fair number of older ones
around.

G.Harman

Not enough copper in too much water, I'd think. Unfortunately, the book
doesn't go into the ratio of copper to water and fish!
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk