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#1
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Stagnant water?
Hi
The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton |
#2
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Stagnant water?
"Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... Hi The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton Lynda, I am prety sure that there is room for one little oxygenator. Pet shops sell little bunches for the tiny bowls some people keep goldfish in. If your pond is unhealthy - not maintaining itself naturally - then blitzing it with chemicals is not going to make it better. If you go the 'chemicals' route you will have to repeat the treatment at regular intervals - you are tackling the symptoms not the disease. I would suggest that you add one small oxygenator and commit to removing any excess growth once a month (or less frequently if the pond looks O.K.) and adding this to your borders or compost heap. This is likely to keep your pond much more healthy, be more environmentally friendly, and cost less and take less efforts than repeated chemical treatment. HTH Dave R |
#3
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Stagnant water?
In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... Hi The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton Lynda, I am prety sure that there is room for one little oxygenator. Pet shops sell little bunches for the tiny bowls some people keep goldfish in. If your pond is unhealthy - not maintaining itself naturally - then blitzing it with chemicals is not going to make it better. If you go the 'chemicals' route you will have to repeat the treatment at regular intervals - you are tackling the symptoms not the disease. I would suggest that you add one small oxygenator and commit to removing any excess growth once a month (or less frequently if the pond looks O.K.) and adding this to your borders or compost heap. This is likely to keep your pond much more healthy, be more environmentally friendly, and cost less and take less efforts than repeated chemical treatment. HTH Dave R Hi David The problem is that I've already got a water hawthorn in there as well as the water lily and also 2 irises in a basket nearer to the surface, so there really isn't that much surface left for another plant to fill, and I wouldn't want anything to swamp over the other plants and cover them or inhibit their growth. Is it possible that oils from the barrel (oak) or its old contents (I assume some kind of alcohol or spirits) could be leaching into the water, or is this a known feature of stagnation? The barrel was cut in half specifically for me, it hadn't been open to the elements or used for water before I got it. I quite agree with the environmental approach and usually try and avoid chemicals as a rule - I wonder if there is any environmentally friendly additive I could use. If I did go down the oxygenator route, would it have to be a prolific plant to clear the water quickly or what? Can you recommend a particular one for a 3' diameter barrel that won't immediately go mad and invade the whole thing? Thanks for your help so far! -- Lynda Thornton |
#4
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Stagnant water?
"Lynda wrote in message The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Take some sheets of kitchen paper towel and gently float them flat on the surface, they will absorb any oily film. Pull off gently and throw away. You may have to do this a couple of times to clear it all. -- Bob www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in Runnymede fighting for it's existence. |
#5
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Stagnant water?
Lynda,
oxygenators usually sit on the bottom most of the time, so shouldn't compete with surface plants. From Google - Lagarosiphon major from page http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2..._plants2.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/g8ec Our somewhat larger pond has this, along with lillys, irises and water hawthorn. It sits on the bottom in winter, and then grows in summer. You may have to wait awhile for your pond to achieve balance; if it is going stagnant this suggests that there is too much organic material in it at the moment. Growing an oxygenator then removing some is one way to reduce the organic content of the water :-) HTH Dave R "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... In article , David W.E. Roberts writes "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... Hi The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton Lynda, I am prety sure that there is room for one little oxygenator. Pet shops sell little bunches for the tiny bowls some people keep goldfish in. If your pond is unhealthy - not maintaining itself naturally - then blitzing it with chemicals is not going to make it better. If you go the 'chemicals' route you will have to repeat the treatment at regular intervals - you are tackling the symptoms not the disease. I would suggest that you add one small oxygenator and commit to removing any excess growth once a month (or less frequently if the pond looks O.K.) and adding this to your borders or compost heap. This is likely to keep your pond much more healthy, be more environmentally friendly, and cost less and take less efforts than repeated chemical treatment. HTH Dave R Hi David The problem is that I've already got a water hawthorn in there as well as the water lily and also 2 irises in a basket nearer to the surface, so there really isn't that much surface left for another plant to fill, and I wouldn't want anything to swamp over the other plants and cover them or inhibit their growth. Is it possible that oils from the barrel (oak) or its old contents (I assume some kind of alcohol or spirits) could be leaching into the water, or is this a known feature of stagnation? The barrel was cut in half specifically for me, it hadn't been open to the elements or used for water before I got it. I quite agree with the environmental approach and usually try and avoid chemicals as a rule - I wonder if there is any environmentally friendly additive I could use. If I did go down the oxygenator route, would it have to be a prolific plant to clear the water quickly or what? Can you recommend a particular one for a 3' diameter barrel that won't immediately go mad and invade the whole thing? Thanks for your help so far! -- Lynda Thornton |
#6
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Stagnant water?
Lynda,
oxygenators usually sit on the bottom most of the time, so shouldn't compete with surface plants. From Google - Lagarosiphon major from page http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2..._plants2.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/g8ec Our somewhat larger pond has this, along with lillys, irises and water hawthorn. It sits on the bottom in winter, and then grows in summer. You may have to wait awhile for your pond to achieve balance; if it is going stagnant this suggests that there is too much organic material in it at the moment. Growing an oxygenator then removing some is one way to reduce the organic content of the water :-) HTH Dave R "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... In article , David W.E. Roberts writes "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... Hi The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton Lynda, I am prety sure that there is room for one little oxygenator. Pet shops sell little bunches for the tiny bowls some people keep goldfish in. If your pond is unhealthy - not maintaining itself naturally - then blitzing it with chemicals is not going to make it better. If you go the 'chemicals' route you will have to repeat the treatment at regular intervals - you are tackling the symptoms not the disease. I would suggest that you add one small oxygenator and commit to removing any excess growth once a month (or less frequently if the pond looks O.K.) and adding this to your borders or compost heap. This is likely to keep your pond much more healthy, be more environmentally friendly, and cost less and take less efforts than repeated chemical treatment. HTH Dave R Hi David The problem is that I've already got a water hawthorn in there as well as the water lily and also 2 irises in a basket nearer to the surface, so there really isn't that much surface left for another plant to fill, and I wouldn't want anything to swamp over the other plants and cover them or inhibit their growth. Is it possible that oils from the barrel (oak) or its old contents (I assume some kind of alcohol or spirits) could be leaching into the water, or is this a known feature of stagnation? The barrel was cut in half specifically for me, it hadn't been open to the elements or used for water before I got it. I quite agree with the environmental approach and usually try and avoid chemicals as a rule - I wonder if there is any environmentally friendly additive I could use. If I did go down the oxygenator route, would it have to be a prolific plant to clear the water quickly or what? Can you recommend a particular one for a 3' diameter barrel that won't immediately go mad and invade the whole thing? Thanks for your help so far! -- Lynda Thornton |
#7
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Stagnant water?
Lynda,
oxygenators usually sit on the bottom most of the time, so shouldn't compete with surface plants. From Google - Lagarosiphon major from page http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2..._plants2.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/g8ec Our somewhat larger pond has this, along with lillys, irises and water hawthorn. It sits on the bottom in winter, and then grows in summer. You may have to wait awhile for your pond to achieve balance; if it is going stagnant this suggests that there is too much organic material in it at the moment. Growing an oxygenator then removing some is one way to reduce the organic content of the water :-) HTH Dave R "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... In article , David W.E. Roberts writes "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... Hi The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton Lynda, I am prety sure that there is room for one little oxygenator. Pet shops sell little bunches for the tiny bowls some people keep goldfish in. If your pond is unhealthy - not maintaining itself naturally - then blitzing it with chemicals is not going to make it better. If you go the 'chemicals' route you will have to repeat the treatment at regular intervals - you are tackling the symptoms not the disease. I would suggest that you add one small oxygenator and commit to removing any excess growth once a month (or less frequently if the pond looks O.K.) and adding this to your borders or compost heap. This is likely to keep your pond much more healthy, be more environmentally friendly, and cost less and take less efforts than repeated chemical treatment. HTH Dave R Hi David The problem is that I've already got a water hawthorn in there as well as the water lily and also 2 irises in a basket nearer to the surface, so there really isn't that much surface left for another plant to fill, and I wouldn't want anything to swamp over the other plants and cover them or inhibit their growth. Is it possible that oils from the barrel (oak) or its old contents (I assume some kind of alcohol or spirits) could be leaching into the water, or is this a known feature of stagnation? The barrel was cut in half specifically for me, it hadn't been open to the elements or used for water before I got it. I quite agree with the environmental approach and usually try and avoid chemicals as a rule - I wonder if there is any environmentally friendly additive I could use. If I did go down the oxygenator route, would it have to be a prolific plant to clear the water quickly or what? Can you recommend a particular one for a 3' diameter barrel that won't immediately go mad and invade the whole thing? Thanks for your help so far! -- Lynda Thornton |
#8
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Stagnant water?
Lynda,
oxygenators usually sit on the bottom most of the time, so shouldn't compete with surface plants. From Google - Lagarosiphon major from page http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2..._plants2.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/g8ec Our somewhat larger pond has this, along with lillys, irises and water hawthorn. It sits on the bottom in winter, and then grows in summer. You may have to wait awhile for your pond to achieve balance; if it is going stagnant this suggests that there is too much organic material in it at the moment. Growing an oxygenator then removing some is one way to reduce the organic content of the water :-) HTH Dave R "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... In article , David W.E. Roberts writes "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... Hi The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton Lynda, I am prety sure that there is room for one little oxygenator. Pet shops sell little bunches for the tiny bowls some people keep goldfish in. If your pond is unhealthy - not maintaining itself naturally - then blitzing it with chemicals is not going to make it better. If you go the 'chemicals' route you will have to repeat the treatment at regular intervals - you are tackling the symptoms not the disease. I would suggest that you add one small oxygenator and commit to removing any excess growth once a month (or less frequently if the pond looks O.K.) and adding this to your borders or compost heap. This is likely to keep your pond much more healthy, be more environmentally friendly, and cost less and take less efforts than repeated chemical treatment. HTH Dave R Hi David The problem is that I've already got a water hawthorn in there as well as the water lily and also 2 irises in a basket nearer to the surface, so there really isn't that much surface left for another plant to fill, and I wouldn't want anything to swamp over the other plants and cover them or inhibit their growth. Is it possible that oils from the barrel (oak) or its old contents (I assume some kind of alcohol or spirits) could be leaching into the water, or is this a known feature of stagnation? The barrel was cut in half specifically for me, it hadn't been open to the elements or used for water before I got it. I quite agree with the environmental approach and usually try and avoid chemicals as a rule - I wonder if there is any environmentally friendly additive I could use. If I did go down the oxygenator route, would it have to be a prolific plant to clear the water quickly or what? Can you recommend a particular one for a 3' diameter barrel that won't immediately go mad and invade the whole thing? Thanks for your help so far! -- Lynda Thornton |
#9
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Stagnant water?
Lynda,
oxygenators usually sit on the bottom most of the time, so shouldn't compete with surface plants. From Google - Lagarosiphon major from page http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg2..._plants2.shtml or http://tinyurl.com/g8ec Our somewhat larger pond has this, along with lillys, irises and water hawthorn. It sits on the bottom in winter, and then grows in summer. You may have to wait awhile for your pond to achieve balance; if it is going stagnant this suggests that there is too much organic material in it at the moment. Growing an oxygenator then removing some is one way to reduce the organic content of the water :-) HTH Dave R "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... In article , David W.E. Roberts writes "Lynda Thornton" wrote in message ... Hi The water in my barrel pond where I have a water lily has got an unpleasant oily sheen - I think it might be going stagnant. Is there a chemical I can add to the water to get rid of this? I don't have room for more plants to oxygenate the water so I wanted to try and find something I could add to the water to get rid of this film. Thanks. -- Lynda Thornton Lynda, I am prety sure that there is room for one little oxygenator. Pet shops sell little bunches for the tiny bowls some people keep goldfish in. If your pond is unhealthy - not maintaining itself naturally - then blitzing it with chemicals is not going to make it better. If you go the 'chemicals' route you will have to repeat the treatment at regular intervals - you are tackling the symptoms not the disease. I would suggest that you add one small oxygenator and commit to removing any excess growth once a month (or less frequently if the pond looks O.K.) and adding this to your borders or compost heap. This is likely to keep your pond much more healthy, be more environmentally friendly, and cost less and take less efforts than repeated chemical treatment. HTH Dave R Hi David The problem is that I've already got a water hawthorn in there as well as the water lily and also 2 irises in a basket nearer to the surface, so there really isn't that much surface left for another plant to fill, and I wouldn't want anything to swamp over the other plants and cover them or inhibit their growth. Is it possible that oils from the barrel (oak) or its old contents (I assume some kind of alcohol or spirits) could be leaching into the water, or is this a known feature of stagnation? The barrel was cut in half specifically for me, it hadn't been open to the elements or used for water before I got it. I quite agree with the environmental approach and usually try and avoid chemicals as a rule - I wonder if there is any environmentally friendly additive I could use. If I did go down the oxygenator route, would it have to be a prolific plant to clear the water quickly or what? Can you recommend a particular one for a 3' diameter barrel that won't immediately go mad and invade the whole thing? Thanks for your help so far! -- Lynda Thornton |
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