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#1
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green green pond of home
have a 450 litre pond, pump for fountain going to small pressurised filter
bucket doodah. Tried various eco methods such as ramshorns etc, but what does anybody recommend when it comes to a decent filter system +/- UV filtering? The fish are fine but it would be nice to see them once in a while. Thanks |
#2
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green green pond of home
"willsniffer" wrote in message ... have a 450 litre pond, pump for fountain going to small pressurised filter bucket doodah. Tried various eco methods such as ramshorns etc, but what does anybody recommend when it comes to a decent filter system +/- UV filtering? The fish are fine but it would be nice to see them once in a while. Thanks I installed a pump/filter combo, the filter contains a uv light. It guaranteed clear water and it is now. Took about 6 weeks from about no visibility whatsoever to fully clear to the bottom (20 in). make is hoselock ecoclear 4500 which ois probably too much for your pond, you could get the smallest one (my pond is about 1700 litres IIRC). Only suggestion to you I'd make is to get the oblong gravity fed type rather than the pressurised round canister type(which I have) as the oblong ones are more tolerant of getting full of gunge so you can get away cleaning it less often. Oh, one other thing, no rush to install now as the algae should be dying off soon anyway, but as its the end of the season you might be able to get good deals over the next few weeks on pond equipment, ready to start next spring. -- Tumbleweed Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) |
#3
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green green pond of home
i read in the gardeners world mag ,tips from other gardeners that cress put
into the water works wonders for keeping water clear ! not tried it myself i havent a pond but i think its worth a try! Any one else tried this? eweed" wrote in message . .. "willsniffer" wrote in message ... have a 450 litre pond, pump for fountain going to small pressurised filter bucket doodah. Tried various eco methods such as ramshorns etc, but what does anybody recommend when it comes to a decent filter system +/- UV filtering? The fish are fine but it would be nice to see them once in a while. Thanks I installed a pump/filter combo, the filter contains a uv light. It guaranteed clear water and it is now. Took about 6 weeks from about no visibility whatsoever to fully clear to the bottom (20 in). make is hoselock ecoclear 4500 which ois probably too much for your pond, you could get the smallest one (my pond is about 1700 litres IIRC). Only suggestion to you I'd make is to get the oblong gravity fed type rather than the pressurised round canister type(which I have) as the oblong ones are more tolerant of getting full of gunge so you can get away cleaning it less often. Oh, one other thing, no rush to install now as the algae should be dying off soon anyway, but as its the end of the season you might be able to get good deals over the next few weeks on pond equipment, ready to start next spring. -- Tumbleweed Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) |
#4
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green green pond of home
In article , keith
writes i read in the gardeners world mag ,tips from other gardeners that cress put into the water works wonders for keeping water clear ! not tried it myself i havent a pond but i think its worth a try! Any one else tried this? Watercress rather than mustard and cress type cress. The theory is that it grows very fast, taking nutrients from the pond, leaving less for the algae causing the murk to live on. then you chuck out most of it at the end of the season, thus losing the nutrients permanently rather than allowing them to be put back by the watercress rotting. Can't comment on its effectiveness compared with anything else - our pond where the watercress is is beautifully clear, but then so are the other ponds. eweed" wrote in message ... "willsniffer" wrote in message ... have a 450 litre pond, pump for fountain going to small pressurised filter bucket doodah. Tried various eco methods such as ramshorns etc, but what does anybody recommend when it comes to a decent filter system +/- UV filtering? The fish are fine but it would be nice to see them once in a while. Thanks I installed a pump/filter combo, the filter contains a uv light. It guaranteed clear water and it is now. Took about 6 weeks from about no visibility whatsoever to fully clear to the bottom (20 in). make is hoselock ecoclear 4500 which ois probably too much for your pond, you could get the smallest one (my pond is about 1700 litres IIRC). Only suggestion to you I'd make is to get the oblong gravity fed type rather than the pressurised round canister type(which I have) as the oblong ones are more tolerant of getting full of gunge so you can get away cleaning it less often. Oh, one other thing, no rush to install now as the algae should be dying off soon anyway, but as its the end of the season you might be able to get good deals over the next few weeks on pond equipment, ready to start next spring. -- Tumbleweed Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm |
#5
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green green pond of home
In article , keith
writes i read in the gardeners world mag ,tips from other gardeners that cress put into the water works wonders for keeping water clear ! not tried it myself i havent a pond but i think its worth a try! Any one else tried this? I think it works on the principle that the algae that make the water green feed on nutrients in the water and sunlight. Cress is a fast grower so it absorbs a lot of the nutrients and provides shade over the surface of the pond thus depriving algae from the two things it needs to survive. You have to keep pulling the cress out to stop it from choking the pond!! Here is an embryonic faq on algae that never was faqed!! ------------------------------------------------ Algae, which includes blanket weed, thrives on nutrients, sunlight and carbon dioxide in pond water. This is why blanket weed topics always crop up on urg at the start of summer. Sunlight levels increase, pond water starts to turn green and blanket weed grows. For starters - Are you sure that nutrients (compost, growmore, miracle grow, dead vegetation, plain old soil etc) are not being washed off your garden and into the pond when it rains? Are you sure you are not overfeeding your fish and that the extra food is rotting to provide blanket weed food? Is your pond a new one? Don't keep filling it up with 'new' water to try to clear it because if you do, you will just set yourself back to square one every time as most tap water contains levels of Nitrate from farmland runoff thus increasing your problem. Take heart from the fact that it can take three or four years for the water in a new wildlife type pond to stabilise into a well balanced state. Does the pond have a liner or is it a manmade 'natural' one ie a big hole in clay ground? Nutrients may be more of a problem in a natural pond than in a lined one - but don't quote me on that. Blanket weed isn't killed by your pond filter. Blanket weed will happily clog up your filter. In fact, if your filter is a biological one, it will actually convert toxic Ammonia waste from your fish into less toxic Nitrates again increasing your weed problem. To make the blanket weed disappear, find a way of reducing the sunlight and nutrient levels in your pond and increasing the oxygen level. Our local pond expert says: "Don't work against mother nature, try to work with her". The most natural way to remove blanket weed, as it starts to grow in early summer, is to encourage lots of tadpoles. Among other things, they feed on blanket weed. However if you keep fish in your pond the tadpoles will be a welcome food for them. Here are some suggestions ========================= Reducing sunlight ----------------- Reducing the sunlight entering the pond is usually achieved by making sure the surface is half covered with leaves of lilies or other surface hugging plants such as frog bit and aponogeton. Some urglers have even tried: - Azolla (fairy moss) - fast growing and can be scooped off the surface without harming the pond creatures. - Covering the pond with a big sheet - can be placed over the pond when sunlight at its brightest. Reducing Nutrients ------------------ Reducing the nutrients is achieved by continually removing the blanket weed. That is, as the blanket weed grows it absorbs nutrients therefore the more you remove from the pond the more nutrients are removed. To catch your blanket weed, you can use a tuning fork shaped stick and twirl the blanket weed round it. You can use a plain straight stick if you want and use the same circular action as a candy floss catcher. Just be careful that no little pond creatures are caught in the weed as you remove it. In fact, leave it at the side of the pond for a couple of days so any that are caught can crawl back into the pond. It has also been suggested that growing water cress has the same effect. It grows quickly therefore absorbs nutrients so that the more you remove, the more nutrients are removed. The same can be said for any aquatic plant, but water cress seems to be the fastest grower therefore the fastest nutrient absorber. ***Warning***.do not eat any watercress grown in a pond because it could give you Liver Flukes.*** Increasing Oxygen ----------------- Well, obviously, you chuck in some oxygenating water plants. It is amazing to watch the streams of tiny bubbles rising from these plants when the sun shines on them! Some things other people have tried =================================== Barley Straw ------------ Barley straw works very well it just takes a little time. It *has* to be barley straw and not any other kind. I have used this method for years successfully. [OldMolly] I also use barley straw. Research papers that I have read suggest that the barley straw works best when it is placed in front of moving water and hence giving the naturally released chemical, that I believe prevents the weed growing rather than killing it off, an opportunity of dispersing throughout the pond. [AndyP] The reason that the Barley Straw works is AFIAK it absorbs the excess nitrogen in the pond that the algae feed on. Yes it must be organic, or bought from an aquatic shop, as the chemicals sprayed on to it by farmers will kill the wildlife in the pond. Growing it yourself is one good answer, if you have the space. [Mike] Chemical Solutions ------------------ From what I remember of a chemical solution to our small pond years and years ago, a chemical solution to your size of pond is going to be expensive. [Jane Ransom] I cannot vouch for CLAROSAN as I have never heard of it. But with respect to harming lilies & other plants most of the other chemical remedies do. I would check what the manufacturer has to say about it before use. Chemical treatments can stunt growth/or even kill plants altogether, but usually just prevent lilies flowering for 2-3 seasons and if you think that is OK just remember when you stop treating the water, the blanket weed WILL come back. Remove the nitrates/light in your pond or get a couple of million tadpoles ;-) Tadpoles are the best bet. They will chomp away & keep it away until the plants have time to grow. [Andy] If you use chemicals to get rid of blanket weed, you must make sure to get rid of the dead weed from the bottom of the pond, or it will clog your pump and possibly affect the water even worse than the weed did. [June Hughes] I once tried some that said it didn't harm plants, but at the recommended dose, it most definitely did, and quite badly. And after a few months the weed came back. Cant remember the make though. [TumbleWeed] Funny you should mention that, this year, despite it being sunny, we have had little trouble with Blanket Weed which normally blocks filters, pumps etc. Three things may have affected this: The first is that we have let our Watercress grow rampant before removing it (and the nutrients it fed on) to the compost heap. The second is the use of "Pond Tonic Salt" at the recommended dose (originally introduced because of a parasitic bloom which was affecting our fish) and The third is that we have not changed the water in our pond as much as normal just increased the flow rate of our filters a touch to keep the water sweet (it's a 3,000gal Koi pond so a lot of waste matter). [Bob Hobden] Yes there are chemical products which remove blanket weed but, having killed off the b'weed, the weed decomposes and eats up what oxygen is in the water. So, the usual recommendation is to remove as much of the weed by hand, before one treats the water. Yes, this can be a big job. I have seen boats being used to trawl the stuff up. However, you asked what the products might be. One was called 'Algofin Plus'. No doubt you can buy it in larger more economic quantities but, 250ml to treat 5,000 litres used to cost £5. - No cheap option !!! Another product was called 'Algizin P'. I found that patience (nature is a great healer) and adding no more tap water seems to pay off. Don't worry about the magnitude of the problem. Just think how satisfying it will be when you succeed. ;-)) [ned] But always bear in mind ======================= The root causes of blanket weed a - nutrients - sunlight - carbon dioxide in the pond water. Get rid of them and your blanket weed D I E S )) -- Jane Ransom in Lancaster. I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg but if you need to email me for any other reason, put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com |
#6
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green green pond of home
"keith" wrote in message ... i read in the gardeners world mag ,tips from other gardeners that cress put into the water works wonders for keeping water clear ! not tried it myself i havent a pond but i think its worth a try! Any one else tried this? Yes last year. Didnt work for me it just died! -- Tumbleweed Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) |
#7
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green green pond of home
In article , keith
writes i read in the gardeners world mag ,tips from other gardeners that cress put into the water works wonders for keeping water clear ! not tried it myself i havent a pond but i think its worth a try! Any one else tried this? Watercress rather than mustard and cress type cress. The theory is that it grows very fast, taking nutrients from the pond, leaving less for the algae causing the murk to live on. then you chuck out most of it at the end of the season, thus losing the nutrients permanently rather than allowing them to be put back by the watercress rotting. Can't comment on its effectiveness compared with anything else - our pond where the watercress is is beautifully clear, but then so are the other ponds. eweed" wrote in message ... "willsniffer" wrote in message ... have a 450 litre pond, pump for fountain going to small pressurised filter bucket doodah. Tried various eco methods such as ramshorns etc, but what does anybody recommend when it comes to a decent filter system +/- UV filtering? The fish are fine but it would be nice to see them once in a while. Thanks I installed a pump/filter combo, the filter contains a uv light. It guaranteed clear water and it is now. Took about 6 weeks from about no visibility whatsoever to fully clear to the bottom (20 in). make is hoselock ecoclear 4500 which ois probably too much for your pond, you could get the smallest one (my pond is about 1700 litres IIRC). Only suggestion to you I'd make is to get the oblong gravity fed type rather than the pressurised round canister type(which I have) as the oblong ones are more tolerant of getting full of gunge so you can get away cleaning it less often. Oh, one other thing, no rush to install now as the algae should be dying off soon anyway, but as its the end of the season you might be able to get good deals over the next few weeks on pond equipment, ready to start next spring. -- Tumbleweed Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm |
#8
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green green pond of home
In article , keith
writes i read in the gardeners world mag ,tips from other gardeners that cress put into the water works wonders for keeping water clear ! not tried it myself i havent a pond but i think its worth a try! Any one else tried this? I think it works on the principle that the algae that make the water green feed on nutrients in the water and sunlight. Cress is a fast grower so it absorbs a lot of the nutrients and provides shade over the surface of the pond thus depriving algae from the two things it needs to survive. You have to keep pulling the cress out to stop it from choking the pond!! Here is an embryonic faq on algae that never was faqed!! ------------------------------------------------ Algae, which includes blanket weed, thrives on nutrients, sunlight and carbon dioxide in pond water. This is why blanket weed topics always crop up on urg at the start of summer. Sunlight levels increase, pond water starts to turn green and blanket weed grows. For starters - Are you sure that nutrients (compost, growmore, miracle grow, dead vegetation, plain old soil etc) are not being washed off your garden and into the pond when it rains? Are you sure you are not overfeeding your fish and that the extra food is rotting to provide blanket weed food? Is your pond a new one? Don't keep filling it up with 'new' water to try to clear it because if you do, you will just set yourself back to square one every time as most tap water contains levels of Nitrate from farmland runoff thus increasing your problem. Take heart from the fact that it can take three or four years for the water in a new wildlife type pond to stabilise into a well balanced state. Does the pond have a liner or is it a manmade 'natural' one ie a big hole in clay ground? Nutrients may be more of a problem in a natural pond than in a lined one - but don't quote me on that. Blanket weed isn't killed by your pond filter. Blanket weed will happily clog up your filter. In fact, if your filter is a biological one, it will actually convert toxic Ammonia waste from your fish into less toxic Nitrates again increasing your weed problem. To make the blanket weed disappear, find a way of reducing the sunlight and nutrient levels in your pond and increasing the oxygen level. Our local pond expert says: "Don't work against mother nature, try to work with her". The most natural way to remove blanket weed, as it starts to grow in early summer, is to encourage lots of tadpoles. Among other things, they feed on blanket weed. However if you keep fish in your pond the tadpoles will be a welcome food for them. Here are some suggestions ========================= Reducing sunlight ----------------- Reducing the sunlight entering the pond is usually achieved by making sure the surface is half covered with leaves of lilies or other surface hugging plants such as frog bit and aponogeton. Some urglers have even tried: - Azolla (fairy moss) - fast growing and can be scooped off the surface without harming the pond creatures. - Covering the pond with a big sheet - can be placed over the pond when sunlight at its brightest. Reducing Nutrients ------------------ Reducing the nutrients is achieved by continually removing the blanket weed. That is, as the blanket weed grows it absorbs nutrients therefore the more you remove from the pond the more nutrients are removed. To catch your blanket weed, you can use a tuning fork shaped stick and twirl the blanket weed round it. You can use a plain straight stick if you want and use the same circular action as a candy floss catcher. Just be careful that no little pond creatures are caught in the weed as you remove it. In fact, leave it at the side of the pond for a couple of days so any that are caught can crawl back into the pond. It has also been suggested that growing water cress has the same effect. It grows quickly therefore absorbs nutrients so that the more you remove, the more nutrients are removed. The same can be said for any aquatic plant, but water cress seems to be the fastest grower therefore the fastest nutrient absorber. ***Warning***.do not eat any watercress grown in a pond because it could give you Liver Flukes.*** Increasing Oxygen ----------------- Well, obviously, you chuck in some oxygenating water plants. It is amazing to watch the streams of tiny bubbles rising from these plants when the sun shines on them! Some things other people have tried =================================== Barley Straw ------------ Barley straw works very well it just takes a little time. It *has* to be barley straw and not any other kind. I have used this method for years successfully. [OldMolly] I also use barley straw. Research papers that I have read suggest that the barley straw works best when it is placed in front of moving water and hence giving the naturally released chemical, that I believe prevents the weed growing rather than killing it off, an opportunity of dispersing throughout the pond. [AndyP] The reason that the Barley Straw works is AFIAK it absorbs the excess nitrogen in the pond that the algae feed on. Yes it must be organic, or bought from an aquatic shop, as the chemicals sprayed on to it by farmers will kill the wildlife in the pond. Growing it yourself is one good answer, if you have the space. [Mike] Chemical Solutions ------------------ From what I remember of a chemical solution to our small pond years and years ago, a chemical solution to your size of pond is going to be expensive. [Jane Ransom] I cannot vouch for CLAROSAN as I have never heard of it. But with respect to harming lilies & other plants most of the other chemical remedies do. I would check what the manufacturer has to say about it before use. Chemical treatments can stunt growth/or even kill plants altogether, but usually just prevent lilies flowering for 2-3 seasons and if you think that is OK just remember when you stop treating the water, the blanket weed WILL come back. Remove the nitrates/light in your pond or get a couple of million tadpoles ;-) Tadpoles are the best bet. They will chomp away & keep it away until the plants have time to grow. [Andy] If you use chemicals to get rid of blanket weed, you must make sure to get rid of the dead weed from the bottom of the pond, or it will clog your pump and possibly affect the water even worse than the weed did. [June Hughes] I once tried some that said it didn't harm plants, but at the recommended dose, it most definitely did, and quite badly. And after a few months the weed came back. Cant remember the make though. [TumbleWeed] Funny you should mention that, this year, despite it being sunny, we have had little trouble with Blanket Weed which normally blocks filters, pumps etc. Three things may have affected this: The first is that we have let our Watercress grow rampant before removing it (and the nutrients it fed on) to the compost heap. The second is the use of "Pond Tonic Salt" at the recommended dose (originally introduced because of a parasitic bloom which was affecting our fish) and The third is that we have not changed the water in our pond as much as normal just increased the flow rate of our filters a touch to keep the water sweet (it's a 3,000gal Koi pond so a lot of waste matter). [Bob Hobden] Yes there are chemical products which remove blanket weed but, having killed off the b'weed, the weed decomposes and eats up what oxygen is in the water. So, the usual recommendation is to remove as much of the weed by hand, before one treats the water. Yes, this can be a big job. I have seen boats being used to trawl the stuff up. However, you asked what the products might be. One was called 'Algofin Plus'. No doubt you can buy it in larger more economic quantities but, 250ml to treat 5,000 litres used to cost £5. - No cheap option !!! Another product was called 'Algizin P'. I found that patience (nature is a great healer) and adding no more tap water seems to pay off. Don't worry about the magnitude of the problem. Just think how satisfying it will be when you succeed. ;-)) [ned] But always bear in mind ======================= The root causes of blanket weed a - nutrients - sunlight - carbon dioxide in the pond water. Get rid of them and your blanket weed D I E S )) -- Jane Ransom in Lancaster. I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg but if you need to email me for any other reason, put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com |
#9
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green green pond of home
"keith" wrote in message ... i read in the gardeners world mag ,tips from other gardeners that cress put into the water works wonders for keeping water clear ! not tried it myself i havent a pond but i think its worth a try! Any one else tried this? Yes last year. Didnt work for me it just died! -- Tumbleweed Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) |
#10
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green green pond of home
I tried chemicals, but they were expensive, short-term and made the lillies
go spotty. Then I tried Fairy Moss to shade the pond and use up some of the nutrients. It grows at an astonishing rate but it's not too much of a pain to control by scooping off once a week. It has really clobbered the blanket weed! A side benefit - the local heron is looking a lot leaner now the pond residents have extra shelter, and the compost heap is getting regular supplements. Scooping out the blanket weed was always a worrying time - it used to snare newts and dragonfly larvae, so I had to gently check every last strand to make sure they were all released back to the pond. The fairy moss is much better because it has short dangly roots which don't trap wildlife. |
#11
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green green pond of home
In article , Peter Goddard
writes I tried chemicals, but they were expensive, short-term and made the lillies go spotty. Then I tried Fairy Moss to shade the pond and use up some of the nutrients. It grows at an astonishing rate but it's not too much of a pain to control by scooping off once a week. If you mean Azolla, it isn't a moss but a fern. It is an invasive alien species, and is already invading our wild ponds. -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm |
#12
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green green pond of home
In article , Peter Goddard
writes I tried chemicals, but they were expensive, short-term and made the lillies go spotty. Then I tried Fairy Moss to shade the pond and use up some of the nutrients. It grows at an astonishing rate but it's not too much of a pain to control by scooping off once a week. If you mean Azolla, it isn't a moss but a fern. It is an invasive alien species, and is already invading our wild ponds. -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm |
#13
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green green pond of home
In article , Peter Goddard
writes I tried chemicals, but they were expensive, short-term and made the lillies go spotty. Then I tried Fairy Moss to shade the pond and use up some of the nutrients. It grows at an astonishing rate but it's not too much of a pain to control by scooping off once a week. If you mean Azolla, it isn't a moss but a fern. It is an invasive alien species, and is already invading our wild ponds. -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm |
#14
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green green pond of home
In article , Kay Easton
writes If you mean Azolla, it isn't a moss but a fern. It is an invasive alien species, and is already invading our wild ponds. But you deliberately introduced it into your ponds to control the algae!!!!!!!!!!! And, years ago, you advised us to do the same )) -- Jane Ransom in Lancaster. I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg but if you need to email me for any other reason, put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com |
#15
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green green pond of home
"willsniffer" wrote:
Hello willsniffer w have a 450 litre pond, pump for fountain going to small w pressurised filter bucket doodah. Tried various eco methods w such as ramshorns etc, but what does anybody recommend when w it comes to a decent filter system +/- UV filtering? The w fish are fine but it would be nice to see them once in w a while. Thanks Oxygenators, covering plants (lilies, even duckweed) and time. Algae blooms because of sunlight, lack of oxygen and excess nutrients. I've got a large system of connected ponds here of about 8,000 gallons with 8 adult goldfish and about a hundred 1st year goldfish. Water is crystal (now, it wasn't earlier this year) and I don't have any additional filtering systems. Just plenty of oxygenators, several waterfalls (same function, just noisier) and coverage. -- Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/ |
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