Oil slick

Hi, I've tried searching the archives, but can't find anyone who has
reported a similar issue, so here goes.

A few days ago we went out int the garden, and the pond tat we had
installed a couple of months ago was displaing a rather disconcerting
froth where the waterfall lands.

Looking at the surface of the water, the tell tale rainbow colours of
oil can be seen. There doesn't seem tp be enough to suspect deliberate
vandalism, as doesn't even cover the whole surface, which implies a
tiny amount.

The question is, ow do we get rid of it? We've tried scooping out the
froth (which is quite thin) with a net wit blotting paper, but we're
never going to get anywhere doing that. IS it going to be a case of
scooping out the water until we've caught it all? Do we need to lift
and wah our plants? Thankfully we have no fish yet...




--
dharma66



dharma66

On Sat, 31 May 2008 09:27:49 EDT, dharma66
<> wrote:

>Hi, I've tried searching the archives, but can't find anyone who has
>reported a similar issue, so here goes.
>
>A few days ago we went out int the garden, and the pond tat we had
>installed a couple of months ago was displaing a rather disconcerting
>froth where the waterfall lands.
>
>Looking at the surface of the water, the tell tale rainbow colours of
>oil can be seen. There doesn't seem tp be enough to suspect deliberate
>vandalism, as doesn't even cover the whole surface, which implies a
>tiny amount.
>
>The question is, ow do we get rid of it? We've tried scooping out the
>froth (which is quite thin) with a net wit blotting paper, but we're
>never going to get anywhere doing that. IS it going to be a case of
>scooping out the water until we've caught it all? Do we need to lift
>and wah our plants? Thankfully we have no fish yet...

My guess would be, Little Giant pumps, and perhaps others, were cursed
in the past for using oil to lubricate some of their pumps. If you
have a Little Giant pump, don't panic, it is vegetable oil and except
for the appearance and perhaps mosquito larvae the oil isn't going to
hurt anything. I've used a couple Little Giant pumps and have one in
the bird bath at present, but never had the experience of an oil leak.
I've read where others used newspapers spread over the pond to mop up
the oil. You might want to contact the pump manufacturer, they might
make a mag drive pump.
I have a couple Pondmaster Mag Drive pumps in use and they don't use
any oil.
--
Hal Middle Georgia, Zone 8
http://tinyurl.com/2fxzcb

On Sat, 31 May 2008 09:27:49 EDT, dharma66
<> wrote:

>
>Hi, I've tried searching the archives, but can't find anyone who has
>reported a similar issue, so here goes.
>
>A few days ago we went out int the garden, and the pond tat we had
>installed a couple of months ago was displaing a rather disconcerting
>froth where the waterfall lands.
>
>Looking at the surface of the water, the tell tale rainbow colours of
>oil can be seen. There doesn't seem tp be enough to suspect deliberate
>vandalism, as doesn't even cover the whole surface, which implies a
>tiny amount.
>
>The question is, ow do we get rid of it? We've tried scooping out the
>froth (which is quite thin) with a net wit blotting paper, but we're
>never going to get anywhere doing that. IS it going to be a case of
>scooping out the water until we've caught it all? Do we need to lift
>and wah our plants? Thankfully we have no fish yet...

It's kind of a shot in the dark but you might try a BioSok from
WestMarine.com. I used them to get diesel oil out of my bilge water
when I used to have a sailboat. I was pretty picky about having no
oil whatsoever exit my boat. A lot of marinas are that way too.

i had a little giant that leaked oil ,pumps have come a long way since

dharma66 wrote:

>
> Hi, I've tried searching the archives, but can't find anyone who has
> reported a similar issue, so here goes.

It's come up often enough that it should be googlable.

>
> Looking at the surface of the water, the tell tale rainbow colours of
> oil can be seen. There doesn't seem tp be enough to suspect deliberate
> vandalism, as doesn't even cover the whole surface, which implies a
> tiny amount.

Which usually just means you've got plants decaying in there - not uncommon
first thing in the spring.
>
> The question is, ow do we get rid of it? We've tried scooping out the
> froth (which is quite thin) with a net wit blotting paper,

Newspaper is the traditional treatment - just spread it on the surface and
remove.

> but we're
> never going to get anywhere doing that. IS it going to be a case of
> scooping out the water until we've caught it all? Do we need to lift
> and wah our plants? Thankfully we have no fish yet...

Certainly pull any parts of plants that are dead.
--
derek

On Sat, 31 May 2008 09:27:49 EDT, dharma66 <>
wrote:

>
>Hi, I've tried searching the archives, but can't find anyone who has
>reported a similar issue, so here goes.
>
>A few days ago we went out int the garden, and the pond tat we had
>installed a couple of months ago was displaing a rather disconcerting
>froth where the waterfall lands.
>
>Looking at the surface of the water, the tell tale rainbow colours of
>oil can be seen. There doesn't seem tp be enough to suspect deliberate
>vandalism, as doesn't even cover the whole surface, which implies a
>tiny amount.
>
>The question is, ow do we get rid of it? We've tried scooping out the
>froth (which is quite thin) with a net wit blotting paper, but we're
>never going to get anywhere doing that. IS it going to be a case of
>scooping out the water until we've caught it all? Do we need to lift
>and wah our plants? Thankfully we have no fish yet...

Oil slicks can be caused by a leak from a pump. What kind of pump are you
using? Some soil media will give off oil, but that is usually from old
stagnant potting soil.

The best way, imo, is to over flow the pond. Or you could try turning off
the waterfall and wait for the water to calm and using newspaper to wick it
off. If it is veggie oil from a pond pump it usually goes away on it's own
(I believe). ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

Thanks all, sounds like the newspaper is a good option. No idea what
pump I'm using, but it won't be an American brand, and I don't expect
mosquitos to be much of an issue here on the north of England :-)

Thanks again.




--
dharma66