Mosquitos, chlorine, and pond liners for pond/water feature

[PondTBD]

I'm building a 600 liter pond with a small rock water feature. I'm told I need to use chlorine or fish to manage mosquitos even though I plan to have some movement of water going 24/7. Can I use chlorine with a pond liner? Is there a better product since I don't need it to be swimming pool clean? -thx!

 

[Mmathis]

Are you planning to have fish at all?

 

[Becky]

Hey there, just wanted to say welcome to the forum

 

[Big Lou]

If you are in the US use Mosquito Dunks. You place the degrable donut shape products in your pond on a regular schelue. They are safe for fish and plant while killing mosquito larvae. Mosquito Dunks are widely available. Here is a link.
http://www.lowes.com/pd/Mosquito-Dunks-6-Pack-Mosquito-Dunks/3047384

 

[sissy]

Welcome and not sure where you are at but do you want to invite frogs or any other creatures to your pond .If not you can use salt .Mosquito larvae don't really care for salt water .You can also use peroxide .

 

[Tula]

Welcome I thought moving water was sufficient to prevent mosquito larvae, as they prefer standing water, but I'll be interested to hear what others have to say.

 

[sissy]

Thing is anyplace in a water feature has a chance to grow mosquito's .Every nook and cranny where plants are can breed them .They need very little water .

 

[PondTBD]

Thank you for the welcome.

I'm on the Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia.

Yes, I thought moving water was sufficient to avoid mosquitos but everyone I talk to says that won't be enough. Maybe, mozzies are more resilient in Australia??

Found mosquito dunks on line so that is an option. Youtube shows they float, are they safe with pond liners? Do you just toss them in or do you need a floating basket?

Plan is no fish. I'd prefer no frogs either as they attract snakes which are a big problem here. That said, I don't want to hurt any frogs. Is there anything that will discourage frogs and lizards but not hurt them?

The location will be in the shade all day except for a couple hours at night. Will pond dye be sufficient to keep algae from being a problem if I'm not using chlorine?

If i do decide to use chlorine for mozzies and algae, will it damage the pond liner?

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!
I wouldn't think that a bit of chlorine would harm the liner.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome!

Not to throw a wet blanket on your plan, but my sister put in a small pond and has had a devil of a time keeping the snakes out. In her case it's the water that is attracting them. They devoured all her fish and the frogs that were living in the pond and still kept coming. She was finding four or five AT A TIME in her tiny pond! <shudder>! What finally worked was surrounding the entire perimeter with sharp stones.

Good luck!

 

[sissy]

Checked with pondliner 45 mil liner and they say they will not warranty the liner if you use chlorine .They say long term use may harm the liner over time .But they do not state how much chlorine .If it is very low dose I can't see it harming it ( pool liners I guess are different ).They say it can dry out the liner .Plus advantages of chlorine means frogs or snakes would stay away from the water feature .Only thing is no plants would survive .Mosquito dunks just float around .Plus notice you say liner but not what kind

 

[addy1]

Keep the dose low, a little bit goes a long way in killing skeeters.

Vegetable oil works if you don't mind the slick. I used it is a small fishless fountain pond in Arizona.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Checked with pondliner 45 mil liner and they say they will not warranty the liner if you use chlorine .They say long term use may harm the liner over time .But they do not state how much chlorine .If it is very low dose I can't see it harming it ( pool liners I guess are different ).They say it can dry out the liner .Plus advantages of chlorine means frogs or snakes would stay away from the water feature .Only thing is no plants would survive .Mosquito dunks just float around .Plus notice you say liner but not what kind

Here is a chart of the effects of most any chemical on EPDM liner.

 

[MSH]

Hello all. New to this thread but related....?
Fully sun exposed in South Carolina. 1,100 gallons. Don't have fish anymore bc birds kept eating. Emptied pond, killed all plant life and no longer want frogs. I just want it to be a pretty water feature. Was thinking chlorine, but afraid of damaging liner. The PDF above says Bromine is just as bad... I saw a salt comment... do I just get salt tablets and drop them in every so often? That will keep frogs and algae growth?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Hello all. New to this thread but related....?
Fully sun exposed in South Carolina. 1,100 gallons. Don't have fish anymore bc birds kept eating. Emptied pond, killed all plant life and no longer want frogs. I just want it to be a pretty water feature. Was thinking chlorine, but afraid of damaging liner. The PDF above says Bromine is just as bad... I saw a salt comment... do I just get salt tablets and drop them in every so often? That will keep frogs and algae growth?

The addition of salt will not reduce the occurrence of frogs, it will only kill them and others will come nor will salt have any appreciable effect on algae growth. There are species of algae for every water salinity level.
Your best bet is the use of Chlorine tabs like those used in swimming pools. Same effect with frogs but it will control algae.Chlorine does have a negative effect on the integrity of EPDM but with a "C" rating it should not cause any problem for years.
You will still need to maintain some level of water movement for Chlorine does not always kill mosquito larvae.