New issue?

[johnjrval424]

Okay - so we've installed our 40w UV light and the water is still flowing beautifully. We ended up buying a second pump (950 gph) and hooked the UV up to that and it is laying in the shallow end of the pond. It cycles just enough water to apparently keep the pond clear.

I have removed the 1250 pump with the bell fountain (if you look at my other pictures, you'll see it in the shallow end) because I'm thinking that the UV light is keeping the water clear enough and I don't need the extra filtration. Besides, my pond is only SO big and I can't accommodate all these pumps! I cleaned my filters in my waterfall this weekend and they didn't seem too bad considering the condition of my pond previously.

In any event, now that the UV light is apparently killing off (or has killed off) the algae in the pond, I'm now getting this gloppy, green algae-type stuff coming off the rocks and floating in the pond. I have to take my skimmer net and skim this stuff out and I can take the edge of the skimmer net and scrape it off the rocks in sheets. It is very dark green inside with a browner outside color. Is this normal? Or should I leave it in the pond because it is some sort of natural biofilter?

Sorry for the lengthy post... :regular_waving_emot

 

[johnjrval424]

I know pictures are better - so here are a couple of how my pond looks now - and of the green gloopy stuff! (Sorry, I can't think of a better description than "gloop" right now :regular_waving_emot)

 

[DoDad]

The last pic looks like string algae. Is the algae long and stringy?

 

[johnjrval424]

The last pic looks like string algae. Is the algae long and stringy?

No, it's not really stringy. In fact, if I take my skimmer and scrape the rocks, it comes off in a sheet? When I take it out of the water, it collapses into the blob you see in the picture. All of the rocks in my pond are shedding this stuff now and we have to make sure that the pump covers stay clear. I take a skimmer net and scoop out as much as I can.

I'm just wondering if the UV light is killing off its food source?

 

[DrDave]

Are you sure this isn't a byproduct of the UV filter? All the single cell algae it kills, falls onto the bottom.

 

[johnjrval424]

Are you sure this isn't a byproduct of the UV filter? All the single cell algae it kills, falls onto the bottom.

I suppose it could be - except that it was otherwise attached to the rocks (when it comes off the rocks, they are green-dyed underneath the algae).

I don't know enough about this stuff to sound even closely educated so I'm not going to speculate. I just thought it was odd that this stuff is now coming off the rocks and I want to be sure that it isn't toxic or unhealthy for the fish (or something I should treat?)

Thanks!