Algae Help at my wits end...

[Gags]

I had some blanket weed...So I removed what I could and used Cloverleaf Blanket answer and got rid of it....But any idea how to get rid of this? I have been removing alot of the sludge and dead algae from the pond with some Polyester wadding as a pre filter on my pump but I'm now at my wits end....I have changed the pre filter must be 50 times...The algae is just to small once it breaks up to be caught by my main filter above the waterfall so I have resorted to putting polyester wadding on the output of the waterfall too.

You can see its not being caught by the waterfall filter Oase Biomart 36000 https://www.oase-livingwater.com/en_GB/water-garden/products/p/biosmart-36000.1000079943.html

and Its getting sucked in from the pond up the waterfall filter and coming down and settling in the waterfall...How do i get rid of it... For now I have been using a 100 micron filter bag in the waterfall and manually removing it by hand..Swirling the bag around catching it...But this is not a long term solution....I have Put 1 litre of Cloverleaf Sludge answerhttp://cloverleaf.uk.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=60

The pond is clear crystal clear when I put some in a pint glass from the waterfall....PH was 9 two weeks ago but since cleaning it dropped to 7.5

It clumps together and when you poke it with your finger it just turns to dust....and there is a fine dust all over the pond bottom....I 100 micron bag removes some of this when I swirl it around the shallows but is there anything I can add that can do this naturally?

This is what it looks like in my plastic wadding rinsing container...

 

[Lisak1]

You're looking at this the wrong way - instead of asking "how do I get rid of this algae" you need to ask "what is this algae telling me about my pond?". The answer is ALWAYS excess nutrients. Now you need to figure out why and resolve that - the algae will disappear on it's own.

You either have 1. too many fish for the size of your pond 2. too much organic material not being removed (or that algae you're killing is feeding more algae growth) 3. you're overfeeding your fish or 4. a combination of the first three.

How big is your pond? How many fish? What kind? How big? How old is the pond? Any plants? Aeration? Any info will be helpful!

 

[Gags]

You're looking at this the wrong way - instead of asking "how do I get rid of this algae" you need to ask "what is this algae telling me about my pond?". The answer is ALWAYS excess nutrients. Now you need to figure out why and resolve that - the algae will disappear on it's own.

Even if its dead? Its like a fine powder

You either have 1. too many fish for the size of your pond 2. too much organic material not being removed (or that algae you're killing is feeding more algae growth) 3. you're overfeeding your fish or 4. a combination of the first three.

I have given the pond a clean and removed all the sludge from the bottom, as much dead algae as possible, As for fish they all got eaten and there is one Silver Rudd left...Loads of Newts, Tadpoles,Frogs and toads....

How big is your pond? How many fish? What kind? How big? How old is the pond? Any plants? Aeration? Any info will be helpful!

The pond is 2 years old, around 15000 litres, got loads of plants, loads of Aeration.

I have uploaded a video.. A video says a thousand words

 

[MitchM]

That actually looks like a fairly healthy pond.
What you are showing is called the periphyton layer.
Here are a couple of articles that can explain it to you further, along with some video and pictures.

Periphyton - Part 1

Meyer Jordan submitted a new article: Periphyton - Part 1 - Role of biofilm and aufwuchs in an aquatic habitat Role of the periphyton community (biofilm and Aufwuchs) in supporting a balanced aquatic eco-system. Read more about this article...

www.gardenpondforum.com

Periphyton - Part 2 Aufwuchs

Meyer Jordan submitted a new article: Periphyton - Part 2 Aufwuchs - Role of periphyton (biofilm and Aurwuchs) in aquatic habitats Periphyton Part 2 Aufwuchs In the previous article, we discussed the formation processes and structure of biofilm in aquatic environments. We now turn to...

www.gardenpondforum.com

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[Somethin' Fishy]

Overall - your pond looks great. Maybe the stream is developing more scum because of the little filter dam, but really, its not that bad at all.

 

[Lisak1]

It really does look good @Gags - for early spring, I think it's doing just fine. A little string algae on the waterfall is normal. And you never want your rocks to be sparkling clean. You'll see your pond go through cycles of different types of algae at different times. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I would just leave it be and let nature do it's thing. No adding anything but time. Those bacteria additives probably won't hurt anything, but you're really throwing money down the drain. Your pond will grow plenty of it's own bacteria - in fact it's already loaded with it. Get out the big leaves and debris that you can net out or scoop out and then watch the magic happen. Remember also this is an outdoor pond - you will never have water that is 100% free of particulate matter like you will in an aquarium - that isn't even the goal. You want your pond teeming with life which means all parts of the cycle.

I didn't see any fish in the video - are there fish in the pond?

 

[sissy]

yep looks like good stuff that grows on the liner and that the fish like to eat in the winter

 

[Gags]

It really does look good @Gags - for early spring, I think it's doing just fine. A little string algae on the waterfall is normal. And you never want your rocks to be sparkling clean. You'll see your pond go through cycles of different types of algae at different times. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I would just leave it be and let nature do it's thing. No adding anything but time. Those bacteria additives probably won't hurt anything, but you're really throwing money down the drain. Your pond will grow plenty of it's own bacteria - in fact it's already loaded with it. Get out the big leaves and debris that you can net out or scoop out and then watch the magic happen. Remember also this is an outdoor pond - you will never have water that is 100% free of particulate matter like you will in an aquarium - that isn't even the goal. You want your pond teeming with life which means all parts of the cycle.

I didn't see any fish in the video - are there fish in the pond?

I've managed to scoop out alot of silt and stuff from the bottom but I think this powder stuff is left from my Green pea soup last year...

The fish all got eaten apart from one a silver Rudd still in there...

 

[Gags]

yep looks like good stuff that grows on the liner and that the fish like to eat in the winter

Its not growing its like a powder....very fine

 

[Lisak1]

Its not growing its like a powder....very fine

Yup. Perfectly normal. You'll start to get algae growth on your rocks and that stuff will disappear.

Do you have plans to add more fish? They are an integral part of the whole eco-system.

 

[Gags]

Yup. Perfectly normal. You'll start to get algae growth on your rocks and that stuff will disappear.

Do you have plans to add more fish? They are an integral part of the whole eco-system.

I fear they may get eaten again... currently one Silver Rudd left...Loads of Newts, Tadpoles,Frogs and toads....

 

[Lisak1]

I fear they may get eaten again... currently one Silver Rudd left...Loads of Newts, Tadpoles,Frogs and toads....

What ate them? Heron?

 

[Gags]

What ate them? Heron?

I came home from work and the pond had been ransacked...all my oxygenators had been uprooted from the bottom and were floating on the surface...rocks had been displaced....We suspected an otter...they are common in these parts of the UK and have been seen in local holiday parks that have fishing ponds and boating lakes....

 

[Lisak1]

We suspected an otter

Ah! Gotcha. We've heard reports of otters or mink doing the same around here. They are relentless hunters. And much tougher to deal with than the bird variety of predator.

 

[bagsmom]

It doesn't look bad to me either. I don't know how your temps and seasons work over there, but are you perhaps in early Spring, when things are just getting started for the season? My pond was frustrating me a few weeks ago. I was doing the same thing you describe, cleaning the prefilter daily and getting loads of algae out - it was gross! Then one day, when the weather settled in to warm and the plants started growing, it was just gone! Do you ever play around on YouTube? I've discovered Mark, The Pond Advisor - over in the UK. He is the neatest, nicest guy and seems very good about answering questions in the comments.