Algae

[j.w]

Thanks everyone for the great information. Here is my 2013 plan for my 1500 gal gold fish pond!

* Pond 2500 Dispenser System - releases beneficial bacteria for 1 month (comes with 2 month supply). Just put the despenser on the bottom of the pond.
* PondPerfect Multi Purpose Biological Pond Treatment - 2 oz per week
* NEW BIO-BLOX Filter Media & filter pad for waterfall filter
* Blue Saphire Pond Shade
* I will use old filter media from waterfall in UV bio filter next year
* Plants will add several more to pond on shelf going around pond outside edge
* Add regular aireation system and get rid of bubbler pump.

I do not endorse any of these products - I am still pondering the kitty litter :razz:

Is this overkill or what :twisted:

I don't know about that bacteria or pond tx stuff as I only go el-naturel when starting my ponds. Maybe it's great stuff I just never used it. Plants, filter,aeration all sound good to me. You can pot your plants up in the kitty litter but if you have koi they will take it all out and throw it everywhere. Goldfish are not as bad doing that. Oh never mind I just looked up there and saw you are just having goldfish so that should be fine. Happy over killing :goldfish: :goldfish: :goldfish:

 

[Event Horizon]

I'm not sure if that much will fit. I think a quart might. You might be able to find some other kind of a net bag that will hold more or make one out of the fiberglass screen door material they sell at the hardware stores. I get mine at Lowes in a roll of black but don't know if you have those stores where you are. Do you have Wal-mart there as they sell that 100% kitty litter called "Special Kitty" for under $5. for 25lbs. Make sure any kind you buy is 100% clay and not additives like w/perfume etc.

Yes we have Wal-mart, and a ton of other box store places for litter. I understand and will be sure to get pure clay. I will also look around for a heavier bag; I like your screen door screen material idea. I could rig something up with that. Just as well, if Kim’s pantyhose started disappearing she would start to wonder. Ha ha

 

[CountryEscape]

EH, use your wife's old pantyhose. They are great! I bought a box of knee highs to use, (cheap is good) and they stretch and you can put a LOT of kitty litter in them. I have a bag of it in my stream, anywhere that the water flows over it will help disperse it through the water.
Just an FYI for those of you who have or want to have koi, and worry about them tearing things up, so far my koi have done zero damage to any of my plants. I have no idea why they are well behaved, I would like to say that I taught them well, or spanked them when needed when they were young, but neither is true. haha
Also, a point to you, EH, having your pump on the bottom of your pond, I sure hope you have no lines from that pump that are on the outside of your pond liner, just in case a break ever happens in your line. Having the pump on the bottom (if it is literally on the bottom) will drain your pond in short order. I have my "bottom" pump on a milk crate, and that saved my fish a couple of weeks ago when my line pulled apart. Otherwise, I would have come home to an empty pond, and dead or dying fish. The other factor with a pump on the bottom is that it IS going to pull all the stuff off the bottom, and is more likely to get gunk clogged in the lines. I almost never have to clean my pump, it has no prefilter on it at all, the filter is in the Skippy before going back to the waterfall. Just a thought! I always thought pump on the bottom was best, keep that stuff circulating and out of the pond, but have since learned that the "gunk" on the bottom is also harboring beneficial bacteria. That's why this year I am not going to net the bottom until mid summer, or after all plants are growing really well, and the water has been warm enough for good bacteria to have a really good start. I think that was part of my problem last spring with murky brown water and algae. Also something I'm going to pay attention to this year. Sometimes cleaning too much is not good either.

 

[Waterbug]

Back years ago I did a lot of experiments with algae, string and green water, and filters. Some eureka moments, but failure when I tried to reproduce the same experiment. I learned two things. These systems are more complex than I thought. Designing the pond to make string algae removal easier worked better for me than anything that claimed to stop string algae growth.

 

[Event Horizon]

Great warnings and suggestions C.E.

Yes the line goes outside of the liner and the pump is on the bottom, but we covered both liabilities. The pump feeds a 3” line. From where it leaves the pond and enters the filter at the top of the river I put it in a solid plastic weeping tile. If we ever have a split the water will drain back into the pond. The power from the pump on the bottom goes back to the skimmer where we have a float switch. I don’t know what they are called but it was cheap. it’s like a typical float switch on a pump but a separate unit we bought for about 20 bucks. I really believe in water circulation. I have not had any issues with my pump being on the bottom, but with the size it would take some serious junk to clog it up.

I am now thinking if I use the pantyhose I could put a few separate smaller bags down my river.

 

[CountryEscape]

Yep, that will work EH. I like the idea of the float. Do you have a picture of how you hooked that up, since you said it's away from the pump, over by the skimmer? I'd like to do that for future possible problems. And, as a side note, my pumps in the koi pond, both of which went without water when the line broke, were not hurt at all. The larger one is a Laguna Max Flow, and was actually still running when I got home. The skimmer pump is a 1600 gph (can't remember the brand) and it just shut down.
If you get knee highs, EH, you can get a box of 12 (which is actually 24!!!) and put them wherever you want. I have a couple in my stream, one in each skimmer box under the basket, and several in the Skippy filter.

 

[capewind]

Ever have one of those days where you figure why bother??? LOL... Hubby has been in/out this morning ... just asked him if we still had the "yellow bag" of litter out in the garage .. says no, he used it up ... ask if the bag went to the dump yet (he recycles bags into trash bags) ... tells me it's gone and asks why ... I say I want to read the ingredients ... he says it is CLAY, why? I ask if he is sure, as in no perfumes or what not ... he says yes, he is sure .. he used it up transplanting the lilies ... My whole point in asking was I wanted to stick a knee high full of litter over by our clump of hair algae that's hanging out on the creeping primrose ... sigh...

 

[Event Horizon]

Yep, that will work EH. I like the idea of the float. Do you have a picture of how you hooked that up, since you said it's away from the pump, over by the skimmer? I'd like to do that for future possible problems. And, as a side note, my pumps in the koi pond, both of which went without water when the line broke, were not hurt at all. The larger one is a Laguna Max Flow, and was actually still running when I got home. The skimmer pump is a 1600 gph (can't remember the brand) and it just shut down.
If you get knee highs, EH, you can get a box of 12 (which is actually 24!!!) and put them wherever you want. I have a couple in my stream, one in each skimmer box under the basket, and several in the Skippy filter.

I don’t have any pictures but the float I use for that pump looks like this.




The pump is on the bottom of the pond roughly by the red X. The pump came with a good 12 to 15 feet of cord. The float is setup in my skimmer. This way it is out of the way from animals and can’t be seen. The power outlet is at the corner of my deck and the skimmer is under the green X (under the white stone you see in the picture). You plug the pump into the float and the float into the power. The float rides on the stick and you can set the level in which it will shut off the power. It is almost a must have for a pump on the bottom. My pump would drain my pond in less than 45 minutes.

I like the idea of the box of stockings, and placing them in different places.

 

[herzausstahl]

That is a cool idea, where did you get that float from?

 

[Event Horizon]

Once you have lost water once it’s the only way to go. My other pump is in the skimmer and has a float built onto it. I had a raccoon rip apart my waterfall and lost water. The float kicked in and shut down the pump before it ran dry. Once that happened I was not going to stick a pump in the bottom of the pond without a backup.

Try your local pond supply store or online.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Giant-...=1363362208&sr=8-4&keywords=pump+float+switch

 

[CountryEscape]

That looks very similar to a sump pump float, bet you can find one at any hardware store - Lowes, Home Depot, Menards. Great idea, but I could not use it in my skimmer, as my skimmer is too small as it is. Does a great job, but it's in a container and only has about 12" of depth with the basket on the inside. Thanks for the pic! Even with my pump on the milk crate, I think I will implement one of those, just to keep the pond from pump out as far as it did.

 

[CountryEscape]

Cape, so when you go to the store to get another bag of kitty litter, look for the same yellow bag to make sure it was the right kind. It's cheap enough, but I know what you're saying, if it was still around, you could have bagged it up pronto and started the process of getting rid of the string algae.
Last year I was potting up some plants for the bog (later learned to put them in bare root ....) and could not figure out why the litter was kind of foaming up! Not all of the pots did it, just most of them. Thought it was a chemical reaction between the plants/bulbs and the litter. Then I looked at the bag of litter! For goodness sake I had used SCOOPABLE litter!!! I just grabbed the wrong bag, that bag was for inside litter box. Geesh ... learning as I go! Had to dump all of that stuff out, replant in the regular clay, and away I went. Really looking forward to repotting lilies soon, but this weather we are having keeps swinging from 60's to 30's, and no one will want me to ship them some tubers in this cold weather. So, I will wait longer. Last year this time, we had been having 80's for a few weeks already. But, it IS still winter technically ....

 

[j.w]

The kind at Wal-mart comes in a Red bag called Special Kitty. Says 100% clay on the bag. You can buy it online thru Wal-mart 3 - 25lb bags for $10 or in the store it's under $5. for a 25lb bag.

 

[pond42sliders]

The pond continues to clear more every day....so something is working. I have no shade whatsoever, covering the pond. not even plants, yet. I'm sold on the kitty litter clay.

 

[Event Horizon]

I have not been to a Wal-mart yet, but we went to the pet store today. I am wondering if this is the right stuff? It's not scented or clumping just clay, but it says white clay? Think this will do?