Combining algae and sludge products??

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We purchased a house in 2014 that had a koi pond of unknown age. The previous owners knew little or nothing about pond care and neither do we! I did purchase a hose operated pond vac last year and some barley bales to help with algae.

The vac is not effective in removing all the sludge from the bottom because rocks continually get stuck in it. The pond does not have a rock bottom just apparently neglected so there are many little pebbles on the bottom.

This year I'd like to work on reducing the sludge and getting rid of the massive amount of string algae we suddenly have!

Long story short, I have purchased MicroLift Sludge Away and AlgaeFix. Are these products okay to use together or should I just focus on the sludge away and that will in turn help the algae situation?
 

Smaug

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Is yiur algae green water algae or the long string stuff that grows on surfaces or both? The algae fix stuff works but I don't recomended using any Chem for algae control. I do recomend water changes and consistency in keep yiur pond netted of debris. If your have the budget and the plumbing I recomend a properly sized uv light for green water free floating algae. Keep yiur water cleaner and surface algae can go be reduced substantially. Feed the fish just once a day only what they can eat quickly. I have used the sludge away stuff and have seen it work to clear the water of some non algae cloudiness.
 
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My post says string algae and this doesn't answer my question if both products can be used together.

I'm not at a point where I'd like to invest hundreds of dollars in a pond overhaul I'd just like to work with what I have.
 
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Does your pond have a filter system at all?
I would maximize it's use first.
All algae killing products are going to do is temporarily kill algae and re-release the nutrients back into the pond.
Don't waste any more money on chemicals or barley is my suggestion.
 
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There is filtration in a skimmer box. I'm not sure if the waterfall has any additional. It just looks like a barrel to me.

Doesn't the sludge at the bottom contribute to the algae growth? Which leads me back again to my original question. Can both products be used together?
 
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You need to find out what your filtration system is made up of.
The sludge needs to be removed from your pond, safely.
I would not recommend using those products at all.
Those products put a high demand on the available oxygen in the pond and do not remove the nutrients that feed algae.
Find out more about what you have for mechanical filtration.
 
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I'm going to agree with @MitchM - algae killing chemicals have only resulted in more algae in my experience. And "sludge removers" or dissolvers have yielded no results for us in the past either.

It sounds like you have a bio falls - if it looks like an empty barrel, then it's missing filter media.
 
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We purchased a house in 2014 that had a koi pond of unknown age. The previous owners knew little or nothing about pond care and neither do we! I did purchase a hose operated pond vac last year and some barley bales to help with algae.

The vac is not effective in removing all the sludge from the bottom because rocks continually get stuck in it. The pond does not have a rock bottom just apparently neglected so there are many little pebbles on the bottom.

This year I'd like to work on reducing the sludge and getting rid of the massive amount of string algae we suddenly have!

Long story short, I have purchased MicroLift Sludge Away and AlgaeFix. Are these products okay to use together or should I just focus on the sludge away and that will in turn help the algae situation?

As I've read through this, you never mentioned if you have any koi still in the pond. From the neglect you mentioned from the previous owners, I doubt it. If that's the case, just to do a quick cleanup, then yes, you can use both together. It's temporary as Mitch said. Then if you do add koi, you'd have to do some water changes and testing prior once all is cleaned up...
 
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Jenn812,
We would be happy to help you get your pond up and running properly.
Post some pictures of what you have and we can go from there.
 

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Yes you can use them together. The biolift stuff does work but isn't magic . Sorry I missed the mention of just string algae.. getting the water clean and the detritus off the bottom will do more then anything. Post pics of your equipment please.
 
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You need to find out what your filtration system is made up of.

What details exactly do you need?

I didn't mention that I also purchased an aeration system. My pond is between 1500 and 2000 gallons.
 
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As I've read through this, you never mentioned if you have any koi still in the pond.

There are about 10 fish in the pond! They are quite vigorous and healthy looking. Most are small right now as something (racoon?) got into the pond last year and stole most of our larger ones. We were down to 5 or 6 fish but they're multiplying!
 
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Yes you can use them together. The biolift stuff does work but isn't magic . Sorry I missed the mention of just string algae.. getting the water clean and the detritus off the bottom will do more then anything. Post pics of your equipment please.

I'll get some pics this weekend. Been doing a lot of work with plants along the pond too. Several very large maiden grasses severely overgrown. What a beast to dig up and divide. Just trying to do a little at a time.
 
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What details exactly do you need?

I didn't mention that I also purchased an aeration system. My pond is between 1500 and 2000 gallons.

Pictures of the pond, filter and inside the filter.
Name and model # of pump

The sludge on the bottom of the pond is stable for now, so it should be left undisturbed until your filtration system is functioning properly.
Any added aeration will actually help break down the sludge naturally by allowing existing bacteria to break it down.
The algae you have is keeping the water healthy for the fish but try to manually remove what you can.

Have you done any water tests? (ammonia, KH, PH, nitrate)
 
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I think the problem is there is no filter!

Like I said there is a skimmer box but the waterfall just looks like a big blue rain barrel with no actual filter inside. I'll have to pull all the rocks away and look more closely. If there is some sort of filter in there I'm certain the media needs replacing by now. If not, is there a waterfall filter I can purchase to fit inside what I have?

I'll get better pics but here are a few I had in my phone from last winter so you can see a little what I'm taking about. As you can see my cat enjoys it in summer!
 

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