I have a tiny pond built in to my front patio. It has a pump-driven filter box on the bottom. I wanted to have a biological algae control method and happened to read about daphnia but quickly realized a free-swimming daphnia population was a nonstarter with a filter box.
Why not introduce a daphnia rookery into the pond? I bought a Seachem zip bag, fine mesh, 12.5" x 5.5" size ($10) and filled it with plastic whiffle golf balls to keep the bag expanded (twelve of those cost $5) and a couple of pebbles to counteract buoyancy. Then I ordered a culture of daphnia, emptied them into this device after acclimation, zipped it up and tethered it to the side of the pond. This seems to be working as planned. My pond water is now very clear; the daphnia seem to thrive in the bag; and this is a source of live food for my goldfish. I just unzip the bag and ladle out some daphnia with a small plastic measuring cup, and zip the bag up.
I will update in a few days. The gizmo may not have staying power. Stay tuned.
Why not introduce a daphnia rookery into the pond? I bought a Seachem zip bag, fine mesh, 12.5" x 5.5" size ($10) and filled it with plastic whiffle golf balls to keep the bag expanded (twelve of those cost $5) and a couple of pebbles to counteract buoyancy. Then I ordered a culture of daphnia, emptied them into this device after acclimation, zipped it up and tethered it to the side of the pond. This seems to be working as planned. My pond water is now very clear; the daphnia seem to thrive in the bag; and this is a source of live food for my goldfish. I just unzip the bag and ladle out some daphnia with a small plastic measuring cup, and zip the bag up.
I will update in a few days. The gizmo may not have staying power. Stay tuned.
