Whistling Badger
Specializing in Making Simple Things Complicated
Hello, Pond People. My pond has a problem. Perhaps you can help. Since this is my first on-topic post here, I will be fairly detailed, because (as I know from my aquarium experience) details matter. That makes for sort of a long post. Please bear with me.
The short version: I need some recommendations for cold-hardy floating plants to combat a Green Slime Plague of near-Biblical proportions.
The Pond: My pond is about 35' across, 7-8' deep when full, fed by an intermittent irrigation ditch. Lined with EPDM covered with river stones. It is not directly connected to the local waterways, so I'm not too worried about invasives. Formerly stocked with a half-dozen large goldfish and assorted native critters, all of which died over the winter due to decomposing algae under the ice.
The water level fluctuates hugely, due to the intermittency of the ditch, combined with a leak in the pond liner about halfway down. So parts of the pond vary from high-and-dry, sometimes for several weeks, to being under 3' of water. Finding a plant that can handle both extremes is a bit of a challenge, needless to say. Also, our climate is between zones 3 and 4, which narrows the choices right down.
The Problem: Last summer, for the first time in 10+ years of living here, I had a HUGE algae bloom. Disgusting green slime took over our entire pond, ruining its beauty, ruining it for boating and wading, even killing off all the fish over the winter. It has already started up again this spring, just a couple weeks after ice-out. I suspect someone upstream from me has either put in a feedlot or started fertilizing their hayfield, because obviously the nutrient levels are way up.
The Solution: So, since I have absolutely no control over my water supply, I think I need some plants that will function as a gigantic nutrient sponge, that I can just rake out if they get too thick. Something fast-growing, tough, hard to kill. And it has to float, because the huge water level fluctuation rules out water lilies, cattails, and some of the other usual suspects.
I am leaning toward hornwort, because I already have a bunch in my aquarium, and because I've heard it does OK in cool water. And it grows like a fiend! I'm also considering anacharis.
My Questions: Any other recommendations? Has anyone kept these plants in cold water, and if so, how do they do? Do they survive under the ice, or do they die off in the winter? Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks--
Tom
The short version: I need some recommendations for cold-hardy floating plants to combat a Green Slime Plague of near-Biblical proportions.
The Pond: My pond is about 35' across, 7-8' deep when full, fed by an intermittent irrigation ditch. Lined with EPDM covered with river stones. It is not directly connected to the local waterways, so I'm not too worried about invasives. Formerly stocked with a half-dozen large goldfish and assorted native critters, all of which died over the winter due to decomposing algae under the ice.
The water level fluctuates hugely, due to the intermittency of the ditch, combined with a leak in the pond liner about halfway down. So parts of the pond vary from high-and-dry, sometimes for several weeks, to being under 3' of water. Finding a plant that can handle both extremes is a bit of a challenge, needless to say. Also, our climate is between zones 3 and 4, which narrows the choices right down.
The Problem: Last summer, for the first time in 10+ years of living here, I had a HUGE algae bloom. Disgusting green slime took over our entire pond, ruining its beauty, ruining it for boating and wading, even killing off all the fish over the winter. It has already started up again this spring, just a couple weeks after ice-out. I suspect someone upstream from me has either put in a feedlot or started fertilizing their hayfield, because obviously the nutrient levels are way up.
The Solution: So, since I have absolutely no control over my water supply, I think I need some plants that will function as a gigantic nutrient sponge, that I can just rake out if they get too thick. Something fast-growing, tough, hard to kill. And it has to float, because the huge water level fluctuation rules out water lilies, cattails, and some of the other usual suspects.
I am leaning toward hornwort, because I already have a bunch in my aquarium, and because I've heard it does OK in cool water. And it grows like a fiend! I'm also considering anacharis.
My Questions: Any other recommendations? Has anyone kept these plants in cold water, and if so, how do they do? Do they survive under the ice, or do they die off in the winter? Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks--
Tom