Green stuff ruining my pond

[Supernube]

Hello all. I am literally about to remove my pond and give up entirely. WHICH I REALLY DONT WANT TO DO :-(
I have had the pond for about four or five years now and over the last 6 months I have had to clean the pump..and sometimes the entire pond...more frequently than ever before. I am now cleaning the pump every day.
The green stuff that seems to appear from nowhere just covers the pump and water flow stops completely.
I cleaned the pump yesterday just before my wife got home from a late shift at 9'oclock and it is now completely blocked again.
Please help....I have changed the filter media recently...thinking that might help...I have replaced the filter sponge things too....the pond was completely cleaned about three weeks ago...its now just as bad as it was when I decided it needed that clean.
I cant tell you the exact size of the pond...I think it is about 750 - 1000 litres ? I think the pump is a Blagdon Mini pump 2000 ?...Unsure and I do not have the packaging anymore obviously.
Anyway...If you need any further information then please ask...This is my first pond and up until now it has been a pleasure in the garden and a really nice feature...the pump always needed the odd clean but porbably only about once or twice a month... if that.
I dont want to remove the pond but I also do not want it as it is.
Any help or advice will be very much appreciated.
Thank you
Daniel

 

[sissy]

just algae and a simple brush will remove it .I use a toilet bowl brush ,once filters start to work it goes away .I put my pump in a 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in it and put the pump inside and put lava rock under it and all around and on top it helps keep the pump from clogging up .I just have to pull the bucket out by it's handle once in awhile .Extra aeration helps also .

 

[sissy]

DON'T GIVE UP FIGHT BACK :cheerful:

 

[HTH]

What has changed over the years?

I could be your fish are grown and have made more fish and you are feeding a lot more. How much you feed determines how much nutrients end up in the water.

Have you tested for ammonia nitrite and nitrate ?

 

[sissy]

Very true i only feed mine 3 or 4 times a week .Fish have plenty of stuff on the liner to eat

 

[Supernube]

Hello. Thank you for your replies.
Well...I have 5 fish and Ive been feeding them twice a day (ouch...dont shout at me) It said twice a day on the tub of pond sticks ? obviously not right then :-(
I have read about the pump in a bucket or inside a flower basket etc...but surely THAT will then block up with green algae ? I dont see how that helps sorry ...please explain I just dont get it. I was going to build a meshing sort of thing but as I said I just dont see how that wont then become blocked...either way the water wont flow in to the pump ?
I have not done any water tests no...what do I do take in a sample to somewhere ?
I must appologise for being a bit thick but as I said up until now the pond has been fine and never needed any interventon from me...so all this is very new.
Did you mean that the food can cause the green algae ?
Thanks very much for all your help.
Daniel

 

[Mmathis]

I often wonder "WHAT HAS CHANGED" when I read posts where an established pond suddenly has a problem. Because one day that pond is gonna be MINE, and I want to know what caused it and how to fix it, too, just like you!

One thing, if you recently cleaned it, you're probably getting a repeat of the algae bloom that forced you to clean it in the first place. Vicious cycle, there. Like Sissy said -- don't give up, fight it! The old trick of putting quilt batting in the flow of your water return will help. Just have to change it out fairly often. How big are your pump & filter? Have you added fish (or have your fish grown significantly)? Overfeeding?

 

[HTH]

The fish eat the food and for the most part convert it to plant food. So yes fish food = algae food.

When I use submerged pumps I put large input screens or cages on them. The bigger the cage the slower the water flow through it and the less likely it is that something will be pulled into it and clog it.

I just made a video of a cheap and simple filter I am building for a 500g kitty pool. Look at the size of the input screen. Generally the screens can be cleaned with a stiff brush like used in a parts washer. I apologizes for posting the same vid twice in an hour.

A filter like this might help with you algae problem.

Yes take your water to a fish store and ask to have it tested for ammonia nitrite and nitrates. Use a clean sealed container that you have rinsed with pond water prior to filling. It generally takes 5 ml per test

 

[JohnHuff]

Green stuff = algae
algae growth = plenty of nutrients
nutrients = you've been feeding too much!

Algae is a symptom, a symptom that there is too much nutrient in the pond. You can keep removing all the algae you want, but as long as there is an excess of nutrients, the algae will return. So the best solution is to cut down on the feeding. The fish won't die, they'll even start eating algae if there isn't enough added food.

 

[Supernube]

Thank you very much for your replies.
I would like to ask you ...how come when I cleaned the pond out completely ...as In emptied the pond of all water etc...and cleaned the actual pond itself with a brush...it was spotless before I refilled the pond. Then within a week ..maybe two ...it was greening up again and then shortly after the pump started to again block up and slow to a stop ?
Is this still down to feeding too much...would the nutrient levels change THAT quickly in the space of a couple of weeks at most ?
Thank you
Daniel

 

[JohnHuff]

How much food were you feeding during that 1-2 weeks and does your tap water have nitrates? Also if your pond surface is in bright sunlight, that will affect algae growth too. In the end, you've got to think, what is that green stuff? It's plant life. So what makes plant life grow? And there's your answer.

 

[dieselplower]

The answer is that you scrubbed all the nutrient absorbing bacteria off of your liner so there was nothing to absorb it and the algae thrived.