Green Water in Portland,Oregon

[Alvin]

We have a backyard pond with a flowing stream and a waterfall.The stream is about 30 feet and holds probably 100 gals and the total capacity of the pond is 1000 gal. We have had problems with string algae in the past and we seem to have overcome that problem with treatments.We have tried soooooo many products that we are not sure which one got rid of that stuff but now we are plagued with algue in the water thus Green Water in Portland,Oregon.
I drain the pond and fill it and within two weeks it is inundated with green algae including the gravel in the stream.
No fish or aquatic plants.
Commercial products are sooooo expensive and none seem to help so far.
Wondering about clorine bleach or maybe something like a powdered oxygen bleach like oxiclean.
Please help me to be Clear Water in Portland,Oregon.

 

[sissy]

use peroxide it will not harm your liner just get it at the dollar store and I do know people who use pool chemicals also .They buy them end of season clearanced out and stock up .But if you ever decide to get fish or put any living thing in the pond it would harm it .I would try peroxide first ,you can get the bottles at the dollar store .

 

[sissy]

most pond algaecides use a cancer causing agent and have warnings right on the bottle .You can also buy solar salt and put a lot of that in there .The salt also kills algae cells .You can get the blue or yellow bag at lowes home depot or any hardware store for about 5 or 6 dollars .High doses of salt will kill all the living plant matter at higher doses .try both peroxide and salt and see which works better

 

[Alvin]

Thanks Sissy, Any idea of how much of either to use for 1000 gallons?

 

[sissy]

I would use at least 4 cups of salt to start and peroxide you could add a whole bottle as long as you don't have any plants and see what happens .I have seen some that say you should use a whole bag but not sure about that much salt doing harm to the ump since it does not desolve very fast ..I usually desolve mine in buckets of water before I* add it since I have koi

 

[Alvin]

Thanks Again ! I will post on how well this works

 

[sissy]

with the peroxide you can turn your pump off put the peroxide in a spray bottle spray all the rocks and leave your pump off at least an hour and turn it back on and you will see the algae turn white and then you will have to clean your filter after a while as it collects all the gunk .The more salt you add the cleaner the rocks will stay .I just ask my cousin and she told me her pond is about 1500 gallons and no fish or plants and she adds a whole bag of salt and it is usually good for the whole season unless they get a lot of rain and she lives in NJ

 

[addy1]

I used to use one liter per 1000 gallons of water, just pour it in, usually got rid of the string algae for a season. My Arizona pond.
Good idea about the salt sissy

 

[sissy]

I know I had algae growing in my water trough for my deer and knowing deer like salt licks anyway figured what the heck give it a try .Now everytime I put water in I add salt and have had no algae in it again and the deer just love the water more than ever .So salt in his should do no harm since he just wants it as a water feature .Better than putting out all that money for algaecides and when it comes down to your health don't take chances on that stuff .Have you ever read the warnings on the tetra ones and others no wonder California and other states ban them

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forums! Hope you manage to fix your algae problem

 

[taherrmann4]

Don't keep draining and refilling your pond, you have to let it cycle and all you are doing when you drain the pond and refill is start the whole process over.

 

[sissy]

I was in town today at a hotel to have lunch with a friend and they have a waterfall and pond in the lobby (no fish) I ask the guy what they use to keep it clean as it is in an atrium in full sun and he said they just use those big bags of salt .He said they put one bag in 2 times a year as the drain the pond at christmas and cover it for the holidays to put the christmas tree there

 

[Alvin]

Update. Drained the pond and hosed down the stream and rocks in the pond.Alot of the algae came off of the rocks easily but alot remained. Sprayed the rocks with peroxide and waited an hour without seeing much of a result.As the rocks were still wet when I sprayed them down,I decided to let them dry and then sprayed them down again and waited another hour. This time I detected a slight change in the color of the algae (still not turning white) and I decided to fill the pond. Clear clean water surged into the pond as in the past few times I have drained it. I added a quart of peroxide and turned on the pump. A slightly cloudy stream of water surged into the pond and as the sun went down I retired to the couch wondering what to expect in the morning. As the sun peeked through the window the following morning I leaped from my bed (well really,I rolled out of the bed I am 60) like a young child on Christmas morning wondering if I would find candy or a lump of coal in my stocking. To my suprise (I have been a little more naughty than nice this year) I find a fairly clear clean pond.( Not that I ever doughted the advice you all have given me). As I write this it has been 40 hours since the filling and I can still see the gravel in the bottom of the deepest part of the pond ( 3 feet ) and the algae on the rocks just keeps turning more white. These results are sooooo much better than most of my other experiences in the past not to mention soooo much cheaper ( I spent $6.00 on peroxide and $5.00 on salt ). Thank you all soooo much for the help. I realize it has been less than two days and nothing is cast in stone yet but I have high hopes. I am wondering if at this point I should consider adding some salt or just let things ride with just the peroxide for a week or so.

 

[addy1]

You could just wait and see, the peroxide works great. Without fish you could just dump in the salt also. It would be like a salt water pool, they stay pretty algae free.

 

[sissy]

true what addy says about salt water have you ever seen a salt water swimming pool the water is clear and clean and you should see how much salt they use .Gosh know the rolling out of bed thing done it enough mornings .I sometimes fell like I'm 80 LOL I would buy a bag of the solar salt at lowes or home depot and have it on hand for about 6 or 7 dollars it is worth it to have it on hand .Plus found out something new some salt water ponds do not freeze if they have the right amount of salt in them .The waterfall may if it gets cold enough some of the spray over will freeze .I use peroxide and wondered too when I first put it on the rocks why nothing seemed to happen ,but once the water hit it ,it started to turn white and just went to algae heaven .I spray my rocks with a pump hand sprayer and leave my pump off for at least an hour .I have 2 waterfalls so keep one running while the other is shut down and keep the oxygen pump going .I saw one fishless pond at a hotel yesterday that they add a little food dye to the water and it was like an ocean blue .Real pastel blue and the guy told me that color comes from a combination of the salt and dye .