Help i have no clue what i am doing pond has black algae in it and grey larvae

[Brooke]

I have a major problem I believe and the problem is that I have no idea what I'm doing I'm 100% a newbie when it comes to the care and maintenance of a pond or any water feature for that matter. This is my second summer with my pond and my pond has black looking algae all over every rock that the water touches. I also have very tiny almost microscopic looking worm or larvae they are gray in color and they are everywhere on the Rocks inside of the water in my pond and all in my pump I have no fish I do not chemically treat my water and I do have some water plants in the pond. Please if someone could give me some guidance as to what I need to be doing to take care of this Pond properly and how I can fix the problem I'm in now. I am not sure what other information you need please ask me for whatever you need from me and I will answer to the best of my ability. I think you'd advance for your time with this and I look forward to hearing someone solution to my problem. I will also try to get a photo of the worms or larvae if I can as well as the algae in my pond.


f y i I have an introduction in the introduction thread describing the details of my pond.

 

[GBBUDD]

We need what you have size and depth of the pond is there a waterfall a stream and is there a filter how big of a pump do you have.

 

[JRS]

Sounds like normal things that grow in a natural water feature. May not look pristine (sterile) but nothing you are doing wrong.

 

[GBBUDD]

PICTURES HELP

 

[Laaf]

Would you consider adding some goldfish or Gambusias, or minnows to eat larvae and produce fertilizers for your plants?

 

[JamieB]

You have nature, minus the fish. That the algae is black sounds off, could it just be a very dark green over a black liner? Is it a film or fuzzy algae? If it’s just a thin film, it just might be a bio film of your local aquatic bacteria, so odd, but a good thing as that’s what will help cycle the water. The grey bugs are natural too, and except for mosquito larva, probably not a big issue unless you swim in your pond, then it’s just ick factor.

 

[GBBUDD]

You have to becarefull with any breed you add to your pond they can take over in a short period of time without any preditors.

 

[Criscar]

I have a major problem I believe and the problem is that I have no idea what I'm doing I'm 100% a newbie when it comes to the care and maintenance of a pond or any water feature for that matter. This is my second summer with my pond and my pond has black looking algae all over every rock that the water touches. I also have very tiny almost microscopic looking worm or larvae they are gray in color and they are everywhere on the Rocks inside of the water in my pond and all in my pump I have no fish I do not chemically treat my water and I do have some water plants in the pond. Please if someone could give me some guidance as to what I need to be doing to take care of this Pond properly and how I can fix the problem I'm in now. I am not sure what other information you need please ask me for whatever you need from me and I will answer to the best of my ability. I think you'd advance for your time with this and I look forward to hearing someone solution to my problem. I will also try to get a photo of the worms or larvae if I can as well as the algae in my pond.


f y i I have an introduction in the introduction thread describing the details of my pond.

Hello!

If you don't have anything in your pond to eat larvae you are going to get larvae from all types of insects, including mosquitoes, if there are any areas where the water is relatively calm (likely around plants in the pond part). If you don't want to have any fish you can buy mosquito dunks at your hardware store and this will kill the mosquito larvae without harming plants or any birds or other wildlife that comes to take a drink at your water feature.

As for the rocks in the creek/waterfall, it's normal that stuff will grow on them, but without more info it's hard to say what exactly it is. How does it look - fuzzy/furry like stubble, long and stringy, like slime/sludge or like someone painted some smooth thin color on the rocks? Can you take a closeup photo?

 

[Brooke]

Pond is about 3x4 ft in size and about 3 ft deep at the deepest point (where the pump lies) there is a 10 ft long by 1.5 ft wide with 4ft of head. There is a reservoir at the top of the spill way that holds roughly 5 gallons of water. I have a pond boss pump that does 2000gph in the reservoir at the top of the spillway I have a filter pad.

 

[Brooke]

This is a rock with algae on it from my pond oh and I forgot to say that I bought a ph meter and my ph is 8.2

 

[Brooke]

We need what you have size and depth of the pond is there a waterfall a stream and is there a filter how big of a pump do you have.

I posted below the details of my pond with photos I sincerely thank you in advance for any guidance you may be able to provide. I truly am green

 

[Jhn]

This is a rock with algae on it from my pond oh and I forgot to say that I bought a ph meter and my ph is 8.2

Your ph is fine, also not really a concern with out fish in there….Also everything else looks good.

Algae in a pond is going to happen, until it matures especially without fish ( most pond fish nibble on algae to supplement what we feed them)and a lot of plants to starve out the algae. Algae is just part of establishing the base of the food web and biofilter in your pond. Now it can become a problem if it starts to choke out other plants (string algae).

You have plenty of circulation in your pond with a 2000gph pump so without fish in it keeping plant matter(be it die off from your pond plants or leaves off nearby trees.)from accumulating in the pond bottom is the only concern on keeping nutrients in check.

With insect larvae etc. in the pond you will find it waxes and wanes certain populations will explode with available food sources then die off to a more reasonable level as their food source disappears. All just part of having a pond And nature finding the pond. I wouldn’t worry about mosquitoes in your pond with the amount of circulation you have very unlikely they will be any in the pond as they reproduce in still waters.

Lastly to adding fish, would not add fish unless you want fish. Your pond is pretty small ( like outdoor aquarium size), so really common goldfish would get too big for it. Even minnows like gambusia, while they would do fine size wise, any fish (especially gambusia) would reproduce like crazy in a pond then you have to deal with population control and the fish throwing the pond out of balance. You could try a fat bodied goldfish or two, they dont quite Reproduce like crazy and don’t get quite as big as shubunkins or comets, if you do choose to add fish. If you are in the warmer part of Cali you could try some tropical fish in the pond, as well. Just do your research on what you are adding so you know how big the fish get, what they eat, etc.

 

[GBBUDD]

Ill add one other possibility like mollies or guppies there it is easy to tell male from female and just stick with the males. Not beingvsexist the males almost always have the best colors

 

[JamieB]

I’m on well water, my ph is in the 8s too. If you ever introduce fish, test their water, and if it’s more than 1.0 different, I’d do a drip acclimation. Otherwise, keeping a steady ph is more important than just what the ph is, unless you go for tropical fish that like a low ph. I’d avoid that. I’ve got guppy’s, they breed like crazy and are thriving in my mini inside pond.

 

[Lisak1]

I see nothing abnormal in the photos you posted. You have to remember - this is a pond, not a pool. If you left a swimming pool to it's own devices it would grow all kinds of things. But pool owners use constant chemical additions to keep their pools looking pristine. A pond is supposed to have creepy crawlies and algae and all kinds of interesting life forms in it.