HI, I live in N.E. Scotland, lovely day here. My sons put me in a preformed pond some years ago. I have several common cold water fish who all seem healthy and have survived a couple of winters. My problem is algae. If I put trapdoor snails in will the fish eat them?
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sissy
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welcome and my koi ate mine .Thing is they do not do as great a job as they say .You can add a crate with quilt batting to help catch the algae cells before the water goes back into the pond .You would have to figure where and how to set a crate up and have the pump hose going into it to catch the stuff .
Welcome Pip from a very sunny Plymouth Devon which algae are you having a problem with at the moment ?
Could you tell me when you last cleaned the bottom of your pond and what filtration do you have?
When was the last time you cleaned the filter and the last time you did a partial water change on the pond?
Next could you please give me you water perameters i;e Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate Ph Kh Gh it may be one of many causes high nutrients in the water , your UV-C bulb needs replacing .
But we'll gt to the bottom of this one way or another being a novice please dont be afraid to ask questions even if you think we may think them silly weve all been there .
Dave
Could you tell me when you last cleaned the bottom of your pond and what filtration do you have?
When was the last time you cleaned the filter and the last time you did a partial water change on the pond?
Next could you please give me you water perameters i;e Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate Ph Kh Gh it may be one of many causes high nutrients in the water , your UV-C bulb needs replacing .
But we'll gt to the bottom of this one way or another being a novice please dont be afraid to ask questions even if you think we may think them silly weve all been there .
Dave
j.w
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PIPLovely part of the world you live in. Afraid I have no idea of the water perameters. We use our own spring water. Changed most of the water at the beginning of April I think and the bulb and green mats have just been renewed. We have a pump which runs at given times and air bubbling tubes. Does this help?
sissy
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pumps should run 24 /7 to keep[ algae from taking over .But that being said ,I have an add on to that .i have a lotus pond no fish just an air line in it and water is clear .It is about 12 to 15 inches deep since i wanted to put other plants that needed deeper water also.You can see the sea shells on the bottom
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Many thanks for your help, will try leaving the pump on full time.
Weve 27 years of koi keeping under the belt Pip pumps should be run 24/7 365 days in the year and I take it you mean airstones yes ?
The UV-C should start to kill off your algae but your filter by the sounds of it need to mature .
Whilst this is happening your waiting for Ammonia and Nitrites to spike which can be a bad old time for your koi so plenty of small water changes , the Peramters I asked you are important to the lives of your koi get things slightly out of kilter and your fish may fall ill or worse still may die , this is why we do the readings so that we can manipulatte their living enviroment should it be going wrong anywhere .
Next time your in town go into your local aquatic outlet and ask if the have either API pond test kits or Tetra Pond test kits in drop form not strip.
We are all here to help you Pip so if in doubt ask questions
Dave