NEW MEMBER SEEKING ADVISE :)

[probusa1]

I'm so glad i found this site lol
hi all I'm paul, i installed an outside pond last summer its a bermuda (mere) 855ltr.
there where 10 goldfish but the cat had 1 so there's now 9,but again you have probably heard this time and time again but there's algae in it, i do have a pump with filter and uv on it,and i have removed most of the algae that i can see,we do have toads because i can hear them at night.
when i removed the algae i checked to make sure toads wasn't in it, so I'm happy with that,but i would like to know about these algae plants? i have 1 lilly that looks like this yr could be its yr but its right at the bottom of the pond with a green leaf at the moment. we added 3 other plants to the sides of which I'm not sure of there names. there was oxigen plants as well but there gone little floating things they where but i think the fishies liked the taste of them.
we did have a few passes of the black and yellow dragon flies but nothing happened with them.
so algae prevention should i go for suckers or plants??

 

[JohnHuff]

good circulation good filter some plants and no overfeeding should do the trick welcome

 

[sissy]

welcome and lots of aeration ,plus do you know how old the uv bulb is as they become less effective over time .Remember plants give off oxygen during the day but use it up at night .An aerator may help with that .

 

[j.w]

Paul
Lots of plants will help. Sedge and Rush type plants will suck up lots of nutrients in the water so the algae can't use them. Just stick them in a pot higher up in the water on a shelf or plastic milk crate.

 

[sissy]

true i used fountain grass and a couple of other kinds of grass ,like lemon grass .Lemon grass also smells great .Even made plant bags out of window screen to hang them from the side of my pond .But one thing trim the roots often or they can take over

 

[dieselplower]

My opinion is you have too many fish in there for your filter to be able to handle the load. Can you describe your pump and filter?

 

[probusa1]

the pump is a hozelock easyclear 3000 lv with uv filter, i will buy anouther uv filter for it as its roughly 6 months old i would say.

 

[probusa1]

ill take a pic and try post up my pond for you guys/gals maybe if you see it your be able to give some help on the plant setup i have.
the pond has 2 raised shelfs but the shelfs are not even by any means so i stuck a couple of stones under the pots to stop the wind taking them in.

 

[probusa1]

since i removed much of the algae yesterday and cleaned the filter on the pump i can see right to the bottom again, which i feel is a good sign. and i have noticed the frog sitting pretty next to the plant.should i or shouldnt i have shingle type stone in the bottom of the pond?

 

[probusa1]

thats the pond before i dug the whole,thats anouther with it coming on,the last one is how it is now.

 

[sissy]

wow I only thought they came in black .Uv's just need bulbs replace some of the times

 

[CometKeith]

Welcome! What looks good to you is not always healthy for your fish and vice versa. I wouldn't worry about algae so much because when your pond naturally cycles things should clear up. There is a lot of info on the gpf about cycling and it should be mandatory reading for anyone new to this hobby. Have fun and enjoy your pond and don't worry too much about how it looks right away. The main thing is it's a healthy environment for your fish.

 

[addy1]

to our group! Agree with the comments above, let your pond cycle, add plants have water movement, keep your fish population down.

 

[Catfishnut]

Probusa,

I work in an industrial environment (a manufacturing company) and we use UV lamps for purposes other than what UV's are used for in the pond environment. I cannot go into the specifics of our usage because it is part of proprietary trade secrets. However, I can tell you that the manufacturer's of the UV equipment recommend that the UV lamps be replaced every 10,000 hours of use (or roughly just over one year if they are on 100% of the time).

Gordy

 

[sissy]

I wonder if there is a reason that preformed is green does it maybe aid in the biological workings of the pond .I saw on a swimming pool liners sight the reason they like blue liners is not just because it makes the pool look pretty but it aids in them adding stuff to the liner mix to aid in water conditions and the blue is a more desirable color .I wonder if the green there helps also .