Pea soup cycle has begun. I need cold hardy plants.

[Lardeelion]

I've tossed in some big bunches of watercress I found at the store, and I'm going to pick up some anacharis today. And I loaded up with quilt batting. For the moment I'm sticking to cheapy plants in case the weather decides not to cooperate. I know I could put a tent over the pond to minimize sunlight (it is called "sunlight", correct? I think I saw it once or twice a long time ago), but in a way I'm enjoying watching the cycle happen and seeing it step by step. Pond nerd.

Oh, and a certain 3-year-old admitted he may have "fed da fishies" when I wasn't looking. I don't even want to know how much he put in there.

 

[VanDiesil]

Mine started to turn green when I rebuilt the pond but after i got the new aerator it cleared up .I have no uv and won't get one .I feel the more aeration the less problems and so far it is proving correct .I am beginning to think all the stuff i read on ponds with more aeration had a lot less water quality problems is true .

I agree with you on the aeration thoughts. Before I transferred the pumps & filters over to the new pond, I had pea green water within a week of filling the pond up (and not been warm or overly sunny either). Within a couple of days of running the filters (only FloCor in them), the water cleared right up (too clear if I am to be honest as the fish didn't like it and were very skittish). Now we have had some sun on it and been warm (other than a couple of heavy showers), the water is starting to colour up again, but the clarity is still very clear. The plants in the pond have started to flourish over the past few day as well.

 

[Lardeelion]

I appreciate this suggestion. Right now the pond is bare-bones, and my waterfall filter is just sitting on a plastic end table. It's delightfully tacky. But, the water is falling almost 12 inches so I'm hoping that will help. I've added aeration on the far side; perhaps I'll add a second aerator.

 

[Paulf615]

Last year i had the same problem. UV filters are the cure. Pricey but works perfectly you will never have to worry about pea soup water again. Defiantly worth the buy!!!

 

[adavisus]

Now the last frost has passed, am putting out the most impressive nitrate sucking plant of all

Besides Azolla.

Not that there is any green water, at all, lol

Regards, andy
http://www.pinterest.com/adavisus/pondering/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[sissy]

For a small pond petco sells a really nice four port one with everything included for under 30 dollars .It was my first one at least9 years ago and just gave it to a friend for his small pond

 

[Lardeelion]

For a small pond petco sells a really nice four port one with everything included for under 30 dollars .It was my first one at least9 years ago and just gave it to a friend for his small pond

I don't suppose you have a link, do you Sissy? I just came from Petco, where I bought a bunch of anacharis. Left it in the car with my mom's sheltie, who thought it was a bag of, I dunno, something tasty...and she ripped it open and chewed it up. I came back to the car to find water and salad all over the vehicle.

 

[sissy]

I can't really link things to this puter because of security on it .Some one hack my stuff

 

[Lardeelion]

That's okay. In the past two days I've put in quilt batting, two big bunches of watercress, a creeping jenny and 3 bunches of anacharis. It's also been cold, so those factors have all come together to make the water at least 25% clearer. Long way to go, still, but I can see it happening. Also, I've always been a fan of that tea-colored water look (in aquariums we call it a black water tank), so I'm going to see where this ends up and adjust as necessary. Also, pickerel rush is on its way from eBay.

 

[Lardeelion]

Oh. Wait. It's not pea soup. It's coffee. That's a big difference. I must not have potted the pickerel in the right kind of substrate. What do y'all recommend for pickerel rush? I I have clay soil but I also have a leftover bag of fluorite for my aquarium plants...anybody have any thoughts on that? It's a clay gravel.

Probably should have started a new thread for this.

 

[addy1]

My pickerel is just in pea gravel, it is doing just fine. I use only pea gravel or kitty litter for my pond plants