Pond algae

[italy107]

trying to figure out whats best for my pond. i attached a picture of my pond.

i have white river rock on the bottom of my pond giving it a clean look. however at this time my water has a tinge of green to it. the rocks are turning color as well. i have a savio 3000g pump with a UV light.

any suggestions.!.!.

 

[oldmarine]

WOW, awsome pond!

Now that's the pond that I really wanted.

So far everything that I read or heard ponders talk about is to not use rocks, gravel, or pebbles on the bottom of a pond.

I have found that the green is going to grow on everything that is under water no matter what you do in a outdoor pond.

Your obviously put a lot of work into your pond, you must be proud. Thanks for posting the picture.

 

[italy107]

thanx, yes i did put alot of time into it. its not that deep though. town code only allows 2 feet max so i kept at 28" with alot of rocks. i finished it in august. the fish survived the winter which to some people was surprising due to the lack of depth. next winter i think ill add a heater to it.

but back to the rocks, if people do not put rocks or pebbles what do they put? I cant stand seeing the liner. it gives the pond a dark and ominous feel. i guess i cant stop the algae from growing here or there. i guess i just want the water to be clear as much as possible

 

[bunnymp]

A fine coating of algae on the rocks is normal. It is the stringy stuff you want to avoid.

You can use Green Clear to clear it if you want to.

 

[koiguy1969]

loose the rocks on the bottom if you want to keep more than a couple fish...their fecal matter will accumolate and fester,along with decaying plant matter. this will turn toxic,and encourage anaerobic bacteria to grow and its not healthy for your fish, it can cause serious bacterial infections.parasites also grow in these conditions, and would love to find a fish to become their host(food source).or make sure you clean it well evey year.

 

[italy107]

no stringy algae, as of yet....but certainly a tea color in the water

 

[italy107]

loose the rocks on the bottom if you want to keep more than a couple fish...their fecal matter will accumolate and fester,along with decaying plant matter. this will turn toxic,and encourage anaerobic bacteria to grow and its not healthy for your fish, it can cause serious bacterial infections.parasites also grow in these conditions, and would love to find a fish to become their host(food source).or make sure you clean it well evey year.

im going to post some pics soon, what do you have at the bottom of your pond if anything?
i just dont like the black lining

 

[koiguy1969]

the black lining will disappear in due time as bacteria and algae grow and cover it.

 

[oldmarine]

Tha KoiGuy is right. My 365 Gallon pond has a fine layer of algee that is kept in check by my large trap door snails. Also, I no longer see the black plastic liner.

 

[pondlady]

Lose the rocks in the bottom ! they will not stay whit for long and heed what koiguy says, Things will get bad quick as the water warms. Alond with much work keeping them clean. The dark liner really show's off the beautiful colors of the pond fish. Good luck!!!

 

[c2c7390]

shade the water with some floating plants like lilies or water lettuce

 

[oldmarine]

Last summer I started with the one water lilly and the water lettuce in my 60 gallon tub, and it got to the point that I was taking a couple of handfuls of the water lettuce out and throwing it away every other day or so. At that point I didn't have any problems with algee.

 

[lovinglife]

I had rocks in my first pond, it was 1500 - 2000 gallons, had a good upflow filter stocked with plants and koi and goldfish. I had wonderful clear water for several years, I never used chemicals or UV's. Then decided to rework the pond, removed all the rocks, dug it bigger and can't get clear water. I have struggled for two years now with no luck. I will be making a second pond this year to use as a bog filter and hope that will help. I am not saying it was the rocks that gave me good water, but I did like the way it looked, even with algae on them and I never had a problem. If you really want rocks and are worried about toxic sludge...you can add an under gravel type system that will keep your water quality wonderful. I'm sure I can find a site to explain it if interested. I know this goes against everything I have heard here, so please go easy on me.

 

[italy107]

yea i would be interested to see how that works, i like how the rocks give the clean look.

 

[lovinglife]

Here is a wonderful site on ponds, he explains the whole undergravel design.

http://www.swedesdock.com/pond.sht