Sludge removal chemicals?

[JenH]

Waterbug, koiguy, haro all know way more about pond stuff then I do, for sure. But I like Microbe-Lift, they are all bacteria products Their one product Microbe-lift PL I have used and it is an all around balancing type product but has a component to break down sludge and debris. I know I added some of that after we had all those winds and a lot of stuff was blown into the pond. The rocks all looked clean again the next day after I added it. They have a product specifically for sludge, Sludge-Away, seems like that stuff would work really awesome if the stuff not even designed for that works well. Says it is great for rock bottom ponds to make it easier to keep the bottom clean.

I wouldn't think you should have much sludge build up though since your pond was just cleaned.

 

[Rivermist]

I do JenH that's why I was kind of questioning the use of something like that...


I will wait a little longer, see how the pod i doing and then i might try to find your product.

 

[JenH]

I had to get it online. Not a single place where I live sells it. But I got a gallon from amazon for 39.99 I think it was and that gallon is supposed to last all season at least for my 1000 gallon pond maybe longer....I got the Microbe-Lift PBL (its the PL plus some extra for fish and plant health) Not sure what the sludge away costs, but I bet its similar.

 

[Waterbug]

It's a hobby. If you want to buy stuff to pour in your pond then you should. We buy all kinds of stuff for ponds that aren't needed. The whole pond isn't needed.

These products are marketed to make the pond keeper feel better. And for that I think they're almost 100% effective.

The key to their longevity is always subjective results. They can't make a claim the user could actually notice. When I look at the Microbe-Lift marketing I see words like "cleaner" and "reduces". Completely impossible to tell if a pond is "cleaner" or if anything was "reduced" because no one knows what the level would have been without the product. So if a person wants to see a cleaner pond they will indeed see a cleaner pond. I also like that that have like a dozen products, spring, fall, this, that. Once you find someone willing to believe, keep selling to them. Great business.

I don't think these products hurt the pond that much. Most ponds can handle the additional waste. So if it makes you happy and you have the cash to blow, I see no harm.

If you want a product that actually does affect organic matter you might consider an oxidizer like Baquacil Oxidizer. These products are hydrogen peroxide, but much stronger than the stuff you buy in the drug store. A a treatment of this stuff is like pouring in maybe 20-30 pints of the drug store stuff. Here you can see an oxidizer working (not Baquacil, but same chemical).

However, you can kill fish with this stuff if for a example the pond is already clean. If there are organics for it to consume, no problem. And you have to have a filter able to remove the dead algae or you have a bigger mess. And this is a very short term solution. Kind of expensive long term.

Depends on the kind of pond you want to keep. I prefer simple.

 

[JenH]

I think you are right that some stuff is all gimmic Waterbug, and maybe what I have is too. Seems to work to me. Last year I went through a whole jar of "beneficial" powdered bacteria from aquascape that I was told would make sure the biological process was working and keep my pond clean. It never did a thing. And I totally believe it was a waste of money, expensive little jar too! ML does have a lot of products of every kind, and to some extent I'm sure they aren't really needed and may not even be much different then the one I'm using that does a little of everything. But yes, Waterbug you're right, I see noticeable difference with it and it makes me feel better, especially after having a pond last summer that I never could see the fish in. It's not much work to dump a cupfull in once a month, so it is simple for me....

 

[callingcolleen1]

I have only ever used the beneficial bacteria in my ponds years ago, and I have never needed a UV light. 20 years ago when I built my first pond, the first year I had lots of pea green water. Back then no one that I knew had a UV light or even heard of a UV light. I was able to get rid of the pea green water within a month or so, if I recall, and I used a combination of beneficial bacterial and this stuff that called "green water clarifier" that would bind pea green water together so it could be picked up by your filter. This stuff worked good for me, never changed the water, and it balanced my pond quite nicely. I dislike UV lights, I think they cost way more than beneficial bacteria, and the lights constantly burn out. When I used to work at this greenhouse where I made pond plants, we sold UV lights then in early 2000, ponds where just starting to be a big thing back then. There was this pond at this greenhouse that I took care of. They started with a UV light before I took over running the pond. The pond was in all day very hot sun, and there was lots of cement pathways that added to the heat effect. Within a month I got that pond off the UV light, threw it away, and "greened up the pond with powerful pond cleaning sedges and other pond plants. When you use a UV light it kills the water, and "dead water" is NOT conductive to pond life. Also UV lights kill alot of beneficial things like bacteria. I have helped many people here where I live and then they wondered why they got sucked into getting a expenisve UV light, after I help them do it better, the natural way, without a UV light. The money you spend on a UV light would be better spent on hardy pond sedges and other plants, that in the end, will out preform a UV light every time!

 

[sissy]

I never had a uv as I wondered how that thing could figure out the difference between good and bad ,man I have yet to figure that out in real life .bad good good bad huh

 

[addy1]

I use nothing except plants in my pond, it does great, no uv, no added bacteria, no chemicals. Clear good pond water, happy fish

 

[callingcolleen1]

UV Sterilizers do not help balance your pond in the long run. They are effective in clearing pea green water, but they do not combat the problem that causes algae, so you will get rid of pea green water, but then you may end up with "string algae from hell!" This is because the excess nutrients that feed algae are still there. The best way to combat the problem is to have bacteria and plants together, they work hand in hand. The bacteria breaks down the waste so the plants can consume it. Now back to the UV Sterilizer, it makes the water sterile. Have you ever fed sterilized water from a bottle to a house plant, not good, plant will die a slow death! That's the cold hard truth, saw that on TV once. Read about it too.

 

[callingcolleen1]

When your pond is perfectly balanced in accordance with nature, you won't need to "fix it" good job addy!

 

[addy1]

When your pond is perfectly balanced in accordance with nature, you won't need to "fix it" good job addy!

thank you, my build this time was based on easy, nature, easy, make it work, easy, balance, easy, I really do not mess with the pond at all, clean the leaf baskets off and on, feed the fish ow, ignore it, except to enjoy the beauty of it all.

oh and about two times in a season ie summer net the bottom

 

[Waterbug]

Yes, some ponds are just plain perfect. You guys are so lucky. I'm sure it's inspirational for people with less than absolutely perfect ponds to know there are people out there with perfectly clear, no effort, ponds. Unfortunately, for everyone else, it does take a little effort. If only they had your ponds life would be good.

 

[sissy]

ponds are not easy and it does take a lot of work at first but no one ever said the road there was easy .I think it compares to my raising 2 sons ,geeze nightmare they get to be men and think they know it all and as little boys mom knew it all .What the heck .Oh well the road is long and hard and sometimes you trip and fall but you get up brush your self off and say I can do this .AND I'M SANE TOO . :razz: :razz: :razz: :razz: :razz: :razz: MAYBE

 

[addy1]

lmao sissy! we are all sane sort of

 

[sissy]

well I for one take the 5th on that being a little crazy it is fun . :razz: I don't want to be normal