Submerged Oxygenating Plants

[jason081180]

I'm wondering what plants to put in the bottom of my pond. Can someone tell me about each plant and if it is a good choice or if it becomes to invasive.


Cabomba
Hornwort
Parrot's Feather
or any others

thanks All,
Josh

 

[koikeepr]

Parrot's Feather is highly invasive and is illegal in some states because of the damage it has caused to local lakes/streams with folks just throwing it in there once it got crazy in their own ponds.

Hornwort is similar in nature, and invasive, but not as bad as parrot feather.

Cabomba is the same, also invasive.

If you're going to plant them and need to tame them back (which you totally will!). Throw them in the trash and not in any body of water.

Hardy Lily is a great choice since it's easy to keep in check. Iris does well. Rush is another good one, but can also be invasive (tho not as crazy as the three you mention above). However, there are some rush that if even a teensy piece falls on the dirt, it can send runners all over. I removed it from my pond two years ago as it formed a massive rootball.

 

[Squidhead]

I agree with Koikeeper. all 3 are listed with most states and the US Gov. as invasive. If they establish they will grow and put tons of O2 into your water. You will have to trim the back weekly or more. With all that said if you have Koi or any carp / goldfish that can acess them, they probably wont last more then a few seconds. I used to sell these to ponders and aquarists. I warned them that certain fish will snack on them. I had a steady customer that would feed them as a snack to her goldfish.

The veterans will correct me if I am wrong here. - I am new to ponds so if this where an aquarium I would suggest get a bio-wheel type filter, in ponds a splashing waterfall or a fountain has the same effect. Some pumps have a venturi that can be added to them. It sucks air into the water flow, this may be an option. This is more for aquariums, but have been used in ponds you can use an airpump. The airpump would need to be located in a garage, shed or even the house where electric is available and the airline would have to be able to get to the pond. You just simply put some sort of bubbler like an airstone and pump away. I don't know of any airpumps for outside use. Even the ones sold by pond supply stores warn you that the pump must be located in an area that protects it from the weather and outside.

 

[koiguy1969]

oxygenators...you are right they will oxygenate your water until sundown... while its dark they use oxygen, they dont make it.

 

[jason081180]

hmmm Well I was wanting something fast growing to help keep the algae in check. something that would suck up as much nutrients as available.

Now I am planning to use Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce in the top of my 150 GL stock tank filter.

I'm also planning to have:
Dwarf Horsetail Rush
Lizard's Tail
Arrow Arum (Peltandra virginica)
Colorado Water Lily
Taro, Variegated

all these are from Webb's. I have heard they are a good place to buy from. But I'll check locally first when I'm ready to buy them. what do you all think of the other plants?

 

[Squidhead]

oxygenators...you are right they will oxygenate your water until sundown... while its dark they use oxygen, they dont make it.

With all of what I'm about to say about this, it really doesn't matter. The fish will devour cobomba, parrots feather and hornwart before they get a chance to grow, but....

It's true, plants utilize O2 at night, but by that time the water column is saturated with O2. Plants pull the CO2 from the water column and saturate it with O2. At night when no photosynthesis is happening with them they reabsorb some O2 that they will put back in the next day, when photosynthesis starts again, and then some. Thats why aeration is key to help prevent algae. Airpumps don't really pump oxygen into the water that will disolve. They produce bubbles of air that float to the surface rapidly causing surface agitation and drive off the trapped disolved CO2. The bubbles burst at the surface grabs the available O2 in the exchange. Usually the algae problems are from excess nutrients in the water column from fish waste. Algae is also a plant that uses CO2 durring the day and O2 at night. These algae blooms come from the excess nutrients in the water. Usually too much PO2 (phosphate) a nutrient commercial fish food has in it because it is a required nutrient for fish and excess NO3 (nitrate) from the fish waste nitrogen cycle. I guess in ponds people do less partial water changes because of cost and/or restrictions, so the nutrients aren't diluted enough or quick enough.

 

[Squidhead]

hmmm Well I was wanting something fast growing to help keep the algae in check. something that would suck up as much nutrients as available.

Now I am planning to use Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce in the top of my 150 GL stock tank filter.

I'm also planning to have:
Dwarf Horsetail Rush
Lizard's Tail
Arrow Arum (Peltandra virginica)
Colorado Water Lily
Taro, Variegated

all these are from Webb's. I have heard they are a good place to buy from. But I'll check locally first when I'm ready to buy them. what do you all think of the other plants?

Jason, plants will definately compete for nutrients from algae and are a good way to help balance it out. There is a way to remove the green from the water without changing out a ton of it or adding some clarifier that will do way more harm then good. You also don't have to wait for your plants to start thriving which may take a while (maybe not). The cost depends on what parts you may or may not have to build a water polishing filter. This is something you pop in as needed then store for the next time. Another option is a UV filter. Personally I'd rather find the sorce of the imbalance and attack that. Sometimes that takes a long time and effort and it's easier to just put a band aid on it, this depends on the person. If you want directions on how to build the water polish filter I will give them to you. If you have an extra submersible pump with a high enough GPH rating to turn over your pond in at least a few hours that cuts the cost way down. The rest of the stuff should cost you about $30. Let me know -Chris

 

[jason081180]

i do have a pump that i will use as a water polisher when needed.

Filter Housing and Cartridges

I'll use something like this with a 50, 20, or 5 Micron Filter. i don't know yet as i haven't done it. but i think the 20 would be good. the pump only does about 750GPH but my pond is only 3000 GL so if i leave that running for a day before company comes over i would have a great looking pond by the time they get here.

 

[koiguy1969]

i actually threw away large amounts of hornwort .. it grew so prolifically thet it began to effect my lillies..covering some of the the pads even. it was so thick my koi would swim up ontop of it and appear to sunbathe. its filtration benefits far outway its ability to saturate O2 into the water i filled buckets several times. my pond is shallower and my fish didnt care for the hornwort it got so thick it looked like you could walk on it.

 

[Squidhead]

i do have a pump that i will use as a water polisher when needed.

Filter Housing and Cartridges

I'll use something like this with a 50, 20, or 5 Micron Filter. i don't know yet as i haven't done it. but i think the 20 would be good. the pump only does about 750GPH but my pond is only 3000 GL so if i leave that running for a day before company comes over i would have a great looking pond by the time they get here.

That is it, They are the same thing as a whole house filter or sediment filter sold at Home Depot. That sight has great prices too. eBay has some outstanding deals as well. I don't think you need the 20" one, the 10" one would be fine, especially for a 750GPH pump. They even have the clear version in 10"for $25. If you need a replacement filter in a pinch most hardware stores have 10" filters.I used to run one of these after water changes and maintainance in my planted tanks. The water was seemed crystal clear before doing it, afterwards it was somehow even clearer. When I did my larger tanks I would just have a short piece of tubing from the pump to the filter to get the most out of the pump. and put the whole filter in the water with the pump. I suppose with a pond you could take a long piece of PVC pipe with a cap glued on the end and secure it to the filter housing with screws. The housings usually have screw holes on the top lid for mounting it to a bracket. Just stick it in where you need it and move it around as needed. A 20 micron would be perfect. 50 would work fine also for algae. I liked the cartridges with the pleated media best. You could rinse them and usually reuse them. They will get clogged quick if you have green water.

 

[bsr8129]

hmmm this is something that i need

 

[Squidhead]

hmmm this is something that i need

A polish filter is great for when things go wrong or even routine maintenance. It is inexpensive and you will enjoy your pond more with crystal water. With that said keep water testing to try to find out the cause of your cloudy or greenwater. Sometimes you just have a crappy water supply that already has a ton of nutrients in it. Sometimes you have to adjust your maintenance to remove a certain excessive nutrient and with a pond you have the possibility of run off and rain. Chemical filtration is possible for ponds. One handy one is PhosGuard by Seachem, they sell it in pond sized containers. It removes Phosphates and Silicates. Excess Phosphate usually causes the green water, Silicates feed diatoms that cause a brown hue to the water or Brown "Algae" -Good luck.

 

[jason081180]

i was planning to go with the 20in cartage as it would take longer to fill and clog up. but only if i can get them locally. if it does clog I want to be able to run to Lowes and buy another. the way I have seen it in ponds before was just the submersible pump with about a 1ft hose to the filter then out the filter with no hose into the pond. now if you put a hose on the output and ran it to the other end of the pond that might make it a little better. but if you set the whole thing under the waterfall or where there was lots of flow that wouldn't mater anyway.

 

[Squidhead]

i was planning to go with the 20in cartage as it would take longer to fill and clog up. but only if i can get them locally. if it does clog I want to be able to run to Lowes and buy another. the way I have seen it in ponds before was just the submersible pump with about a 1ft hose to the filter then out the filter with no hose into the pond. now if you put a hose on the output and ran it to the other end of the pond that might make it a little better. but if you set the whole thing under the waterfall or where there was lots of flow that wouldn't mater anyway.

Use the waterfall to your advantage to have it's flow direct the water toward you. Either way you will figure out the best set up as you do it a few times. I figured 10" for the reason of availability also. I know Lowes, Home Depot, Ace and even some Walmart and Target stiores carry them. They are less expensive. Another thing to do is rig up an attachment to your hose so you can back wash it by running water in through the filters output. Like I said the pleated cartridges seam to work the best for reuse and backwashing.

 

[jason081180]

Use the waterfall to your advantage to have it's flow direct the water toward you. Either way you will figure out the best set up as you do it a few times. I figured 10" for the reason of availability also. I know Lowes, Home Depot, Ace and even some Walmart and Target stiores carry them. They are less expensive. Another thing to do is rig up an attachment to your hose so you can back wash it by running water in through the filters output. Like I said the pleated cartridges seam to work the best for reuse and backwashing.

the back flushing is a great idea if i can find the cartridge that will allow that. the housing for the filter has 3/4 in input and output. that is what my pump has as well. so i would just hook the output hose to the 3/4 in barbed fitting on the pump and done.