| Author | Message | ||
     Cis4Cookie Citizen Username: Cis4cookie Post Number: 124 Registered: 6-2006  |
Any thoughts? | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 28 Registered: 2-2006 |
Has anyone found a really effective way to eliminate string algae in a pond that contains goldfish and plants? I've already tried SAB (String Algae Buster), Algae-Fix, and Barley Straw Pellets. Not impressed... Thanks for any suggestions. | ||
| SOrising Citizen Username: Sorising Post Number: 741 Registered: 2-2006 |
Would the algae-eating snails work? Or do they dine on another kind? Has anyone ever thought of organizing a regional water garden tour? I've read about others, but not in this area. | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 29 Registered: 2-2006 |
SOrising -- Thanks for suggesting algae-eating snails. I'll check on whether or not they're effective in controlling string algae. The concept of a regional water garden tour is interesting. You might want to contact local pond installation companies to see if they conduct promotional, annual tours of water gardens they've installed. | ||
| kap Citizen Username: Kap Post Number: 263 Registered: 5-2001 |
The Second Annual Maplewood South Orange Pond Tour was held on June 25. We had 15 ponds on exhibit and everyone involved had a blast. It was announced here on the message board and on the event calendar. Next year's tour will be held at about the same time in June. All pond keepers and wannabees are welcome to participate. There will be an article in next year's spring Matters Magazine about the tour. kap  | ||
| kap Citizen Username: Kap Post Number: 264 Registered: 5-2001 |
The Second Annual Maplewood South Orange Pond Tour was held on June 25. We had 15 ponds on exhibit and everyone involved had a blast. It was announced here on the message board and on the event calendar. Next year's tour will be held at about the same time in June. All pond keepers and wannabees are welcome to participate. There will be an article in next year's spring Matters Magazine about the tour. kap | ||
| Cis4Cookie Citizen Username: Cis4cookie Post Number: 139 Registered: 6-2006 |
thanks kap | ||
| Cis4Cookie Citizen Username: Cis4cookie Post Number: 140 Registered: 6-2006 |
thanks kap  | ||
| Camnol Citizen Username: Camnol Post Number: 469 Registered: 3-2005 |
So, I've always wanted a pond. We will be doing some landscaping and I would LOVE to include a pond, but most of my neighbors have small children. Are there any town regulations concerning ponds? I just keep picturing inquisitive little ones coming near my pond... | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 696 Registered: 6-2001 |
String Algea... will clear up on its own... in warm weather... which makes no sense that anyone would have a string algea problem in August. That is unless your pond is incredibly out of whack and has waayyyyy toooooo muchhhhh stuff that makes algea happy (fertilizer run off, or whatever algea likes). Sounds like you need to drain the pond as much as possible, pressure wash the rocks, and fill 'er up -John | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 31 Registered: 2-2006 |
extuscan -- Thanks for your input. My pond is four years old. The string algae grows in warm, sunny weather and goes dormant in cold weather. I've been "controlling it" this summer with Algae-Fix, SAB, and Barley Straw Pellets. Last April, the pond was emptied out with a sump pump, power washed, and refilled by professional pond installers. I have to say that as a result, there is a lot less string algae this year. However, once a pond with fish and plants has been infected with the stuff, it seems difficult to eradicate. I have to admit that the relatively small amount of existing algae isn't anything like the unsightly nuisance as it was last summer. But, it is persistent and a small amount of it continues to grow on the waterfall's rocks and in several places by the pond's edge where the water circulation is somewhat limited. My goal is to get rid of it without using harsh chemicals that would kill the fish and waterlillies... Any suggestions are appreciated. | ||
| Camnol Citizen Username: Camnol Post Number: 470 Registered: 3-2005 |
Maryann, I don't have a pond, but I do keep planted aquariums. The first thing I do when I start seeing algae out of check is to test the nutrient-load of the water (nitrogen, phosphate..). What type of plants do you have in your pond? | ||
| Camnol Citizen Username: Camnol Post Number: 471 Registered: 3-2005 |
PS. If the problem is mostly evident in areas of poor circulation, have you talked with your pond folks about adding some small submersible powerheads to help boost circulation in those areas? Not sure if that is an option for ponds. | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 32 Registered: 2-2006 |
Camnol -- Thanks for your suggestions. I never thought of adding some small, submersible powerheads. It sounds like something that might just work. I'm going to look into it. The pond has five waterlillies growing in it. One of them was labelled a "Texas Waterlilly". It's huge alright. It's growing closest to the filter box and slowing down the circulation of water there. Someone recently suggested I install a light fixture in the filter box. Supposedly the light kills algae. I think the combination of a few submersible powerheads, a light fixture in the filter box, and some snails might solve the problem once and for all. Thanks again everyone for your help. I appreciate it. | ||
| kap Citizen Username: Kap Post Number: 267 Registered: 5-2001 |
From watergardensandponds.com: String algae is caused primarily by a combination of the buildup of organic nutrients in the water, and sunlight. What happens is that during winter, when things slow down and many of us turn off our filters, decaying leaves and other organic matter (including fish waste) begin to break down in the pond. The result is an excess of organic nutrients in the water, which is essentially food for algae growth. Add sunlight and some warmer weather to these conditions, and you have an ideal environment for algae growth, both the green water and string algae varieties. The green water, or ‘pea soup’ algae is easily eradicated with a properly sized UV sterilizer, which we highly recommend. String algae, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated and difficult to get rid of. Because it is usually attached to the walls and rocks of the pond, it becomes more difficult to get rid of and unfortunately, there aren’t and easy solutions. But we are going to outline a few remedies here that will help. First, we recommend a pond cleaning - if possible. For those of you who don’t clean your pond at least once annually, there are many good reasons to do this. By cleaning out your pond, and removing as much of the decaying organic material from the bottom, you are also removing much of the ‘food’ for the algae. Another good thing to do is to cut back on feeding your fish, until you get your string algae under control. The fish food, both eaten and digested, and the uneaten food, will both also contribute to this algae growth - so don’t worry about the fish, just stop feeding for awhile. There are several products available which can and will ‘help’ with the string algae problem, like barley bales and/or barley pellets. The idea is that by adding these to the pond, they will also start to decay in the water, and the resulting natural ‘humic acids’ will actually oxidize the algae, and help keep it under control. Farmers in the 13th century noticed that lakes with bales of barley straw in them, had much less muck and string algae in them. So, now we use them in fish ponds. Barley pellets are a newer version of the same idea, but will generally start working faster. Barley straw needs several weeks before it starts working, and only after it starts to ‘rot’ in the water. Another way to help with string algae is to raise your salt level in the pond. Anything over .3% will help control the algae, but is best for KOI ponds, as the salt may also negatively affect water garden plants. We also really like the Microbe Lift line of products. They also seem to help control string algae, by adding millions of beneficial microbes and beneficial bacteria that will feed off of this algae and also help to decompose any other organic waste in the pond. An alternate method that many pond owner prefer is to add a chemical algaecide like PondCare’s Algae Fix. This is safe for fish and plants, and does seem to temporarily knock out suspended and filamenous algae, but does need to be added periodically for long term control. One new method that we’ve been hearing more and more about is adding a certain type of clay to the pond water. Calcium Montmorillonite Clay is gaining popularity among KOI pond owners and water gardeners as an effective, natural method of algae control. It is also noted as having many beneficial qualities for the fish in the pond. | ||
| kap Citizen Username: Kap Post Number: 268 Registered: 5-2001 |
This is also a good article on "blanket weed" | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 702 Registered: 6-2001 |
MaryAnn- I was imaging a major swamp effect when you described your algae... but if its just a little on the sides get one of those stainless steel tined pool scrubbers and give the rocks a little scrub. Ours is on a big pole and we use it in the spring when the stuff regrows after the big clean out. My mother is a nut about this stuff. We even installed an underwater camera so she can watch the Koi in the cave on a flat panel TV on the back porch  Its got these little LEDs so it even works at night. Our Koi are named Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga, and Soryu hehehe. -John | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 34 Registered: 2-2006 |
Kap -- Thank you so much for posting that informative article. I've never heard of "calcium montmorillonite clay". I'll check it out. And, thanks for the reminder about MicrobeLift. I'll put some in the pond today Extuscan -- I can just imagine what came into your mind with the mere mention of string algae, yuck! Thankfully, it's under control this summer but it still annoys me that even a little of it continues to survive. It is tough stuff. I love your mom's idea of installing an underwater camera in the pond so she can watch her pet koi indoors on a flat screen TV. How old are the koi? Do they spend the winter indoors in a fish tank? My goldfish comprise 4 generations that survived blue heron raids. I'm retired and living in Delaware now, not far from the ocean. This year I finally wised up and installed netting over the pond. So far, so good... Does the blue heron raid ponds as far inland as Maplewood or South Orange? | ||
| extuscan Citizen Username: Extuscan Post Number: 706 Registered: 6-2001 |
Ours are a mere season old now. The first set wintered over great (her pond is in NH) the first time, but something ate them the second winter. We got new ones the beginning of this season. The pump broke, a new one was installed and something strange foamed on the water, and the fish died overnight. We ordered more, but the overnight package didn't come over night and they all died in the box. The fish we have now are actually, by that count, our fourth set. Since my mother keeps killing the Koi, thats why we named them what we named them My dad is still in the military (since 1968!) so he can have a sick sense of humor. -John | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 35 Registered: 2-2006 |
Extuscan -- Am I translating their names correctly? Akagi = "Ok Guy", Hiryu = "Here you", Kaga = "Gotch ya", and Soryu hehehe = "Sorry you, hee hee hee" ? If so, your Dad really does have an unusual sense of humor Has your mom ever thought of stocking the pond with a less expensive variety of common goldfish? I know they aren't as friendly as koi, but they are soooooo much cheaper to buy and replace. Most of the pond owners in this area who ever had koi learned very painful and expensive lessons when the blue herons arrived. Those birds have gourmet taste. And even though the ocean, inlets and bay are full of wild fish they obviously prefer to dine on pet koi and goldfish. And those herons have such nerve. If you disturb one that's dining in your pond and try to chase it, the darned thing will fly about 100 feet away and then stand there and stare as if taunting you to do something about it. And you know... you just know...that as soon as you go into the house or drive away it will return to finish its meal. And sure enough it does, if not then, later around dusk. Ugh, so frustrating !!! | ||
| kap Citizen Username: Kap Post Number: 270 Registered: 5-2001 |
Maryann: We do have herons in Maplewood. I've been lucky but I know of a number of pondkeepers that occasionally get raided. Hint: Sting a few rows of fishing line aroundthe perimeter of the pond about 12-18" from the edge. The herons won't walk through it to get to the edge where they can reach the fish. | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 36 Registered: 2-2006 |
Kap -- I'm amazed to learn that there are blue herons in Maplewood and South Orange. Are they there all year long? Or are they seasonal visitors ? I can tell you that they're here in Lewes all year long. And during the course of the past four years, I've tried any number of things to keep them away from my pond. Here goes... PLAN A: Several years ago I purchased a plastic, decoy heron that was supposed to keep the real heron away from my pond. I faithfully moved it to a new location every couple of days. Would you believe that last April I saw the real heron beating it up? Someone suggested that instead of thwarting the bird, the plastic decoy may have attracted a male heron in search of a mate. Oh joy... PLAN B: Last year, I went online looking for other solutions to the "heron problem". I found a number of suggestions that seemed viable. I strung fishing line around the perimeter of the pond. It worked all summer. Then in the Fall, a heron walked or jumped over it to raid the pond early each morning and again at dusk for about a week. Very disheartening. Especially since I had gone all out and purchased two plastic alligator decoys. One had a 3-part, segmented body. The other was an alligator head with mirrored eyes. They floated on top of the water, one at a time, all summer. But come the Fall, HE'S BACK !!!That heron simply walked over the alligator. It didn't take long for him to figure out that it was a fake. He wasn't afraid of the plastic snake sitting next to the pond either. I suspect herons are cautious, wiley, intelligent hunters -- a lot more intelligent than most people think. The heron had obviously observed the plastic heron, plastic alligators, and plastic snake all summer. So late in November, it arrived, ignored the alligator, ignored the snake, stepped over or flew over the plastic fishing line, and devoured what I thought were 27 of my goldfish. (When we cleaned out the pond last Spring, I was thrilled to see tht 7 of the goldfish had survived the raid.) So, in the course of that week last November, the heron ate 20 of my pet goldfish  PLAN C: This year, out of desperation, I hired someone to help me construct three frames large enough to cover the pond (10' x 18') The frames are made out of thin, gray, electrical pcv pipes. These frames are covered with plastic netting. At the moment, the frames sit about 5 inches above the surface of the water to give the water lilies enough space to grow. I will remove the frames' legs soon lowering them for the Fall, Winter and Spring to a height that's just above the surface of the water. I do hope the netted frames keep the leaves AND HERONS out of the pond. If not, I can't imagine the extreme measures I'll have to resort to next year as PLAN D. This could get ugly ... | ||
| SOrising Citizen Username: Sorising Post Number: 791 Registered: 2-2006 |
Thank you, Maryann. I am thinking of getting one or more ponds and, aside from great reading in itself, your remarks are very helpful. | ||
| Maryann Citizen Username: Maryann Post Number: 37 Registered: 2-2006 |
SOrising -- I'm glad to hear that you're thinking of installing one or more ponds on your property...even after all that you've read here !!!The ponds will enhance your landscape, improve the environment and be an asset for wildlife. And I'm glad to see you're trying to learn as much as possible about pond maintenance BEFORE intalling your pond. When I was living in South Orange, I never even thought about installing one. As you can probably tell, I was clueless. In fact, anything I've learned about pond maintenance has been gleaned from trial and error these past four years. Nevertheless, having a pond really is fun. It's an enjoyable hobby, a great learning experience, and an asset for all of your local wild birds, frogs, toads, and fish |
