mayday, mayday,mayday

[Zigs]

eric the fishes pond has turned into green pea soup type water.

 

i am running a new filter & have tried pumping up the water from the lower pond to clear it, but still it gets worse. have cleared out debris such as fallen leaves & checked the plants for decay. it didnt happen last few years, could it be the new "fish fun" feed ?

[Bigfishy]

Have you tried Barley Straw in the filter?

[John S]

Perfectly normal occurance in the spring Ziggy, it's caused by single-celled algae feeding off nutrients in the water (some fishkeepers state that the green water is healthier for the fish than perfectly clear stuff).

 

As Bigfishy says, barley straw will help to clear your pond (however, I understand it is now illegal to put straw in your pond to kill the algae, ordered by the EU - it is not illegal to put straw in your pond to provide shelter for any fry though, so go figure ).

 

If you have a UV filter, make fure the bulb has not blown. If you haven't got one, they are well worth considering. They work by forcing the algae to clump together, whereupon they are removed by your filters. Normally the algae would just pass straight through and back into your pond.

[Zigs]

cheers guys, will get barley straw at same time as my illegal consignment of ecuadorian bananas ( had one in turkey, forgot how good they are, havent had one since we joined the EU )

 

so its the same as may water in the sea is it.

 

no uv filter, as pond is out side.

[John S]

You can get UV filters (actually just a light-unit) for outdoor ponds, but if the barley-straw 'shelter' works, then you don't need to go through the expense of fitting one

 

That's a very thin pond btw, what do you keep in it? Eels?

[NetFull]

You could also try shading your pond to slow the growth of the algea

[John S]

Very true, planting water lilies to cover about 1/3 (no more than 1/2) the surface area of the pond wil produce enough shade to starve the algae of sunlight. Tall marginal plants would also help.

 

Putting more plants in the pond will help anyway, they will take up the nutrients that would otherwise feed the algae.

 

[ 12. May 2005, 05:58 PM: Message edited by: John S ]

[Zigs]

ahh, it do ave small leaved water lillies in it, the leaves are just opening now, that should help. also has some water reed & canadian pond weed, doesnt get much sun as on north side of house.

 

pond is narrow but about 10 inch deep, with deeper lower pond for winter. the fish are a gold & black carp, both called eric.

[Guest Ferret1959]

Topping up your pond with tap water will also promte the growth of algae.

 

 

Just topped mine up with tap water cos run out of rain water, so I'll be expecting a bloom soon, mind you my UV filter will soon sort it out.

 

 

When and why was barley straw outlawed?

Seen a 'fresh' bail in a certain well know commercial water only the other week???????????

[John S]

Ferret1959:

When and why was barley straw outlawed?

Seen a 'fresh' bail in a certain well know commercial water only the other week???????????

I read about it somewhere (can't remember where now ). I've only heard about it the once though, willing to be proven wrong....

 

Maybe the owner(s) of the 'well known commercial water' were providing shelter for fry, not trying to kill off the algae