Algae choking WH

[Hank]

HELP! All my WH have been choked to death by algae collecting on the
roots. The lettuce is still alive but not looking too good. The only
part of the VF not affected is the watercress. I was washing the roots
every day(what a pain) but forgot for three days.= rotten WH straight
to compost.
My water is clear .... some algae on sides ..... lots on
roots?????????
What can I do other than wash the roots every day? This is a new one
on me.


--
some photos of my little puddle
http://community.webshots.com/user/hankpage1

[RED1102]

I use AlgaeFix in my pond to help to
help control the string algae. It works great, I've only done one treatment
this
spring and most of it is gone.
Carole
Zone 6

[RED1102]

I use AlgaeFix in my pond to help to
help control the string algae. It works great, I've only done one treatment
this
spring and most of it is gone.
Carole
Zone 6

[Sean Dinh]

I had that problem before. I trimmed all the roots. It took a while for
them to recover. I won't do that again.

You could try dipping the roots in a diluted bleach solution. That should
kill the algae. After relocating the WH, I would use a stick to poke and
stir the roots. That would remove some trapped air from the roots. After a
few times, the roots would stay down like before.

Hank wrote:

> HELP! All my WH have been choked to death by algae collecting on the
> roots. The lettuce is still alive but not looking too good. The only
> part of the VF not affected is the watercress. I was washing the roots
> every day(what a pain) but forgot for three days.= rotten WH straight
> to compost.
> My water is clear .... some algae on sides ..... lots on
> roots?????????
> What can I do other than wash the roots every day? This is a new one
> on me.
>
> --
> some photos of my little puddle
> http://community.webshots.com/user/hankpage1

[Sean Dinh]

I had that problem before. I trimmed all the roots. It took a while for
them to recover. I won't do that again.

You could try dipping the roots in a diluted bleach solution. That should
kill the algae. After relocating the WH, I would use a stick to poke and
stir the roots. That would remove some trapped air from the roots. After a
few times, the roots would stay down like before.

Hank wrote:

> HELP! All my WH have been choked to death by algae collecting on the
> roots. The lettuce is still alive but not looking too good. The only
> part of the VF not affected is the watercress. I was washing the roots
> every day(what a pain) but forgot for three days.= rotten WH straight
> to compost.
> My water is clear .... some algae on sides ..... lots on
> roots?????????
> What can I do other than wash the roots every day? This is a new one
> on me.
>
> --
> some photos of my little puddle
> http://community.webshots.com/user/hankpage1

[Benign Vanilla]

"Hank" > wrote in message
...
> HELP! All my WH have been choked to death by algae collecting on the
> roots. The lettuce is still alive but not looking too good. The only
> part of the VF not affected is the watercress. I was washing the roots
> every day(what a pain) but forgot for three days.= rotten WH straight
> to compost.
> My water is clear .... some algae on sides ..... lots on
> roots?????????
> What can I do other than wash the roots every day? This is a new one
> on me.

Hmm...I have not seen this before. What is your flow rate? Maybe the water
is sitting too long?

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

[Benign Vanilla]

"Hank" > wrote in message
...
> HELP! All my WH have been choked to death by algae collecting on the
> roots. The lettuce is still alive but not looking too good. The only
> part of the VF not affected is the watercress. I was washing the roots
> every day(what a pain) but forgot for three days.= rotten WH straight
> to compost.
> My water is clear .... some algae on sides ..... lots on
> roots?????????
> What can I do other than wash the roots every day? This is a new one
> on me.

Hmm...I have not seen this before. What is your flow rate? Maybe the water
is sitting too long?

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

[Hank]

It's too late for the WH. Shaking the roots of the water lettuce seems
to dislodge the algae. I really try to avoid adding chemicals to the
pond.
BV, The flow rate is fast enough that I need a screen to keep the
plants from taking a ride down the waterfall.
I just got about 50 tiny tadpoles (or toadpoles) and put them in
the VF. The little buggers seem to be stirring up the roots quite a
bit. Maybe I'll be able to save the lettuce but be over-run with frogs
or toads. With all them wigglers in there it looks like a slide from a
sex-ed class.
Thanks to all for your suggestions.

--
some photos of my little puddle
http://community.webshots.com/user/hankpage1
"Hank" > wrote in message
...
> HELP! All my WH have been choked to death by algae collecting on
the
> roots. The lettuce is still alive but not looking too good. The only
> part of the VF not affected is the watercress. I was washing the
roots
> every day(what a pain) but forgot for three days.= rotten WH
straight
> to compost.
> My water is clear .... some algae on sides ..... lots on
> roots?????????
> What can I do other than wash the roots every day? This is a new
one
> on me.
>
>
> --
> some photos of my little puddle
> http://community.webshots.com/user/hankpage1
>
>
>

[Hank]

It's too late for the WH. Shaking the roots of the water lettuce seems
to dislodge the algae. I really try to avoid adding chemicals to the
pond.
BV, The flow rate is fast enough that I need a screen to keep the
plants from taking a ride down the waterfall.
I just got about 50 tiny tadpoles (or toadpoles) and put them in
the VF. The little buggers seem to be stirring up the roots quite a
bit. Maybe I'll be able to save the lettuce but be over-run with frogs
or toads. With all them wigglers in there it looks like a slide from a
sex-ed class.
Thanks to all for your suggestions.

--
some photos of my little puddle
http://community.webshots.com/user/hankpage1
"Hank" > wrote in message
...
> HELP! All my WH have been choked to death by algae collecting on
the
> roots. The lettuce is still alive but not looking too good. The only
> part of the VF not affected is the watercress. I was washing the
roots
> every day(what a pain) but forgot for three days.= rotten WH
straight
> to compost.
> My water is clear .... some algae on sides ..... lots on
> roots?????????
> What can I do other than wash the roots every day? This is a new
one
> on me.
>
>
> --
> some photos of my little puddle
> http://community.webshots.com/user/hankpage1
>
>
>

[nswong]

Hi Hank,

> It's too late for the WH. Shaking the roots of the water lettuce
seems
> to dislodge the algae. I really try to avoid adding chemicals to the
> pond.

Algae boom most of the time are due to phosphorus. Do you remove old
plant from your pond? This will give more space for new plant to grow
and remove phosphorus from water.

Regards,
Wong

[nswong]

Hi Hank,

> It's too late for the WH. Shaking the roots of the water lettuce
seems
> to dislodge the algae. I really try to avoid adding chemicals to the
> pond.

Algae boom most of the time are due to phosphorus. Do you remove old
plant from your pond? This will give more space for new plant to grow
and remove phosphorus from water.

Regards,
Wong

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

Another is high pH. At least that is what happens to me in the lilypond,
when I note the WH not doing well and the SA doing great, my pH is always
way up. I acidified it yesterday, and things are already looking better.
~ jan



>> It's too late for the WH. Shaking the roots of the water lettuce seems
>> to dislodge the algae. I really try to avoid adding chemicals to the
>> pond.
>
>Algae boom most of the time are due to phosphorus. Do you remove old
>plant from your pond? This will give more space for new plant to grow
>and remove phosphorus from water.
>
>Regards,
>Wong
>

(Do you know where your water quality is?)