need help with algae in pond

[GARAGE OWL]

Hello, i have a small yard pond about a 100 gallons, i have 2 goldfish
and 3 koi's

i also have a filter box that my pump fits in i have used pond blocks
for algae that treat 250 gallons and the algae keeps growing.
i have cleaned the pond 3 times this year and scrubed it with bleach and
rinsed it good and still it grows. is there anything else i can do.
i thought it wasn't circulating the water enough so i bought a fountain
and put it in and still a big green mess it takes about 3 to 4 weeks and
it is back. thanks

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

The problem is, you keep starting the cycle over each time you tear it down
and clean it, and you have too many fish for an outside pond. The koi will
get too big for 100 gallons right quick. Unless you plan to dig a bigger
pond soon, I suggest taking them back to the store and try to cycle the
pond with just the 2 goldfish.

Do you have plants in the pond? Lots of plants are needed to out compete
the algae. Do 10% water change outs once a week, allow fuzz algae to grow
on the sides. If and/or when it turns green, leave it, don't feed fish,
wait it out. The more plants you have the shorter the time will be, with a
enough plants, you may not go green at all. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website


>On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 22:29:35 -0500, (GARAGE OWL) wrote:

>Hello, i have a small yard pond about a 100 gallons, i have 2 goldfish
>and 3 koi's
>
>i also have a filter box that my pump fits in i have used pond blocks
>for algae that treat 250 gallons and the algae keeps growing.
>i have cleaned the pond 3 times this year and scrubed it with bleach and
>rinsed it good and still it grows. is there anything else i can do.
>i thought it wasn't circulating the water enough so i bought a fountain
>and put it in and still a big green mess it takes about 3 to 4 weeks and
>it is back. thanks

[Pinkpggy]

Your main problem is you keep emptying the pond. Each time you empty it, it
has to cycle all over again. Are you using any type of bacteria in your pond?
I myself like PondZyme. There are lots of them out there, so check them out.
Do you have plants in your pond? If you don't I would suggest some plants. At
least one lily, and a couple of other plants and some floating plants also.
The more plants you have, the less alage you get. You need some alage, to help
balance out the pond though. The fish eat the fuzzy stuff that grows on the
sides. Thats good alage. Be patient, and one day you will go out and your
pond will be clear. Keep telling yourself, green is a pretty color. LOL Don't
be harsh on yourself, all first time ponders do exactly what you are doing.
Believe me, I think my hubby and I have made every mistake in the book.
Jan
"Our Pond" Page
http://hometown.aol.com/pinkpggy/index.html

[GARAGE OWL]

Hello, the koi's i have in the pond are not big they are about 3 to 4
inches in length. the thing i hate the most is i have a water bell
fountain and the water is green that comes out of it, it just looks
terrible and my pond is preformed plastic
i just thought if i had plants in the pond i would promote more algae i
bought a pond kit that comes with pond blocks and 3 bottles of liquid
and nothing has helped i just figured i wasn't filtering it enough

[Lane]

"GARAGE OWL" > wrote in message
...
> Hello, the koi's i have in the pond are not big they are about 3 to 4
> inches in length. the thing i hate the most is i have a water bell
> fountain and the water is green that comes out of it, it just looks
> terrible and my pond is preformed plastic
> i just thought if i had plants in the pond i would promote more algae i
> bought a pond kit that comes with pond blocks and 3 bottles of liquid
> and nothing has helped i just figured i wasn't filtering it enough
>

Bleach?!?! And your fish survived?

Read the Skippy Filter web site thoroughly, every link.
http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm
Then you'll understand about algae, fish, ponds and filters.
Lane

[GARAGE OWL]

I only bleached it when i cleaned it and the fish were in another
container and i filled and emptied several times before i put them back
in

[RichToyBox]

Jan forgot to include her algae primer. Of all the remedies in the primer,
the one that is hardest to do and yet the most important is patience,
patience, patience. The water will go green. All water goes green. It
will stay green for some period of time, regardless of other actions (except
UV) and one day you will go to the pond, and it will be clear. Chemicals
don't work, except to give you clear water for a party, but then it will
return within a few days.

--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html
"GARAGE OWL" > wrote in message
...
> Hello, i have a small yard pond about a 100 gallons, i have 2 goldfish
> and 3 koi's
>
> i also have a filter box that my pump fits in i have used pond blocks
> for algae that treat 250 gallons and the algae keeps growing.
> i have cleaned the pond 3 times this year and scrubed it with bleach and
> rinsed it good and still it grows. is there anything else i can do.
> i thought it wasn't circulating the water enough so i bought a fountain
> and put it in and still a big green mess it takes about 3 to 4 weeks and
> it is back. thanks
>

[Pinkpggy]

>Chemicals
>don't work, except to give you clear water for a party, but then it will
>return within a few days.

I will tell you something we did when we first started a pond 3 years ago. It
was one of the dumbest things we ever did. We used every chemical out there,
or just about anyway. Our lilies didn't bloom, the pads were small, and
believe it or not, we even killed the micro cattails, which are really hard to
kill. Its a wonder our fish survived. But once we quit worrying about green
water, and how much alage there was, and we let "mother nature" do her thing,
our pond flourished. Its hard sometimes to wait, especially if people are
coming over to see your beautiful pond and the water is pea green, and the fish
are barely visable. But waiting is a must. And one day it really will be a
beautiful pond and you can have people over to see it. And then the compliments
start coming in. and you can sit back and sigh and say, we did it. LOL
Jan
"Our Pond" Page
http://hometown.aol.com/pinkpggy/index.html

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 00:55:19 GMT, "RichToyBox" > wrote:

>Jan forgot to include her algae primer.

Though I can probably take credit for a tiny bit of the primer, the primer
is the creation of K30a, who should be putting it up here shortly, as she
returns this evening from her OR vacation. :o) ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Ka30P]

ALGAE PRIMER
~ Nutrients for all forms of algae are sun, new water, fish waste, fertilized
run off, rotting plants, blown in dirt.
~ New ponds and spring ponds need time for plants to get established, algae is
quicker at getting going.
The following is a collection of algae suggestions from many rec.ponders:
~ add plants, of any kind, in the pond. Especially underwater plants. Note -
since all plants consume oxygen at night make sure your pond has a waterfall,
fountain, spitter or bubbler to add oxygen during the hours of darkness.
~ or build a veggie filter* see below (one of the best and prettiest way to
clear a pond)
~ Shade is good - provided by lily pads, floating plants or artificial shade
for part of the day.
~ LOW fish stocking (good rule of thumb for recreational ponders is 20 gallons
per goldfish, 100 per koi after starting with 1,000 gallons) and *not*
overfeeding the fish. Too many fish and too much feeding is probably
responsible for most pea soup water, followed closely by too much decaying
plant matter, sludge and overall gunk in the water
~ clean up dead plant matter and screen for falling leaves in the fall. Clean
out pond once a year.
~ building ponds with bottom drains and skimmers.
~ do not use algaecides, they only make lots of suddenly dead algae and that
will feed the next algae bloom.
~ do not use products to dye to the water...
~ do not worry about algae that grows on things (substrate algae) this is good
for a pond
~ gently remove string algae
or read http://www.sfbakc.org/koienews/clayvsclay.html
or some rec.ponders like String Algae Buster
~ water movement and occasional water changes of 10%
~ add a sludge consumer, concentrated bacteria.
some rec.ponders use http://www.united-tech.com/m-aq4u-toc.html
~ Check your pH, too high, over 8.8, or too low, under 6.4, and most higher
plant forms can't take up the nutrients.
~ UV lights work on suspended algae (green water) - does cost some $$
~ adding a combination mechanical and biological filter to screen gunk, dead
algae and convert fishy ammonia waste for fish health.
~ some rec.ponders like barley straw
http://www.aquabotanic.com/barleyarticle.html
~ patience, more patience, remember to be patient and time ;-)
~ personally, in my experience, I can vouch for few fish, a plant filter and
patience

*Plant filter ~ running the pond's water through plants
- as easy as floating water hyacinth in top of a stock tank and planting
watercress in your waterfall (my method ;-)
or
Ingrid's post on plant filters:
"The essence of a plant filter is a water proof container with the water from
the pond
being pumped in one end flowing thru the roots of various plants and flowing
back
into the pond at the other end.
It needs to be long enough that solids settle to the bottom OR have filter
material
that will slow or hold the solids (and get rinsed out periodically).
It needs plants of different kinds to maximize removal of all wastes.
it needs sufficient amount of plants to remove in one day all the wastes
produced by
the fish load in one day. It needs plants with extensive roots and/or plants
that get big so they used up more
nutrients. It needs to be only 8-12" deep so it doesn't go anaerobic."
or go here:
http://www.iheartmypond.com/Design/DIY/Filters/VegetableFilters/default.asp


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

[RichToyBox]

Sorry K30a and Jan. Old mind can't keep things straight, and there is
always posted the algae primer, and it hadn't been.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html
"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> >On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 00:55:19 GMT, "RichToyBox" >
wrote:
>
> >Jan forgot to include her algae primer.
>
> Though I can probably take credit for a tiny bit of the primer, the primer
> is the creation of K30a, who should be putting it up here shortly, as she
> returns this evening from her OR vacation. :o) ~ jan
>
>
> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Gabrielle]

The patience part is the hardest . . .

My new pond is turning bright green under our desert sun and I am having
to restrain myself from buying algae killer. The six water turtles are
now calling it home but I haven't moved my GF from my old pond yet.
Plants went in (using BV's patented planting method) last week and are
starting to show interest in living, especially the parrots feather and
primrose. And there's still a lot of dirt and rocks to be moved here and
there and back to here again.

Gabrielle

Ka30P wrote:

>ALGAE PRIMER
> 8< snip >8
>~ patience, more patience, remember to be patient and time ;-)
>~ personally, in my experience, I can vouch for few fish, a plant filter and
>patience
> 8< snip >8
>kathy :-)
>algae primer
>http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html <http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html>
>
>

[bj]

get a uv filter...it'll be clear in three days