barrel pond water question

[[email protected]]

I'm trying to get a pond going with 1/2 barrel that was used for red
wine. I'm not using a liner, and I've filled it with water and some
plants (water lily, hyacinth, anacharis, a couple of marginals). The
problem is that after about a week the water turns really foul: it gets
this white filamentous stuff in it and a really nasty sulfurous smell.
I've tried emptying and refilling, but the same thing happens each
time. Also, I've noticed these little critters, about the size of a
grain of rice, with an equal sized pointy appendage wriggling around in
there. They don't appear to be mosquitoes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[~ janj JJsPond.us]

>On 4 Jun 2005 18:49:37 -0700, wrote:

>I'm trying to get a pond going with 1/2 barrel that was used for red
>wine. I'm not using a liner, and I've filled it with water and some
>plants (water lily, hyacinth, anacharis, a couple of marginals). The
>problem is that after about a week the water turns really foul: it gets
>this white filamentous stuff in it and a really nasty sulfurous smell.
>I've tried emptying and refilling, but the same thing happens each
>time. Also, I've noticed these little critters, about the size of a
>grain of rice, with an equal sized pointy appendage wriggling around in
>there. They don't appear to be mosquitoes.
>
>Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Are you running a fountain in the barrel? I would suggest using some
carbon. The water can't be too bad if you have little critters (assuming
they're not mosquitoes, which can survive in some pretty nasty water). Or
you could just get a liner for it and not have to figure this out. They
make drop in liners for 1/2 barrels. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
and
~Ignore the Nasty Trolls of Usenet~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

[Steve J. Noll]

On 4 Jun 2005 18:49:37 -0700, wrote:

>I'm trying to get a pond going with 1/2 barrel that was used for red
>wine. I'm not using a liner, and I've filled it with water and some
>plants (water lily, hyacinth, anacharis, a couple of marginals). The
>problem is that after about a week the water turns really foul: it gets
>this white filamentous stuff in it and a really nasty sulfurous smell.
>I've tried emptying and refilling, but the same thing happens each
>time. Also, I've noticed these little critters, about the size of a
>grain of rice, with an equal sized pointy appendage wriggling around in
>there. They don't appear to be mosquitoes.
>
>Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I had a 1/2 whisky barrel pond, but with a liner. Just a few plants
in it. It got really skanky smelling until I put a small aquarium air
stone in it powered by a small battery powered air pump. Cleaned it
right up. Don't know if it was the added oxygen or just the
circulation.

I have some little wriggly things in my regular pond that are not
mosquitos. A larger head and not as black. Some kind of gnat larvae.
If I go out at night and shine a flashlight into the water they
approach it and within a few seconds come to the surface and
metamorphose into a little flying bug and take off. It's bizarre to
see.

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California (USDA Zone 10)
| The Glass Block Koi Pond/Fountain:
| http://www.kissingfrogs.tv

[kathy]

What color are the critters?

kathy :-)www.blogfromthebog.com
this week ~ the damselfly

Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

[Steve J. Noll]

On 4 Jun 2005 21:00:50 -0700, "kathy" > wrote:

>What color are the critters?
>
>kathy :-)www.blogfromthebog.com
>this week ~ the damselfly
>
>Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~
>http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

Wings are transparent.
Head & last half of body are gold/tan.
Middle of body is green.
Body length and wingspan 1/4-inch.
2 antenna about 0.2" long, but these might be front legs.

Steve J. Noll | Ventura California (USDA Zone 10)
| The Glass Block Koi Pond/Fountain:
| http://www.kissingfrogs.tv

[Wilmdale]

Courageous wrote:

>>Are you running a fountain in the barrel? I would suggest using some
>>carbon. The water can't be too bad if you have little critters (assuming
>>they're not mosquitoes, which can survive in some pretty nasty water). Or
>>you could just get a liner for it and not have to figure this out. They
>>make drop in liners for 1/2 barrels. ~ jan
>>
>>
>
>The sulphurous smell is anaerobic bacteria breaking down protein on
>the bottom of the barrel.
>
>This person should circulate the water in some way. Any kind of small
>pump would be fine. Pump from the very bottom of the barrel to
>somewhere near the top. The water at the bottom of the barrel is
>lowest in oxygen, and this is where the anaerobic bacteria are
>thriving.
>
>You can go the decorative route, with some kind of bamboo spout,
>like this:
>
>http://www.cherryblossomgardens.com/abamboo.asp
>
>Voila, smell and stagnancy gone, and the barrel looks cool too.
>
>C//
>
>
>
Now this looks very cool! Shishi-Odoshi - Deer Chaser
(http://www.cherryblossomgardens.com/abamboo.asp)

I wonder if this would work to keep the herons at bay?

Any thoughts anyone? A very small drip line could be tapped into a
filter water line, with a trickle going back to the pond...
Just a thought

[Reel Mckoi]

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> I'm trying to get a pond going with 1/2 barrel that was used for red
> wine. I'm not using a liner, and I've filled it with water and some
> plants (water lily, hyacinth, anacharis, a couple of marginals). The
> problem is that after about a week the water turns really foul: it gets
> this white filamentous stuff in it and a really nasty sulfurous smell.
> I've tried emptying and refilling, but the same thing happens each
> time. Also, I've noticed these little critters, about the size of a
> grain of rice, with an equal sized pointy appendage wriggling around in
> there. They don't appear to be mosquitoes.
================================
I think you need to line that barrel and add an airstone or small air driven
box filter. They still sell them and they work very well in barrels.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[kathy]

With wings and all they've hatched out
so maybe they are breeding.
There are about 5,000 speices of insects
that spend all or part of their live in water.
Most of them lay eggs in the water (like
mosquitoes) eggs turn to into larva and
then they hatch out and repeat the cycle
all over again.
Some adults are born without the ability to
eat as it is their only duty to reproduce,
live fast, die young...

kathy :-)www.blogfromthebog.com
this week ~ the damselfly

Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the replies. I will try the airstone and try to get a small
pump to get the water moving. Any ideas about the white filamentous ick?

[Courageous]

>Are you running a fountain in the barrel? I would suggest using some
>carbon. The water can't be too bad if you have little critters (assuming
>they're not mosquitoes, which can survive in some pretty nasty water). Or
>you could just get a liner for it and not have to figure this out. They
>make drop in liners for 1/2 barrels. ~ jan

The sulphurous smell is anaerobic bacteria breaking down protein on
the bottom of the barrel.

This person should circulate the water in some way. Any kind of small
pump would be fine. Pump from the very bottom of the barrel to
somewhere near the top. The water at the bottom of the barrel is
lowest in oxygen, and this is where the anaerobic bacteria are
thriving.

You can go the decorative route, with some kind of bamboo spout,
like this:

http://www.cherryblossomgardens.com/abamboo.asp

Voila, smell and stagnancy gone, and the barrel looks cool too.

C//

[Courageous]

>I had a 1/2 whisky barrel pond, but with a liner. Just a few plants
>in it. It got really skanky smelling until I put a small aquarium air
>stone in it powered by a small battery powered air pump. Cleaned it
>right up. Don't know if it was the added oxygen or just the
>circulation.

When low oxygen water at the bottom of the barrel is circulated, it
circulates up to the top, where it oxygenates. A technicality: the
water gets more out of being circulated by the airstone than it does
from the air bubbles. What you need to know: yes, the water is
oxygenated. :)

>I have some little wriggly things in my regular pond that are not
>mosquitos. A larger head and not as black. Some kind of gnat larvae.
>If I go out at night and shine a flashlight into the water they
>approach it and within a few seconds come to the surface and
>metamorphose into a little flying bug and take off. It's bizarre to
>see.

Rosey red minnows thrive well in small containers like this, and will
eat various insect larvae with glee.

C//