Algae control with mainly bacteria and salt?

[Gareee©]

Just saw Gardening by the yard on HGTV today, and they had 1/2 the show on
ponds and care.. they recommended using a weekly dose of beneficial
bacteria, and rock salt.

Thoughts?

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Gareee©]

Here's the link to the web info:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_design_water_features/article/0,1785,HGTV_3575_4597675,00.html


--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[[email protected]]

Gareee© wrote:
> Just saw Gardening by the yard on HGTV today, and they had 1/2 the show on
> ponds and care.. they recommended using a weekly dose of beneficial
> bacteria, and rock salt.
>
> Thoughts?
>
>

Yeah your invited to Kill-a-koi festival:

Koi-lo aka Carolyn Adamo Gulley
Maiden name Witkowski born 1944
Current "husband":
Randy R. born 1946
3245 North Lamar Road Mount Juliet TN 37122-7806

[[email protected]]

no.... to either. salt only 0.05 - 0.1% and no more.
you have to remember that a LOT of these shows on TV use "personalities" ... people
who are self promoting and really dont know much of anything.
Ingrid

"Gareee©" > wrote:

>Just saw Gardening by the yard on HGTV today, and they had 1/2 the show on
>ponds and care.. they recommended using a weekly dose of beneficial
>bacteria, and rock salt.
>
>Thoughts?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

[Koi-Lo]

Moments before spontaneously combusting <Gareee©> at
> was heard opining:

> Just saw Gardening by the yard on HGTV today, and they had 1/2 the
> show on ponds and care.. they recommended using a weekly dose of
> beneficial bacteria, and rock salt.
>
> Thoughts?
=======================
Sounds like they've come up with yet another unnecessary product to *sell*
to pond-keepers. ;-) Just my opinion of course.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
rec.pond's FAQ are at:
http://www.geocities.com/justinm090/faq.html
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Gareee©]

"Koi-Lo" > wrote in message
...

> Sounds like they've come up with yet another unnecessary product to *sell*
> to pond-keepers. ;-) Just my opinion of course.

I dunno.. I really enjoy his show, and he's always had some excellent advise
and tips.

He also has his own koi pond/stream, and it looks excellent.

They usually do most of the shows in his yard, and he showcases what he's
done, and how he does it.

Plus, he's also pretty creative and funny.

Wish I woulda taped it.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[Koi-Lo]

"Gareee©" > wrote in message
...
> "Koi-Lo" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> Sounds like they've come up with yet another unnecessary product to
>> *sell* to pond-keepers. ;-) Just my opinion of course.
>
> I dunno.. I really enjoy his show, and he's always had some excellent
> advise and tips.
==============
First they sell us UV lights to kill algae, free swimming parasites and bad
bacteria. Then they sell us bacteria! How did people keep ponds over all
these eons without all these products? I suppose if you think you may need
them there's no harm in adding them. I don't use salt in my ponds because
of all the plants and personally, I see no need for it. But here again,
it's whatever works for YOU. :-)

--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[~ janj]

I use to use weekly bacteria, BZT. Now I just use it if something is "off".
Last year's "off" was water not being as polished as I'd like. I think I
used it twice. Ever since I've kept the filter running on slow mo thru
winter I haven't had to jump start it.

Salt. I usually keep it up around what Ingrid mentioned 0.05-0.1%,
sometimes a tad higher in spring. I also do a Prazi treatment spring & fall
for flukes.

For the lily pond I don't use any salt, and rarely BZT, and then I'm using
it more for the enzyme action to help break down mulm.

That's my MO. :-) ~ jan

-----------------
(Do you know where your water quality is?)

[Snooze]

"Gareee©" > wrote in message
...
> Just saw Gardening by the yard on HGTV today, and they had 1/2 the show on
> ponds and care.. they recommended using a weekly dose of beneficial
> bacteria, and rock salt.
>

Every surface on this planet is covered with a mixture of beneficial and
undesirable bacteria. When the system is balanced, you don't need to
continually inject additional beneficial bacteria to the system.

Take for example bad breath, the leading cause is an imbalance, and
excessive anaerobic bacteria which release sulfur compounds. Proper dental
hygiene restores the balance. You don't need to brush your teeth with
beneficial bacteria paste, because the beneficial bacteria are already
there.

Same with your pond, properly aerated, good water flow, and proper plant
balance is all that is needed. I have never added beneficial bacteria to my
pond, and I have acceptably clear pond water, no algae problems (except the
spring algae bloom) and no swamp smells.

Realize that the almost every show on HGTV is really an advertisement,
they're an endless series of product placements. At least when you watch
powerblock on SpikeTV, they're upfront about getting all their parts from
JEGS.

-S

[Gareee©]

"Snooze" > wrote in message
et...

> Realize that the almost every show on HGTV is really an advertisement,
> they're an endless series of product placements. At least when you watch
> powerblock on SpikeTV, they're upfront about getting all their parts from
> JEGS.

I'll respectfully disagree.. I watch quite a number of shows on HGTV, and
while some are self serving, the majority IMHO, as good informative shows
without product brand affiliation.

In the show I mentioned, a skimmer, the bacteria and a pump were mentioned,
however there were no brands mentioned at all, and there were no commercials
related to the products shown in use.

Even in the webpage about the show, no links are provided to vendors, or
even online retailers.

Some shows, (specifically craft shows) do seem to be advertising slated, but
in many of those cases, they are using new crafting products that would be
difficult to locate without product naming.

--
Gareee©
(Gary Tabar Jr.)

[G Pearce]

Hi Ingrid - I agree with you on the salt, but not the bacteria - I have been
using it for 7 or 8 years on a weekly basis - prior to that, I had
filamentous (sp? - string) algae all thru my lilies and hanging down the
sides of the pond - right now, I have it starting to grow on the sides, but
once I get some shade from lily pads and have added bacteria for a few
weeks, I know it will start to recede and be gone by June as always in the
past. The beneficial bacteria I add is already present in the pond, all I am
doing is "boosting" the concentration of it (temporarily)as I know my pond
is stocked too heavy (~ 50 fish 3 koi, rest various GF in ~ 1000 gal US) as
are most backyard ponds - I should have ~ 8 or 9 GF, but I gave up trying to
maintain that amt., and I love my many pets :~)
Gale :~)
> no.... to either. salt only 0.05 - 0.1% and no more.
>
>>Just saw Gardening by the yard on HGTV today, and they had 1/2 the show on
>>ponds and care.. they recommended using a weekly dose of beneficial
>>bacteria, and rock salt.
>>
>>Thoughts?
>
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
> http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
> sign up:
> http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
> www.drsolo.com
> Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold
> website.
> I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

[Koi-Lo]

"G Pearce" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Ingrid - I agree with you on the salt, but not the bacteria - I have
> been using it for 7 or 8 years on a weekly basis - prior to that, I had
> filamentous (sp? - string) algae all thru my lilies and hanging down the
> sides of the pond - right now, I have it starting to grow on the sides,
> but once I get some shade from lily pads and have added bacteria for a few
> weeks, I know it will start to recede and be gone by June as always in the
> past. The beneficial bacteria I add is already present in the pond, all I
> am doing is "boosting" the concentration of it (temporarily)as I know my
> pond is stocked too heavy (~ 50 fish 3 koi, rest various GF in ~ 1000 gal
> US) as are most backyard ponds - I should have ~ 8 or 9 GF, but I gave up
> trying to maintain that amt., and I love my many pets :~)
===================
They're easy to sex this time of year. You have to clean the pond sooner or
later anyway. Just keep the best males. You wont have any more problems
with overstocking. We're draining down our 2000g next week to remove 8
young koi spawned last summer, and about 1/3 of the adults. I don't keep GF
in the larger ponds anymore.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Aquarium FAQ are at: http://faq.thekrib.com/
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Olde Hippee]

G Pearce wrote:
> Hi Ingrid - I agree with you on the salt, but not the bacteria - I have been
> using it for 7 or 8 years on a weekly basis - prior to that, I had
> filamentous (sp? - string) algae all thru my lilies and hanging down the
> sides of the pond - right now, I have it starting to grow on the sides, but
> once I get some shade from lily pads and have added bacteria for a few
> weeks, I know it will start to recede and be gone by June as always in the
> past. The beneficial bacteria I add is already present in the pond, all I am
> doing is "boosting" the concentration of it (temporarily)as I know my pond
> is stocked too heavy (~ 50 fish 3 koi, rest various GF in ~ 1000 gal US) as
> are most backyard ponds - I should have ~ 8 or 9 GF, but I gave up trying to
> maintain that amt., and I love my many pets :~)
> Gale :~)
> > no.... to either. salt only 0.05 - 0.1% and no more.
> >
> >>Just saw Gardening by the yard on HGTV today, and they had 1/2 the show on
> >>ponds and care.. they recommended using a weekly dose of beneficial
> >>bacteria, and rock salt.
> >>
> >>Thoughts?



Hi Gale, I'm interested in what you use as a beneficial bacteria. I
used to frequent this group all the time, but haven't been here
recently. We were looking at (now don't freak out), Rid-X as it is a
beneficial bacteria for septics. Two of the beneficial bacteria that I
have purchased for the pond at great cost looked and smelled just like
it. DH said one of his friends at work used Rid-X, but thought he'd
used too much as it killed some of his fish. I'm betting there is a
safe effective dose of it that can be used, but I'm not willing to
sacrifice any fish to find out!!!
There is something that I know Jan used to use, and I think it came
from Ken's, but I can't remember the rest of the name of the place.
What is the one you used?
thanks for the help,
Olde Hippee, Nan
> >
> >
> >
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
> > http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
> > sign up:
> > http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
> > www.drsolo.com
> > Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold
> > website.
> > I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> > Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

[~ janj]

On 14 Apr 2006 13:16:23 -0700, "Olde Hippee" > wrote:

>There is something that I know Jan used to use, and I think it came
>from Ken's, but I can't remember the rest of the name of the place.
>What is the one you used? thanks for the help,
>Olde Hippee, Nan

Remember CSA? Well it is now BZT and can be purchased from:

United-Tech. <-- Google for it perhaps?
In 2002 it was $34.45 plus shipping for 8 ozs. if you request Rob's
Ponder Special.
1-888-999-0545

So check there, maybe you can give us some updated information.
~ jan
-----------------
(Do you know where your water quality is?)

[G Pearce]

I have been
>> using it for 7 or 8 years on a weekly basis - prior to that, I had
>> filamentous (sp? - string0 fish 3 koi, rest various GF in ~ 1000 gal US)
>> as
>> are most backyard ponds - I should have ~ 8 or 9 GF, but I gave up trying
>> to
>> maintain that amt., and I love my many pets :~)
>> Gale :~)
> Hi Gale, I'm interested in what you use as a beneficial bacteria.

Hi Nan - I use Bacta Pur Klear and / or SludgeBuster - A $23 Can bottle
(liter) does me the whole season (~1000 gal US) - I run out about Sept,
but the pond bottom is clean and string algae is long gone. I no longer have
to keep dealing with the sludge (mulm) on the bottom of the pond. The
bacteria additive eats it up, as well as what ever was feeding the string
algae I had. It seems to give the pond water a polished look. Jan used a
different product, but I can't remember the name - Jan?
Gale :~)

[[email protected]]

there are two major pathways for bacteria, with and without oxygen
a septic system is w/o oxygen and uses anaerobic bacteria, like purple bacteria, and
products of anaerobes are ammonia, H2S or hydrogen sulfide and/or S, sulfur which is
very toxic to fish. when fish go down to the bottom to root around they are sucking
to get food and suck the toxins across their gills which toxes them out.
...With oxygen bacteria can break all the organic stuff down to H2O and CO2.
High organic loads can be do to one or all of the following: not enough oxygenation
of the water, poor circulation with dead spots in the pond, overfeeding or feeding
with high residue foods, a lot of extraneous organic matter getting into the pond,
like leaves.

Here is the experience of one person in her indoor TANKS.
"Jo Ann supplied the following observation and experiment she's been
running. Remember that this is a single incident AND it is in a tank.
This does not necessarily mean there are not unknown factors at work or
this applies to any other tank, water pH, condition, etc.
She super sterilized a tank prepatory to moving fish. Unknown
to her, her DH had put a small amount of Microlift (an organic waste
remover) into this tank to see if it would help reduce the ammonia levels
of these fish when they started spawning. The stuff had been sent to them
to try out.
The first thing she noticed was that peroxide did not clear the purple
sterilizing level of PP in the tank.
She then dumped all water, changed media and cleaned the gravel. DH
added a few more drops of Microlift to the tank (without telling Jo Ann).
This is classic example of a blinded study cause Jo Ann sure was in the
dark.
Jo Ann put in the fish. Soon she noticed the fish were lethargic and the
physical showed that the gills were liver colored purple. She immediately
checked the water parameters but the ammonia was not bad. She did a water
change anyway. Soon the fins were shredded and she moved the fish to fresh
water, did scrapes and found nothing. Some of the fish died, others
recovered after being moved to fresh water.
She dumped all the water in the tank again, left the media. She left the
tank for 2 weeks with no fish and then tested for ammonia which was now off
scale. She did another super PP treatment and once again the peroxide
wouldnt remove the PP. ONce again she dumped the tank, left the media.
The next day the ammonia was 0.1.
2 weeks later fish came in, put in the tank but didnt check ammonia in the
empty tank. 3 days later the fish were spawning and the ammonia was off
the charts. She did a 50% water. 3 days later the fins were shredding and
on the fish were on the bottom and lethargic. A scrape showed nothing,
gills were purple. The fish were moved out of the tank. Some of the fish
died, the rest have neural damage and probably wont survive.
She did 2- 100% water changes on the fishless tank, but the ammonia was
still off the wall 24hrs later. Did another 100% water change on the empty
tank, AND replaced the media completely and found ammonia at 0.1 later that
evening. DH now told her he had added the Microlift.
She ended up using bleach on the tanks to get rid of the bacteria.
Note: The bacteria in the Microlift is purple bacteria. Some species of
purple bacteria reduce nitrates to ammonia. Also, purple bacteria eat H2S
and so are sold in an H2S formula to keep em alive. All additions of
Microlift were less than the recommended dose. Jo Ann has acidic water,
adds a calcium buffer to the water and salt. This was the only tank the
Microlift was added to, no other tanks of fish (with no Microlift) have
these symptoms. "
Ingrid


"Olde Hippee" > wrote:
>Hi Gale, I'm interested in what you use as a beneficial bacteria. I
>used to frequent this group all the time, but haven't been here
>recently. We were looking at (now don't freak out), Rid-X as it is a
>beneficial bacteria for septics.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan