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Algae problem
I live in Cambridgeshire in the UK and I have a 5m x 5m x 1m pond. The
water is perfectly clear and clean, and I have varied plants and oxygenating weed. The problem I am having is an excess of green slimy weed. It appears on a daily basis and gets everywhere. I have tried removing all of it but I can't keep up. The pond is stocked with mostly goldfish and koi and has two aquatic turtles. The pond has not full sunlight but is not shaded. Thanks for any help. -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
Hi Kerplunk,
All algae thrives on sun, fresh water, fish waste, fertilized run off, rotting plants and blown in dirt. In new ponds and spring ponds algae is always the first thing to start growing. The best defense against algae is to have lots of plants, plants and more plants to compete for the nutrients, few fish, not overfeeding those fish, some shade and cleaning up debris. And since you have turtles they also add to the bioload. Can you reduce your goldfish population? I have four turtles in 3,000 US gallons and that will be my next step, cut down on the rampagingly reproducing goldfish! kathy :-) www.blogfromthebog.com this week ~ a snake story Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~ http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html |
Message ,
by author KerplunKuK aka inspired me, I live in Cambridgeshire in the UK and I have a 5m x 5m x 1m pond. The water is perfectly clear and clean, and I have varied plants and oxygenating weed. The problem I am having is an excess of green slimy weed. It appears on a daily basis and gets everywhere. I have tried removing all of it but I can't keep up. The pond is stocked with mostly goldfish and koi and has two aquatic turtles. The pond has not full sunlight but is not shaded. Thanks for any help. You feed your fish more than the plants can handle. There should be a balance between fishfood and plants. If it isn't in balance you get the green soup, i.e plants that fill the gap. Refresh the pond, 10% each week, drain from the bottom if possible. Use an airbubble pump during filling of the fresh water. That doesn't bring the balance back. Install a good filter, redude the number of fish or feed them less. Feeding tip: 5 minutes max a day and they should eat it all in that time. The fish are well capable to survive a week without food. -- d:Johan; Certifiable me Newsgroups Are used to spread virusses. Did your newsreader post that virus? |
Message acit.net,
by author 2Rowdy aka inspired me, Refresh the pond, 10% each week, drain from the bottom if possible. Use an airbubble pump during filling of the fresh water. During a month. That should bring the excess of plantfood to an acceptable level. -- d:Johan; Certifiable me [18 lines] [Press ENTER to retrieve this message.] [Press M to mark this message for later retrieval.] |
2Rowdy scribbled :
You feed your fish more than the plants can handle. There should be a balance between fishfood and plants. If it isn't in balance you get the green soup, i.e plants that fill the gap. Refresh the pond, 10% each week, drain from the bottom if possible. Use an airbubble pump during filling of the fresh water. That doesn't bring the balance back. Install a good filter, redude the number of fish or feed them less. Feeding tip: 5 minutes max a day and they should eat it all in that time. The fish are well capable to survive a week without food. I have a filter and pump that can handle twice the volume of my pond. My fish always eat everything I feed them, so I think I will have to insert more plants and do water changes. What is an airbubble pump? Thanks -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
"KerplunKuK" wrote in message ... 2Rowdy scribbled : You feed your fish more than the plants can handle. There should be a balance between fishfood and plants. If it isn't in balance you get the green soup, i.e plants that fill the gap. Refresh the pond, 10% each week, drain from the bottom if possible. Use an airbubble pump during filling of the fresh water. That doesn't bring the balance back. Install a good filter, redude the number of fish or feed them less. Feeding tip: 5 minutes max a day and they should eat it all in that time. The fish are well capable to survive a week without food. I have a filter and pump that can handle twice the volume of my pond. My fish always eat everything I feed them, so I think I will have to insert more plants and do water changes. What is an airbubble pump? Thanks If you have a pump and are churning up the surface (a water fall will do this), you don't need an air pump. It will do nothing for your algae problem, and may actually make it worse. You need more plants, and I would also add a product like aquazyme. It contains bacteria and enzymes that help digest the nutrients in your water, and so compete directly with the algae for food. The bacteria is beneficial to the pond. It takes about a month for it to become firmly established, and even then, it doesn't hurt to continue to treat the water with this product to ensure that the bacgteria remain established in the pond. It will go a long way towards starving out the algae, and will digest it as it dies off. This product also helps to prevent buildup of black sludge and any leaves at the bottom of your pond, which is also a source of unwanted nutrients. Do note, however, that you will likely always has some amount of algae in your pond. This is not a bad thing, and if you cut back a little on feeding your goldfish, they will take to munching on it like mine do. |
Message ,
by author KerplunKuK aka inspired me, 2Rowdy scribbled : You feed your fish more than the plants can handle. There should be a balance between fishfood and plants. If it isn't in balance you get the green soup, i.e plants that fill the gap. Refresh the pond, 10% each week, drain from the bottom if possible. Use an airbubble pump during filling of the fresh water. That doesn't bring the balance back. Install a good filter, redude the number of fish or feed them less. Feeding tip: 5 minutes max a day and they should eat it all in that time. The fish are well capable to survive a week without food. I have a filter and pump that can handle twice the volume of my pond. Big filter is good. But many people clean the filter to often. The filter shouldn't filter, it should provide a good place for bacteria to do their work in converting fish stuff into plantfood. My fish always eat everything I feed them, so I think I will have to insert more plants and do water changes. What is an airbubble pump? An air pump with a bubble stone on the end. Often tap water contains gasses that is bad for fish. The bubbles expel those gasses. -- d:Johan; Certifiable me IHUMFA |
"2Rowdy" wrote in message et... Message , by author KerplunKuK aka inspired me, 2Rowdy scribbled : You feed your fish more than the plants can handle. There should be a balance between fishfood and plants. If it isn't in balance you get the green soup, i.e plants that fill the gap. Refresh the pond, 10% each week, drain from the bottom if possible. Use an airbubble pump during filling of the fresh water. That doesn't bring the balance back. Install a good filter, redude the number of fish or feed them less. Feeding tip: 5 minutes max a day and they should eat it all in that time. The fish are well capable to survive a week without food. I have a filter and pump that can handle twice the volume of my pond. Big filter is good. But many people clean the filter to often. The filter shouldn't filter, it should provide a good place for bacteria to do their work in converting fish stuff into plantfood. My fish always eat everything I feed them, so I think I will have to insert more plants and do water changes. What is an airbubble pump? An air pump with a bubble stone on the end. Often tap water contains gasses that is bad for fish. The bubbles expel those gasses. -- d:Johan; Certifiable me IHUMFA If you add fresh tap water with a garden hose with a nozzle attachment, nearly all of any harmful gases (even some of the chlorine - I recommend using stress coat at this staqge) will escape almost immediately. As long as the pump inlet is pumping water from the bottom of the pond and returning it to the surface, and creating ripples on the surface, the water will be constantly turned over and will outgas and pick up oxygen. I know that you must be thinking about carbon dioxide buildup, but that is not usually a problem in most ponds that have adequate circulation. The problem here is likely one of too high a nutrient load (in the case of an algae bloom, the culprit is usually high nitrate concentration, but can also be phosphates). A bubbler will do nothing to get rid of nitrates, because of the high partial pressure of nitrogen in the atmosphere, and so the equalibrium pressure of nitrogen is high. It will also do nothing to get rid of phosphates. If the nitrate level is high, adding O2 with a bubler can actually make the algae problem worse (algae using up carbon dioxide and release O2 in the day, but the process is reversed at night, so then it releases CO2 and uses O2). Adding plants and beneficial bacteria to the pond will increase competition with the algae, and will reduce the nutrient levels enough starve out the algae. And as the algae dies, the bacteria will digest it and prevent the nitrates from building back up to problematic levels. Unless the levels are dangerously high, I never recommend partial water changes to solve this problem because that tends to knock the pond out of chemical equilibrium. The key to the solution to this problem is patience. Perhaps if the person posting his question could post his water parameters (pH, ammmonia, nitrites, nitrates, general hardness), we could give him more specific information. |
George scribbled :
Perhaps if the person posting his question could post his water parameters (pH, ammmonia, nitrites, nitrates, general hardness), we could give him more specific information. Will do that tomorrow and post the results. Thanks for all the advoce so far. -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
"KerplunKuK" wrote in message ... George scribbled : Perhaps if the person posting his question could post his water parameters (pH, ammmonia, nitrites, nitrates, general hardness), we could give him more specific information. Will do that tomorrow and post the results. Thanks for all the advoce so far. -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals Glad to help. Got any pics of your pond? Don't post them here, but if you can post a link, we like pond pictures when we can get them. Also, as for using a bubbler, pH becomes a problem when it changes rapidly and as the water heats up in summer. Koi and goldfish do best at 7.5 (neutral) but will tolerate 0.75 plus or minus this as long as it is what they are used to. High pH (alkaline) conditions makes ammonia more toxic. The tendency of some koi shows to freely bubble their vats blows off CO2 and raises pH. At that point, even minor increases in ammonia levels can cause big problems with the fish. More of a problem, especially in bare liner ponds with high fish loads, is loss of alkalinity. On the other hand, warm summer waters hold less oxygen than cold winter water. Ironically, most people add a bubbler in the winter to keep a hole open in the ice, and remove the bubbler in the summer. I am of the opinion that as long as your pond is not overstocked, adequate circulation and breaking up the surface with a waterfall splash will provide adequate oxygen for your fish in the summer without adversely affecting the pH. I have limestone rock in my pond to act as a buffer, and as part of the waterfall. It helps keep the pH and alkalinity stable, and slowly leaches trace elements into the water (depending on the type of limestone). But, it is always wise to periodically check you water parameters, especially in summer, and especially pH, nitrates, and alkalinity. Here is a link to my pond with the filter set up (I have more plants in the pond than are shown in these pictures, which are a couple of years old): http://home.insightbb.com/~jryates/filter.htm |
George scribbled :
Perhaps if the person posting his question could post his water parameters (pH, ammmonia, nitrites, nitrates, general hardness), we could give him more specific information. The results from the testing are as follows; pH= 7.6 Ammonia= 0 - 0.125ppm Nitrite= 5ppm Nitrate= 0ppm Hardness= 201-300 mg/l Anything else needed? My next step is to introduce many more plants. Are there any that are especially good, or is any plant good? -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
With a nitrite level of 5, your filter has not completely cycled. That high
a nitrite level is dangerous to the fish, without salt in the pond. Add about 1 pound per hundred gallons to get a salt level that will protect the fish. Once the nitrite levels come down to 0, then remove the salt through water changes. Plants, and particularly algae, like their nitrogen first from ammonia, then nitrites, and then nitrates. With an uncycled filter, you have some minimal ammonia left, and high nitrites, so the algae is thriving. Filters are marketed with a pond size in gallons, liters, etc. This is very poor, since the size of a filter should be based on the amount of waste, which is associated with number of fish, turtles, frogs, etc., size of each, number of feedings, water temperature, etc. Most filters are over rated by a factor of at least 2. I run filters that will supposedly handle about 4 times the volume of my ponds. I am assuming, by your pH, that the hardness value you stated, is the GH hardness, not the KH carbonate hardness. KH helps to stabilize the pH and helps the filter bacteria, which consume a certain amount of it. If you have not checked it, then please do. The level should be a minimum of 100, and can be as high as 300 without harm. To raise the KH, use regular old baking soda. -- RichToyBox http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html "KerplunKuK" wrote in message ... George scribbled : Perhaps if the person posting his question could post his water parameters (pH, ammmonia, nitrites, nitrates, general hardness), we could give him more specific information. The results from the testing are as follows; pH= 7.6 Ammonia= 0 - 0.125ppm Nitrite= 5ppm Nitrate= 0ppm Hardness= 201-300 mg/l Anything else needed? My next step is to introduce many more plants. Are there any that are especially good, or is any plant good? -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
RichToyBox scribbled :
I am assuming, by your pH, that the hardness value you stated, is the GH hardness, not the KH carbonate hardness. KH helps to stabilize the pH and helps the filter bacteria, which consume a certain amount of it. That reading was taken from my local water authorities website at www.anglianwater.co.uk -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
"KerplunKuK" wrote in message ... George scribbled : Perhaps if the person posting his question could post his water parameters (pH, ammmonia, nitrites, nitrates, general hardness), we could give him more specific information. The results from the testing are as follows; pH= 7.6 Ammonia= 0 - 0.125ppm Nitrite= 5ppm Nitrate= 0ppm Hardness= 201-300 mg/l Anything else needed? My next step is to introduce many more plants. Are there any that are especially good, or is any plant good? Hmmm. The pH is fine. However, those ammonia and nitrite levels would concern me, especially the nitrite, as it can be toxic to fish and invertebrates at that level. Ideally, the nitrite levels should be 0 ppm. The hardness is off the charts as well, and is even higher than what is recommended for salt water aqauriums. Normally, the acceptable general hardness for freshwater ponds and aquariums is about 80-100 ppm. But this is the lesser of my concerns. It can have a greater affect on the plants than the fish at that concentration. I would look into finding a more accurate kit for measuring your hardness. Are you using well water? What is the source of your water? You may need to do a partial water change to get these concentrations back down to acceptable levels. Having said that, you should test your water source first to make sure it isn't the source of these high concentrations. As for plants, water lillies are good, as are any number of other water plants. That really is up to you, as you know better than anyone else what space you have available for addition of plants, and what type of animals you have in the pond (i.e., Koi are notorious for eating/destroying certain plants). I would find a good local source for water plants, and talk to the owner/dealer. He would know what grows best in your area. |
"KerplunKuK" wrote in message ... RichToyBox scribbled : I am assuming, by your pH, that the hardness value you stated, is the GH hardness, not the KH carbonate hardness. KH helps to stabilize the pH and helps the filter bacteria, which consume a certain amount of it. That reading was taken from my local water authorities website at www.anglianwater.co.uk -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals You are saying that the numbers you provided are in your drinking water? Hmmm. |
George scribbled :
You are saying that the numbers you provided are in your drinking water? Hmmm. Only the hardness the rest are from my pond. -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
George scribbled :
What is the source of your water? The water comes from a rain reservoir, I will obtain a hardness measuring kit. My 5ppm are on the generous side, probably closer to 0 than 5. How do I go about softening an entire pond of water? -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals |
"KerplunKuK" wrote in message ... George scribbled : You are saying that the numbers you provided are in your drinking water? Hmmm. Only the hardness the rest are from my pond. -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals Oh. |
"KerplunKuK" wrote in message ... George scribbled : What is the source of your water? The water comes from a rain reservoir, I will obtain a hardness measuring kit. My 5ppm are on the generous side, probably closer to 0 than 5. How do I go about softening an entire pond of water? -- Remove [dot] to reply Gamertag: Devil Ray UK Games: Flat Out, Worms, Links 04, RS3BA, Splinter Cell : CT, Top Spin, Halo 2, GR2, PGR 2, Doom 3, Rallisport 2, Forza, NBA Inside Drive, NFL Fever, Amped 2, Pariah, NHL Rivals Essentially, you don't. I really wouldn't worry too much about it if the fish and plants are doing well. But if by 5 ppm you are referring to the nitrite levels, I would definitely consider doing at least a 5% water change, 10% if you can spare the water. |
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On the subject of Algae
I have two ponds connected one with fish and some Lilly’s the other with just plants. The upper one with just plants gets globs of algae on the bottom, on the sides and in the roots of my floaters; the Lilly stems are totally free of it. The bottom ponds with the fish dose not get any algae on the bottom or on the sides but the Lilly stems are covered with the stuff. The rocks at both my waterfalls have a layer of algae on them. The globs are easy to get out and I like the time that I spend doing it. It’s nice to piddle around at the pond. I spend at least an hour at the pond doing al kinds of stuff. Also noted that the one with fish has no snails in it but the upper one has. Question: Do goldfish or Koi eat snails? Should I brush the algae of the rocks on waterfall? When I do a lot of it washes into the pond. Dose this spread the algae? It is tempting to full the algae of the roots of the floaters and other plans, is this good or am I doing more harm the good. Is it OK for them to be covered with it? PS: I never had an Algae bloom this year, and it's not a big problem. My water is (still) clear. |
Hi Rick!
Rick wrote Do goldfish or Koi eat snails? Yes, koi love a good snail. They will even eat land snails if you toss them in. Should I brush the algae of the rocks on waterfall? When I do a lot of it washes into the pond. Dose this spread the algae? Yes, it spreads it. Better to wind it around a long handled brush or child's garden rake and remove it. It is tempting to full the algae of the roots of the floaters and other plans, is this good or am I doing more harm the good. Is it OK for them to be covered with it? Basically, ok. Though some fish have been known to get tangled up in it. PS: I never had an Algae bloom this year, and it's not a big problem. My water is (still) clear. One of the reasons is the other forms of algae growing in the pond. Somebody has to take up the nutrients in the pond and those two types of algae are doing the job. If you could magically make them disappear you might have a suspended single cell algae bloom, the type that makes your water look like green pea soup. Algae thrives on sun, fresh water, fish waste, fertilized run off, rotting plants and blown in dirt. In new ponds and spring ponds algae is always the first thing to start growing. The best defense against algae is to have lots of plants to compete for the nutrients, few fish, not overfeeding those fish, some shade and cleaning up debris. kathy :-) www.blogfromthebog.com this week ~ Mosquitoes! Run For Your Life! Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~ http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html |
On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 06:18:04 GMT, "Rick" wrote:
On the subject of Algae Only comment I have to add to the others. If your floaters look they they may be doing poorly, possibly because of all the algae on the roots, you can float them in a bucket of water with Potassium Permanganate. It will kill the algae but the roots will be okay, just don't float them too long, like an hour or so depending on the strength of the PP. ~ jan See my ponds and filter design: www.jjspond.us ~Keep 'em Wet!~ Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a To e-mail see website |
Should I brush the algae of the rocks on waterfall? When I do a lot of it washes into the pond. Dose this spread the algae? I think you're fine. It is tempting to full the algae of the roots of the floaters and other plans, is this good or am I doing more harm the good. Is it OK for them to be covered with it? I think you can leave it alone. What's the water temperature range in your area, winter to summer? There are some fish that eat algae of this sort. American Flag Fish, for example. I've seen it written that Chinese Weather Loaches also eat algae, although that's a minority opinion. Good news is that they aren't known to munch plant roots, really, so you could possibly put a couple of these into your plant tank. C// |
Hi Rick!
Rick wrote Should I brush the algae of the rocks on waterfall? When I do a lot of it washes into the pond. Dose this spread the algae? Yes, it spreads it. Better to wind it around a long handled brush or child's garden rake and remove it. The algae on the rocks is dark green slime. No matter how I try, more goes in to the pond then on the brush. So Leave it OR??? Thanks Rick! |
How much PP Per gallon?
Kathy wrote: On the subject of Algae Only comment I have to add to the others. If your floaters look they they may be doing poorly, possibly because of all the algae on the roots, you can float them in a bucket of water with Potassium Permanganate. It will kill the algae but the roots will be okay, just don't float them too long, like an hour or so depending on the strength of the PP. ~ jan |
I dunno about others but 30 PPM has always worked fine for me, as long
as there was not any fish or other critters that I wanted to survive the doseing. It does a bang up job of cleanin gup everything and anything at that rate Odds are though if your not fighting a prtoblem as far as fish health is concerned, the standard 2 ppm dose applied to the entire pond and fish will do it all a bit of good, and probably reduce your nutrient load and knock off the algae as well. On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:20:20 GMT, "Rick" wrote: ===How much PP Per gallon? === ===Kathy wrote: === ===On the subject of Algae === === Only comment I have to add to the others. If your floaters look they they === may be doing poorly, possibly because of all the algae on the roots, you === can float them in a bucket of water with Potassium Permanganate. It will === kill the algae but the roots will be okay, just don't float them too long, === like an hour or so depending on the strength of the PP. ~ jan === ============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o |
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Jan, interesting theory there. Last year when I had massive algae blooms I was told by AUM (Auburn University) and the Universtiy of Florida to dose my pond with PP, to rid it of excessive nutrients. Any remaining junk after the second dose if a second dose was needed would essentially be inert and add little to no nutrient value to future algae blooms.......dunno if its true or not, but thats what I was told by them. I know my floaters like Sensitive Fern and frog bit had so much algae built up on them you could not see the hair roots, and my lilys and other plants had massive amounts of algae on their stems and leaves...After my PP treatment the roots were like they were just washed and totally free of any algae or otehr junk. It did take two doses, but those 2 doses were a headstart in what my pond looks like now, which has better than 36 inches of super visibility and in the south in a natural pond this is almost unheard of especially when it sets in full sun all day, and is filled by runoff and rainfall. I would think a good filtration system would catch all the oxiidized junk in a filtered pond, or it would settle out in a settlement chamber, after a PP dose and not add much to a future algae bloom....Just my perspective from what I have experienced. Regards On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 19:54:53 -0700, ~ janj JJsPond.us wrote: ===On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 01:38:09 GMT, (~Roy~) wrote: === ===I dunno about others but 30 PPM has always worked fine for me, as long ===as there was not any fish or other critters that I wanted to survive ===the doseing. It does a bang up job of cleanin gup everything and ===anything at that rate === ===Odds are though if your not fighting a prtoblem as far as fish health ===is concerned, the standard 2 ppm dose applied to the entire pond and ===fish will do it all a bit of good, and probably reduce your nutrient ===load and knock off the algae as well. === ===I don't recommend it in the pond for an algae problem, as it would be just ===like an algaecide. Killing it just creates more food for the next problem ===which could be worst. === ===As far as knocking it off the roots in a separate bucket, I add enough to ===make the water a nice pretty purple... or iows, I've never measured, but it ===takes very little, depending on how big your bucket is. ~ jan === === ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ ============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o |
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I do not know what the oxidized matter becomes afater treatment, only
that it is more inert in the oxidized stage than unoxidized, but it does ot "remove" anything in the process.If you had say 10# of mulm in the pond and you PP'd it, your still probably goping to have 10# and maybe more of mulm when yur done, except its rendered inert......with maybe a little less with vaporized material but its still going to leave a residue........and not only inerting mulm and nutrients but it knocks back or kill off any parasites that may be in there, which is a help sometimes as its impossible as you know to rid the water of all of these things as they are naturally occuring to some degree, but it does good to reduce the community of nasties. The organics and residue left after PP dose just have to be filtered out. I know when I clean up a stock tank to get it ready for more fish I use the same water, and PP it, and those tanks need 2 or 3 times the filter changes until I get all the organics removed. Regards On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 22:16:17 -0700, ~ janj JJsPond.us wrote: ===On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 22:24:03 GMT, (Roy) wrote: === ===Jan, interesting theory there. === ===Last year when I had massive algae blooms I was told by AUM (Auburn ===University) and the Universtiy of Florida to dose my pond with PP, ===to rid it of excessive nutrients. Any remaining junk after the second ===dose if a second dose was needed would essentially be inert and add ===little to no nutrient value to future algae blooms.......dunno if its ===true or not, but thats what I was told by them. === ===I know my floaters like Sensitive Fern and frog bit had so much algae ===built up on them you could not see the hair roots, and my lilys and ===other plants had massive amounts of algae on their stems and ===leaves...After my PP treatment the roots were like they were just ===washed and totally free of any algae or otehr junk. It did take two ===doses, but those 2 doses were a headstart in what my pond looks like ===now, which has better than 36 inches of super visibility and in the ===south in a natural pond this is almost unheard of especially when it ===sets in full sun all day, and is filled by runoff and rainfall. I ===would think a good filtration system would catch all the oxiidized ===junk in a filtered pond, or it would settle out in a settlement ===chamber, after a PP dose and not add much to a future algae ===bloom....Just my perspective from what I have experienced. === ===Hmmmm, well now you have me rethinking, I do know there is a KHA that ===treats his water garden ponds with 2ppm now and then to rid them of the ===organic mulm. === ===PP is an oxidizer, but where would the organics go/become? I know I was ===going to try this in the D.pond this spring, and totally forgot, the D.pond ===has this light fluffy mulm, that doesn't move for nothing towards the ===bottom drain. Yet it puffs right up when disturbed. 2000 gallon pond with ===turn around time of once/hour. So I was going to try his PP solution to see ===what it would do with that mulm. Maybe next year, or this fall. We'll see. ===~ jan === === ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~ ============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o |
~ janj JJsPond.us wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 22:24:03 GMT, (Roy) wrote: Jan, interesting theory there. Last year when I had massive algae blooms I was told by AUM (Auburn University) and the Universtiy of Florida to dose my pond with PP, to rid it of excessive nutrients. Any remaining junk after the second dose if a second dose was needed would essentially be inert and add little to no nutrient value to future algae blooms.......dunno if its true or not, but thats what I was told by them. Hmmmm, well now you have me rethinking, I do know there is a KHA that treats his water garden ponds with 2ppm now and then to rid them of the organic mulm. PP is an oxidizer, but where would the organics go/become? I would have _thought_ (I'm no chemist) that it just precipitates the organics out of the water column - I would expect "mulm" to still be there, but perhaps as a denser precipitate. I can certainly see how it would make nutrients unavailable to algae. -- derek |
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