String Algae *cure*

I am posting this in case someone does not know of this.
If I had not seem it myslef,, I'd still be skeptical, (from reading on other
groups)

you use Koi Clay!!

yesterday I noticed I had hundreds of strands of this stuff growing, ( there
were only a couple LONG pieces last week, but I ignored them), so I figured
I better do 'something'.
I put in Koi Clay last night & *WOW* it has all dissapeared! I am stunned!!
(other ponders say it takes several days to get rid of it)

it was suggested for 2 Tablespoons per thousand gal. ( I only put in 1 T.
per thousand) and have read different directions as to every day or every
other day.

Koi Clay is supposed to be very beneficial for your pond ( besides the
Koi).

(I bought mine last year , but it was packed away all winter, ebay is a good
source, Calcium Bentonite)

the best way , i found ,to deal with string alge is the roll up your
sleaves and start pulling.

On Thu, 27 May 2004 16:39:42 -0400, "*muffin*"
wrote:

I am posting this in case someone does not know of this.
If I had not seem it myslef,, I'd still be skeptical, (from reading on other
groups)

you use Koi Clay!!

yesterday I noticed I had hundreds of strands of this stuff growing, ( there
were only a couple LONG pieces last week, but I ignored them), so I figured
I better do 'something'.
I put in Koi Clay last night & *WOW* it has all dissapeared! I am stunned!!
(other ponders say it takes several days to get rid of it)

it was suggested for 2 Tablespoons per thousand gal. ( I only put in 1 T.
per thousand) and have read different directions as to every day or every
other day.

Koi Clay is supposed to be very beneficial for your pond ( besides the
Koi).

(I bought mine last year , but it was packed away all winter, ebay is a good
source, Calcium Bentonite)

"B Ghostrider" wrote in message
...
the best way , i found ,to deal with string alge is the roll up your
sleaves and start pulling.



why on earth would you want to do physical work, when you have the option
NOT to???

"*muffin*" wrote in message
...

"B Ghostrider" wrote in message
...
the best way , i found ,to deal with string alge is the
roll up your
sleaves and start pulling.

why on earth would you want to do physical work, when you
have the option
NOT to???

When in doubt (about anything added to pond
water), I'd rather do physical work first until
I'm sure of the safety of a product. I know you
didn't ask me, but I agreed with B Ghostrider.

And another point: at my age and given
arthritis in all joints, any gentle physical work
I can do in the garden is a GOOD THING!
Pulling string algae definitely falls into that
category.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

yes, but this is not one of those foreign chemicals.
koi clay is GOOD for the pond & well, especially for the fish!

this is just an added benefit of this item.


"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"*muffin*" wrote in message
...

"B Ghostrider" wrote in message
...
the best way , i found ,to deal with string alge is the
roll up your
sleaves and start pulling.

why on earth would you want to do physical work, when you
have the option
NOT to???

When in doubt (about anything added to pond
water), I'd rather do physical work first until
I'm sure of the safety of a product. I know you
didn't ask me, but I agreed with B Ghostrider.

And another point: at my age and given
arthritis in all joints, any gentle physical work
I can do in the garden is a GOOD THING!
Pulling string algae definitely falls into that
category.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

It was your statement (copied from below):

why on earth would you want to do physical work, when
you
have the option
NOT to???

that kinda set me off. You seem to be suggesting
there's something wrong with physical work.
Most ponders, like gardeners, actually *enjoy*
physical labor! Else why bother digging large
holes in fine clay... (mutter mutter mutter).

I.e., there's no harm in recommending a product
you've had good luck with, but the way you're
going about it is a bit of a turnoff. For me, at
least.

Different strokes...

Oh, and by the way, "natural chemicals" can
be just as harmful as "foreign chemicals".
E.g., a lot of common garden plants are
poisonous to cats. My neighbor's hedge
consists of shrubs that are highly poisonous
to humans. And too much of just about
anything is harmful. So let's not assume "foreign
chemicals" (whatever that means) are necessarily
better/safer than ... um, native chemicals??

Gail

"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
yes, but this is not one of those foreign chemicals.
koi clay is GOOD for the pond & well, especially for the
fish!

this is just an added benefit of this item.


"Gail Futoran" wrote in
message

...
"*muffin*" wrote in message
...

"B Ghostrider" wrote in message
...
the best way , i found ,to deal with string alge is
the
roll up your
sleaves and start pulling.

why on earth would you want to do physical work, when
you
have the option
NOT to???

When in doubt (about anything added to pond
water), I'd rather do physical work first until
I'm sure of the safety of a product. I know you
didn't ask me, but I agreed with B Ghostrider.

And another point: at my age and given
arthritis in all joints, any gentle physical work
I can do in the garden is a GOOD THING!
Pulling string algae definitely falls into that
category.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

B Ghostrider wrote:
the best way , i found ,to deal with string alge is the roll up your
sleaves and start pulling.

Easiest way:

Tadpoles! *grin* Now that we have had taddies for two weeks there's no
algae to be seen in the pond.

Susan
shsimko[@]duke[.]edu

Hi Muffin

JFYI the reason you have string algae in the first place is probably from
suspended nutrients in the water column, more than likely elevated Iron
levels, hence the string algae. The reason Koi clay helps to combat string
algae is because the clay will bind the iron! The iron has probably come
from water runoff or from pot plant/garden soil. Next time you plant some
more pots in your pond put a layer of clay at the bottom, this will further
help to reduce suspended iron and your plants will go gangbusters for it.
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**


"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
I am posting this in case someone does not know of this.
If I had not seem it myslef,, I'd still be skeptical, (from reading on
other
groups)

you use Koi Clay!!

yesterday I noticed I had hundreds of strands of this stuff growing, (
there
were only a couple LONG pieces last week, but I ignored them), so I
figured
I better do 'something'.
I put in Koi Clay last night & *WOW* it has all dissapeared! I am
stunned!!
(other ponders say it takes several days to get rid of it)

it was suggested for 2 Tablespoons per thousand gal. ( I only put in 1 T.
per thousand) and have read different directions as to every day or every
other day.

Koi Clay is supposed to be very beneficial for your pond ( besides the
Koi).

(I bought mine last year , but it was packed away all winter, ebay is a
good
source, Calcium Bentonite)

Hi Happy 'Cam'per

Thank you for solving the mystery! We don't have a lot of direct sunlight
on our stream but always are fighting string algae. In the pond too but not
as bad. Nitrates are not even showing on the tests but still the string
algae. We have well water and there is a high concentration of iron in the
water. Thank you for telling us about that relationship.

I don't have Koi but I'll try the Koi clay stuff if I can find it and see if
that helps.

Heather




"Happy'Cam'per" wrote in message
...
Hi Muffin

JFYI the reason you have string algae in the first place is probably from
suspended nutrients in the water column, more than likely elevated Iron
levels, hence the string algae. The reason Koi clay helps to combat string
algae is because the clay will bind the iron! The iron has probably come
from water runoff or from pot plant/garden soil. Next time you plant some
more pots in your pond put a layer of clay at the bottom, this will
further
help to reduce suspended iron and your plants will go gangbusters for it.
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**


"*muffin*" wrote in message
...
I am posting this in case someone does not know of this.
If I had not seem it myslef,, I'd still be skeptical, (from reading on
other
groups)

you use Koi Clay!!

yesterday I noticed I had hundreds of strands of this stuff growing, (
there
were only a couple LONG pieces last week, but I ignored them), so I
figured
I better do 'something'.
I put in Koi Clay last night & *WOW* it has all dissapeared! I am
stunned!!
(other ponders say it takes several days to get rid of it)

it was suggested for 2 Tablespoons per thousand gal. ( I only put in 1
T.
per thousand) and have read different directions as to every day or
every
other day.

Koi Clay is supposed to be very beneficial for your pond ( besides the
Koi).

(I bought mine last year , but it was packed away all winter, ebay is a
good
source, Calcium Bentonite)

"Heather" wrote in message
news
Hi Happy 'Cam'per

Thank you for solving the mystery!

Hi Heather,

Its my pleasure for sharing the info but I cannot accept credit for the
'solving of' part. Through keeping planted aquaria you pick up on certain
'methods used' which I am just applying to a pond scenario. Keep in mind
that this is not a quick fix to your algae problems, it may help a bit but
certainly won't keep your pond completely free of Algae.

You mention you have zero Nitrates, either your test kit is wrong or you
have no fish in your pond, or you have bucketfulls of plants that are
sucking all the N up. Having zero nitrates is bad, this too can be causing
the string algae. Algae usually appears when the main nutrients N, P, K are
not in sync. K or Pottassium can be added to the pond without adverse
affects to the fish and the plants will benefit too, you can recognise
Pottassium defficiency in plants by the small pin holes that develop on the
leaves. N & P are very important nutrients for the plants. P or Phosphate
should be abundant in any pond (rotting leaves, mulm etc.) Check your water
test again for Nitrates, take a sample to your LFS aswell just to compare
the readings. If your Nitrate level is indeed near to zero then this could
be your problem. N & P should be in an approximate ratio of 10:1 N:P. You
could add more fish to get the N level up or you would have to remove some
plants as there just is'nt enough nutrients for them to thrive. If anything
is unclear then please ask questions and I'll try my best to answer them for
you. Again, all this info comes from keeping planted aquaria and not ponds,
although I'm pretty sure the method applies: look after your plants and not
the algae, give the plants what they need and you'll have happy fishies and
thriving plants. HTH
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**