Several pond-related questions

Greetings group,

I have a few questions I'd appreciate some help on.

1) My mom's pond (pre-fab, perhaps 50 gallons) has a severe problem with
string algae. This is new to me, as I've been living in another state
until recently and never saw this problem in my own ponds. The pond is
quite shielded from the sun, but does have some exposure. What can be
done to eradicate this algae and keep it from coming back?

2) Does pottery need to be treated somehow before incorporating it into
a pond (as a water feature, for example)? There are no fish in the
pond, so I'm not worried about that, but I need to know if the pottery
itself should be protected from the water with something. Also, is
there anything in particular to look for when buying pottery with the
idea of using it in a wet environment?

3) I have an old wheelbarrow I'm toying with the idea of turning into a
small pond. Would lining it with heavy-duty plastic trash bags be
sufficient, or should I buy actual pond liner for it?

Thanks!

--

Smoking is a choice. Breathing isn't.
http://www.cafepress.com/saproducts/1850655

"WCJ" wrote in message
link.net...

1) My mom's pond (pre-fab, perhaps 50 gallons) has a severe problem with
string algae. snips 2) Does pottery need to be treated somehow before
incorporating it into a pond snip 3) I have an old wheelbarrow I'm
toying with the idea of turning into a small pond. Would lining it with
heavy-duty plastic trash bags be sufficient, or should I buy actual pond
liner for it?

Hi,
1) String algae in a 50 gallon pond is an easy fix. Get a toilet brush or
something similar and remove most or it. String algae will aid in water
clarity so leave some. Any fish in this pond?
2) Pottery does not need to be treated but it will get covered with algae of
one sort or another.
3) The wheelbarrow can be water-proofed with one of the liquid liners, ie:
CIM or one from Hecht rubber. These work great but are a little pricey.
Trash bags will be very temporary. I would use 45 mil rubber liner and DIG
a hole unless the wheelbarrow is part of the look you want.
HTH -_- how
--
no NEWS is good

"how" wrote in message
...
1) String algae in a 50 gallon pond is an easy fix. Get a toilet brush or
something similar and remove most or it. String algae will aid in water
clarity so leave some. Any fish in this pond?
============================
Can you point out the nutrient most responsible for hair algae?
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
ISP: Hughes.net
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

Phosphate........is what it is n the aquarium (both FW and SW) that is
responsible for it, and the majority of removers and dedicated algae
reducers / killers all target phosphate so my uneducated guess would
be phosphate....its not any particular type of algae that its
responsible for but algae is going to grow the most prevalenet
strain that its environment is best suited for......I read somewhere
that algae can actualy morph into various types with just minute
changes that may alter its spores / cells......

On Fri, 4 May 2007 10:41:37 -0500, "Reel McKoi"
wrote:


"how" wrote in message
...
1) String algae in a 50 gallon pond is an easy fix. Get a toilet brush or
something similar and remove most or it. String algae will aid in water
clarity so leave some. Any fish in this pond?
============================
Can you point out the nutrient most responsible for hair algae?



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

"~Mr. McDonald~" wrote in message
...

Phosphate........is what it is n the aquarium (both FW and SW) that is
responsible for it, and the majority of removers and dedicated algae
reducers / killers all target phosphate so my uneducated guess would
be phosphate....its not any particular type of algae that its
responsible for but algae is going to grow the most prevalenet
strain that its environment is best suited for......I read somewhere
that algae can actualy morph into various types with just minute
changes that may alter its spores / cells......
==================================
Very interesting, thanks. I think I'll add more water lettuce to the 150g
tank with this ugly hair algae. The hair algae seems to compete well with
the other plants. Maybe I'll just overwhelm it with shade and competitive
plants.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

Fiurst off pay no attention to the poster Rons. He created a moderated
gorup and is hell bent on converting folks to his newly formed grup so
he has little to say that is of value and only tries to sway folks to
a heavily censored forum.

No, pottery usualy is fine. There may be lead etc in some but at the
PH a pond operates in the leeching of lead or other compiounds is not
a problem as plants nor fish would be alive. Its common practice to
use most any pottery objects that stricks ones fancey in pond useage.

Alga is going to come form sun light, dust and nutrients. The more
plants yu have the mopre nutrients are pulled out. A decent filter wil
help pull nutreints as well but it has to be kept clean. PArtial water
changes helps as well. Providng some shade will also aide in reducing
algae. Reduce feeding and make sure yu have aany accumulated bottom
junk etc cleaned out so it does not fuel more algae. Since you do
not have fish there are quite a few products out there that is quite
effective in reducing or eliminating algae. You can use regular
powdered alum and it will lokck up the phosphates which algae needs
to bloom, and thus kill or eliminate it. Use approx 2 tablespoons of
alum to the 50 gal for a start mix, and increase on a weekly basis if
needed. It will not harm any plants nor fish, and alum is one of the
most common elements found in the ground. It can be bought at
pharmacies etc quite readily..........and t works.

Back to pottery, if you find somethng use it, its kiln fired and
exposure to water does not harm it long term or short term.

Better yet with the wheel barrw than using any liner for it. No matter
how yu try and lay in the lner yur gonna be hassled with buckles and
folds etc, and a hard way to finish the edge. Carry the barrow to any
place that sprays in the Rhino Liner pickup truck bed liner material
and tellthem to apply the typical thickness coverage to the barrow.
Its impervious to water, and the same materials are used in geotextile
/ pond systems. They spray Rhino liner or an equal item directly onto
soil and when cured it forms a water tight barrier. It works perfect
for lining things like a wheel barrow to make it rusta nd water
proof. I have had 6 1/2 whiskey barrels sprayed with the stuff 2 years
ago to make them leak proof and make them useable and not need to buy
preformed liners for them. The rhino liner material is sprayed
directly over the barrells staves on the wood itself and I have yet to
have a leak. It cost me $40 to have all 6 barrels, and a large 35 gal
cast iron cook pot sprayed, but if I was to have bought the preformed
plastic liners they would have run me $20 each.. plus there is no
liners made for lining a cast iron cook pot, and it would have been a
real bear trying to make a typical liner conform to a cook pots
shape.......As a plus, the liner that is sprayed in is available in a
few different colors besides black. There are other brands besides
Rhino LIner, Dura Liner is yet another, but they all work equally
well.

Regards



On Thu, 03 May 2007 22:55:43 GMT, WCJ wrote:

Greetings group,

I have a few questions I'd appreciate some help on.

1) My mom's pond (pre-fab, perhaps 50 gallons) has a severe problem with
string algae. This is new to me, as I've been living in another state
until recently and never saw this problem in my own ponds. The pond is
quite shielded from the sun, but does have some exposure. What can be
done to eradicate this algae and keep it from coming back?

2) Does pottery need to be treated somehow before incorporating it into
a pond (as a water feature, for example)? There are no fish in the
pond, so I'm not worried about that, but I need to know if the pottery
itself should be protected from the water with something. Also, is
there anything in particular to look for when buying pottery with the
idea of using it in a wet environment?

3) I have an old wheelbarrow I'm toying with the idea of turning into a
small pond. Would lining it with heavy-duty plastic trash bags be
sufficient, or should I buy actual pond liner for it?

Thanks!



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!

Forgot, if yu decide to go spray in liner material such as Rhino
liner, just carry barrow to installer and tell em there is no hurry,
and to hit the barrow when they get a chance after a job they do. Odds
are that the charge will be little to nothing as they have so much
liner material made up and usually always have a bit to toss out, and
to spray a barrow is a quick and easy job, so its not a hassle, so its
easy for them just to hhit it along with a regular coating job without
any extra messing around on their part.....
For such a small job I would find it hard to believe they wold charge
much more than about $15-20 to coat it in conjunction with another
spray job...

On Thu, 03 May 2007 22:55:43 GMT, WCJ wrote:

Greetings group,

I have a few questions I'd appreciate some help on.

1) My mom's pond (pre-fab, perhaps 50 gallons) has a severe problem with
string algae. This is new to me, as I've been living in another state
until recently and never saw this problem in my own ponds. The pond is
quite shielded from the sun, but does have some exposure. What can be
done to eradicate this algae and keep it from coming back?

2) Does pottery need to be treated somehow before incorporating it into
a pond (as a water feature, for example)? There are no fish in the
pond, so I'm not worried about that, but I need to know if the pottery
itself should be protected from the water with something. Also, is
there anything in particular to look for when buying pottery with the
idea of using it in a wet environment?

3) I have an old wheelbarrow I'm toying with the idea of turning into a
small pond. Would lining it with heavy-duty plastic trash bags be
sufficient, or should I buy actual pond liner for it?

Thanks!



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!