H20 changes vs. SA - which is better?

I was just gonna say the same thing, Jan until I read your post! I struggled
with SA for two years - pounds and pounds of it on a weekly basis. This year
(3rd year for this pond), there's still some, but it's not bad. Now it's
just handfuls G. I have HIGH hopes for next year !!!

I wish I could offer some truly constructive advice. I tried that stuff in a
jar; didn't work. I tried starving it out with potash; didn't help. I tried
peroxide; I tried alum - neither worked. I tried barley straw; it not only
didn't help, it made a GREATER mess when it disintegrated in the water
(there must be a *very* fine line between "rotting" and "disintegration"!)
If it's in the pond where the fish are, they should be eating it. If not,
cut their rations and make them earn their living s. If it's in your
rockwork, like in the waterfall, shut down your pump, get in there and pull
as much of the stuff off as you can, then scrub the rockwork with salt and a
clean/new brush. That will give you a couple of weeks before it grows back.
I don't think your water changes are adding to the problem.

Lee

"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
How old is the pond? If under 2 years, harvest the worst out, continue to
do the water changes, imo. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

On Wed, 06 Aug 2003 18:36:20 GMT, "Mike Miller"
wrote:

I refill my pond with nutrient-filled tap water, which I'm sure adds to
my
SA problem. Eventually I may install a rainwater collector, but until
then,
what do you think: do the benefits of water changes outdo the harm they
may
do to my SA population?

I had been doing 5-10% water changes weekly, but I wonder if I reduced
this,
would overall pond health not suffer but my SA go down? My pond is full
of
plants, floater, etc. all doing well, add K, magnesium (low in my area)
and
BZT weekly. Healthy, non-fed fish, happy frogs, healthy plants, but
healthy
SA, too. Hmm, opinions?