Notice - Pond help required.....

I'm the one that mentioned 'google converter'
and what I meant was that I called up the
www.google.com search engine, typed in
'litres to gallons converter' and probably
got a bunch of hits, picked the first one, stuck
in the numbers so I, as a US resident, and
mathmatically challenged, could have a better
idea of how much water we're dealing with.

kathy :-)

bunches of Elodia Crispa (Goldfish Weed)

If you used any sort of algae killer, it would have affected the Elodia
also.

They're _not_ a good sign. If you had them last year, then it's no surprise
they're still there, but bloodworms (assuming yours are the same as mine -
not guaranteed) tolerate very poor, nearly anoxic (lacking oxygen)
conditions.

Was just reading something on this (as I catch up on all my back issues of
WG) blood worms are good. Tuberflex worms though prefer polluted
conditions, that is why I've heard it recommended not to feed those dried
or otherwise, to one's fish. ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

Okay then... What I think I'll do this weekend - weather permitting of course since it's another wet 'n dull day in the UK... Is do a partial water change. I'll pump out about 50% of the water and then fish out as much debris from the bottom of the pond as I can. The filter will be okay since it always has a level of water in it. I'll then top up with conditioned water and transfer my plants to the pond and take it from there. I've got some hozelock pond plant food so I'll feed them on a regular basis and monitor the condition of the water closely.

If its sunny I may also keep a note of how much sun the pond gets.

Thanks for all the help.

The G Man wrote:

Am fairly new to looking after ponds.... Anyway, have a pond in our back
garden. It's quite a small one (only holds around 110 litres of water)
but enough for a small fountain, some pond plants and maybe (if I can
get the environment right) a few small fish. But for now I'd just
settle for a clean pond.....

110 liters is pretty small for goldfish, but fine for a few _small_ fish.

The water is pea green.. Have tried Interpet Green Away & sludge buster
for nearly a month now without any noticeable improvement

That's part of your problem. Chemical solutions rarely solve the real
problem - in your case too many nutrients for the algae

- have set up
my own DIY filter (a skippy up flow filter) which has been running 24/7
for about two weeks now and spiked it with plenty of good bacteria.

That's a good start, but not knowing where you are, I can't say whether
there's any hope that a bio-filter would be having much success yet. It
takes many weeks if the weather's still cool, and spiking it with bacteria
may or may not speed it up.

Have tested the water using test strips to check for nitrate/nitrite/ph
level etc but everything seems within the levels stated for a healthy
pond.

I would guess so. Though you really should quote numbers - it's amazing how
often people tell us that some very small number for nitrite/ammonia is
"acceptable". However, you don't have fish so nitrite is completely
unimportant.

Have got several pond plants growing in an old washing up bowl ready to
be put in the pond but I want ensure that the water is safe for them
first. I put some in last year and they died within a few weeks.

Huh? You don't have _any_ plants in the water, and you want to get rid of
the algae first? Put the plants in there and forget about the horrible
chemicals! The plants are the only way to control the algae (as long as
you're not going to resort to a UV sterilizer).

Anacharis, hornwort, water cress (especially the water cress, because it's
really cheap) are the way to get started on cleaning it up.
--
derek

"The G Man" wrote in message
.. .

Have got several pond plants growing in an old washing up bowl ready to
be put in the pond but I want ensure that the water is safe for them
first. I put some in last year and they died within a few weeks.
======================
Are they getting enough sunlight? What plants did you add that died? I see
places selling plants that are not really POND plants, but damp soil lovers.
They don't always fare well in ponds. Algae killer can harm plants I read
somewhere. At this point, since your pond is so small you may be better off
simply dumping the water, cleaning it real well and starting all over. Make
sure any plants you add are real water plants.
--
Koi4Me.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Have got several pond plants growing in an old washing up bowl ready to
be put in the pond but I want ensure that the water is safe for them
first. I put some in last year and they died within a few weeks.

Anyone got any advice as to what I can do to try and clean up the water
a bit? Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.

Your up-flow filter will work as long as your fish load is not too high as
compared to your water volume in the pond - but - a brand new filter takes
from 3 to 4 wks to work biologically (can't seem to get the sp right ! ) as
the media is new - it comes on-line quicker after the initial start-up -
trusting your filter is large enough, it will work - you need patience (for
another wk or so) and you will getr up one morn and see the bottom (just
like magic is the way I felt :~)))))))))))))))))))))) )
Gale :~)