The Great Dye Experiment

So I was at Big Orange this weekend, and wandered down the pond aisle. They
had these blue dye tablets that contain "enzymes" to eat the muck at the
bottom of the pond. The idea here being, tint the water and your algae will
die. I have about 3000 gallons, so I bought enough for about 1200 gallons.

Results...

....either I have less water or these things really work...my water is very
disturbingly blue.
....the algae seem to be affected as just after a day and the water is tinted
but clearer
....the tables stain your skin
....the fish, frogs, etc do not seem bothered by the dye at all
....not sure I would ever do this again.

BV.

Just what this group needs - a sacrificial guinea pig :~ Seriously,
these tablets sound intriguing - are they supposed to be a one time
treatment, as needed, or how often? Does the water clear of it's own accord
or are water changes needed to remove the tint. Was there a brand name for
them?
Gale :~)
"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...
So I was at Big Orange this weekend, and wandered down the pond aisle.
They
had these blue dye tablets that contain "enzymes" to eat the muck at the
bottom of the pond. The idea here being, tint the water and your algae
will
die. I have about 3000 gallons, so I bought enough for about 1200 gallons.

Results...

...either I have less water or these things really work...my water is very
disturbingly blue.
...the algae seem to be affected as just after a day and the water is
tinted
but clearer
...the tables stain your skin
...the fish, frogs, etc do not seem bothered by the dye at all
...not sure I would ever do this again.

BV.

"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...
Just what this group needs - a sacrificial guinea pig :~
Seriously,
these tablets sound intriguing - are they supposed to be a one time
treatment, as needed, or how often? Does the water clear of it's own
accord
or are water changes needed to remove the tint. Was there a brand name for
them?
snip

As I understand it. They are a use as needed treatment. Turn the water
blueish, kill the algea by starving the sunlight. Meanhwhile the enzymes
east the sludge at the bottom of the pond. I cannot attest to any of these
claims, except the algae clearing. After the first day, my water was
noticeable clearer.

You can read the details from the manufacturer, here.
http://tinyurl.com/yrqpk.

BV.

"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...

As I understand it. They are a use as needed treatment. Turn the water
blueish, kill the algea by starving the sunlight. Meanhwhile the enzymes
east the sludge at the bottom of the pond. I cannot attest to any of these
claims, except the algae clearing. After the first day, my water was
noticeable clearer.

You can read the details from the manufacturer, here.
http://tinyurl.com/yrqpk.


One of my buddies lives in an apartment complex that has this "river"
flowing between the buildings. To keep the kids from treating it as a pool,
they dye it green. It's not even pea-soup green, it's bright lime green.

As for using the dye in the pond, maybe as a one time deal for when you're
having a party and want to show off your clear blue water..otherwise a
little bit silly.

Snooze

Just saw this post regarding the dye experiment. I've used Mrs. Smith's
blueing (found in the laundry section of larger grocery stores or
hardware's). Your grandmother used it to brighten white closes and people
today even put in their birdbaths.

Mrs. Smith's blueing (I use the whole bottle for my 1300+ pond) does turn
the pond blue and starves the algae. The great thing about Mrs. Smith's
blueing is it disappears within 2-3 weeks. Then your plants are blooming
and you have enough shade that you don't need it any more. I find two
bottles of this stuff takes care of the problem. Try it -- it does work. I
sort of like the color -- it darkens pond and shows off the plants.

Joy
"Snooze" wrote in message
om...
"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...

As I understand it. They are a use as needed treatment. Turn the water
blueish, kill the algea by starving the sunlight. Meanhwhile the enzymes
east the sludge at the bottom of the pond. I cannot attest to any of
these
claims, except the algae clearing. After the first day, my water was
noticeable clearer.

You can read the details from the manufacturer, here.
http://tinyurl.com/yrqpk.


One of my buddies lives in an apartment complex that has this "river"
flowing between the buildings. To keep the kids from treating it as a
pool,
they dye it green. It's not even pea-soup green, it's bright lime green.

As for using the dye in the pond, maybe as a one time deal for when you're
having a party and want to show off your clear blue water..otherwise a
little bit silly.

Snooze

Joy wrote I've used Mrs. Smith's
blueing

Many years ago I used it to brighten my palomino's tail for horse shows. Only a
teenage
horse crazy girl would stand around holding a heavy water and blueing filled
bucket with her horse's tail in it for 20 minutes. I don't even waste that much
time on my own hair nowadays!



kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A

"Snooze" wrote in message
om...
"Benign Vanilla" wrote in message
...

As I understand it. They are a use as needed treatment. Turn the water
blueish, kill the algea by starving the sunlight. Meanhwhile the enzymes
east the sludge at the bottom of the pond. I cannot attest to any of
these
claims, except the algae clearing. After the first day, my water was
noticeable clearer.

You can read the details from the manufacturer, here.
http://tinyurl.com/yrqpk.


One of my buddies lives in an apartment complex that has this "river"
flowing between the buildings. To keep the kids from treating it as a
pool,
they dye it green. It's not even pea-soup green, it's bright lime green.

As for using the dye in the pond, maybe as a one time deal for when you're
having a party and want to show off your clear blue water..otherwise a
little bit silly.

I was hoping it would do the job of helping my plants beat out the algae, by
tinting the water so the algae is starved. We'll see how silly in a few
days. LOL.

BV.

"Benign Vanilla" :

So I was at Big Orange this weekend, and wandered down the pond aisle. They
had these blue dye tablets that contain "enzymes" to eat the muck at the
bottom of the pond. The idea here being, tint the water and your algae will
die. I have about 3000 gallons, so I bought enough for about 1200 gallons.

Results...

....either I have less water or these things really work...my water is very
disturbingly blue.
....the algae seem to be affected as just after a day and the water is
tinted
but clearer
....the tables stain your skin
....the fish, frogs, etc do not seem bothered by the dye at all
....not sure I would ever do this again.

Question? Is there any reason that you can't get the same affect floating
large foam pads on the water to block the light? Maybe paint/shape them to
look like leaves. Or does that block too much air from the water?

Earl Colby Pottinger

--
I make public email sent to me! Hydrogen Peroxide Rockets, OpenBeos,
SerialTransfer 3.0, RAMDISK, BoatBuilding, DIY TabletPC. What happened to
the time? http://webhome.idirect.com/~earlcp

"Earl Colby Pottinger" wrote in message
...
"Benign Vanilla" :

So I was at Big Orange this weekend, and wandered down the pond aisle.
They
had these blue dye tablets that contain "enzymes" to eat the muck at the
bottom of the pond. The idea here being, tint the water and your algae
will
die. I have about 3000 gallons, so I bought enough for about 1200
gallons.

Results...

....either I have less water or these things really work...my water is
very
disturbingly blue.
....the algae seem to be affected as just after a day and the water is
tinted
but clearer
....the tables stain your skin
....the fish, frogs, etc do not seem bothered by the dye at all
....not sure I would ever do this again.

Question? Is there any reason that you can't get the same affect floating
large foam pads on the water to block the light? Maybe paint/shape them to
look like leaves. Or does that block too much air from the water?
snip

I guess you could. I dunno. This dye thing was purely an experiment. LOL.
BTW, I changed out about 2 inches of water this past weekend. The water is
still very dyed green. *sigh*

BV.

EarlColbyPottinger wrote Question? Is there any reason that you can't get
the same affect floating
large foam pads on the water to block the light? Maybe paint/shape them to
look like leaves. Or does that block too much air from the water?
snip

Don't encourage him.
Or conversely, don't make it that easy.
Shade for the pond should come in the form of an elaborately designed and
constructed gazebo of cedar and redwood with tile inlays imported from Italy.



kathy :-)
A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A