our pond is medium size and has always been clean but this year we have had green water which I managed to clear by changing the lamp in the filter pump and it was perfect until just the last week. when cleaning the pump last week there was a huge amount of what can only be described as jelly like substance which had bogged up the filters (and took a fair bit of cleaning I can tell you). two things have changed since last year, we have had to put a net over the pond as harry the heron would have cleared it out. we have a huge amount of fish now last count was 400+ due to we think harry and mild winter. there is now a large amount of water snails in the pond due to the net not allowing blacky the blackbird and his family in to cull them. anyone got any suggestions as to what will cure this ? other than taking away the net! G.
It sounds as though it could be a combination of things Glasfryn. Too many fish as they will pollute the pond with their waste and too much sunlight as this creates blanket weed which will clog up your filters and pump. Lastly too many snails. The fish obviously aren't eating enough of them when they're small and so they are reproducing more than normal.
thanks Eileen I think you might be right,although there has not been any blanket weed for a long while and it had been clean for some while before this happened but for sure there are to many fish and snails. funny after posting this morning I went down to have a look at the pond and who should be trapped in the netting but a baby blackbird silly bird did'nt even stop to eat any snails and after I had let it out it stared at as though I was going to harm it until dad came along and educated him/her"yes dear this is the big one who puts apples on the lawn for us to eat". I think I have to seriously consider taking the net off for a while which might kill two birds with one stone or should that be kill fish and snails with two birds. something I really don't want to do but............. G.
Is there a retail outlet somewhere in your area that you could offload some of your fish and snails to? Sometimes they are grateful for you doing this and will give you either cash, discounts or even exchange products for your excess stock. Another idea - do you have a freecycle website in your area? You could post there and tell folks that you have too many fish and snails and would be glad to give them some to stock their own ponds with. I'm glad you managed to rescue the young blackbird from the net. Maybe it would be a good idea to remove the net for a period of time while there are still young birds around. We have a lot of blanket weed this year, much more than we've had before and it's definately down to the warmer, sunnier weather we've been having. As my pond is an organic, wildlife one I tend not to use chemicals to remove it but if you get hold of a thick garden cane and 'twizzle' it in the weed you can remove clumps of it at a time which helps to keep your pond clear until the shorter, darker days. Some people plant large plants, such as gunnera, around their ponds to cast shade on the water which restricts the growth of blanket weed, duckweed and other invasive growth. I simply don't have enough space for these enormous plants but you might like to try it. If there's anything else I can help you with just let me know and I'll try to help you out as best I can.
thanks eileen, sorry I have not answered you before this,well all looks OK now,I have been cleaning the filters every day and the water is now crystal clear. I have not had any problems with blanket weed for some while now ............but when I did I used two canes taped together with a small wedge at on end and put the forked end in the weed and twisted which used to get rid of most of it. another thing I have done is when I clean the filters I used pond water and when finished used the dirty water to put on puny plants and within days they are like triffids :-D problem is it brings its own problems ......the wind pulls them down. true what some old gent told me years ago "no such thing as a perfect garden and if there ever was something would come along to make it imperfect" never a truer word :-? G.
It's good to hear that you've solved the problem of the blocked filters Glasfryn. :-D Pond water is fantastic fertilzer for garden plants isn't it? I do the same as you do and put the dirty water on the garden and then top up the pond with stored rain water. Any bugs that are in the pond water soon get picked up from the soil by the robins and blackbirds so, all in all, it's a great system. I think I'd soon get fed up with my garden if it was perfect. I much prefer it being the way it is as then I can go out and 'potter' whenever I like knowing that there's always plenty to do.
I think I'd soon get fed up with my garden if it was perfect. I much prefer it being the way it is as then I can go out and 'potter' whenever I like knowing that there's always plenty to do. exactly my thoughts too.
