Last Summer was the first time that my pond developed the dreaded blanket weed. I thought that the Winter months might have killed it off, but it still seems to be growing. I keep pulling up as much as possible, but it almost looks the same the next day. All help of suggestions will be greatly appreciated...Thank you.
I am not sure what that is. Is it like string algae? If it is, get a round toilet brush a roll in back and forth around the sides of the pond, it gets alot of that off.
Ohhh I didn't realize you had fish in the pond. Is there any way you could put the fishies somewhere else for a bit of time? Treat the pond, wait the recommended time before adding fishies back to the pond? I don't know what else to try really.. I know that algae once it gets it's grip is hard to get rid of. Keep us posted.
Yeah, I have also heard that Cinta.. I have a feeling I am going to be in this predicament this year. :( My pond is in full sun all day. Last year it was very dark and cloudy.. with algae too.. my husband was filling it and accidentally left the hose in it.. and it over flowed for hours.. we went away.. lol But after that it was really clear!! hahaha Maybe I will just try that again this year.
I have done the research now and here are the facts:
Blanket/string weed grows and feeds on calcium in the water, so it is difficult to get rid of, pulling at it breaks off the weed, but tiny fragments of it float in the water then it grows again. There is a plug in device called electronic blanket weed controller. This unit is plugged into a socket, it has two sensors coming out of the box that you wind around the hose that feeds water into the pond, these sensors omit an eletrical current that disrupts the formation of calcium, therefore the weed breaks down and can no longer grow in the pond. I bought one and IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Glenda! I'm new here but I can tell you, that stuff is a very hard plant to beat. Cleaning the liner is just a band aid,it "will" come back. The electric thing sounds good. never herd of it though.I have tried about everything out there. I always come back to a product called Algefix. It does not harm anything else in my 3 ponds. I follow the label to the letter and my ponds are prety much string free all summer.Hope this helps. Never wanted to do the chemical thing. This one works.
Be careful of those that say they are you friend. Friendship and Trust must be earned, Saying it is only part of the truth.
No it is fish friendly, It is also frog friendly too. I have never had frogs sporn in the pond before, but this year its full of it!!!!!!!I am hoping that the fish wont eat the tadpoles.
Hi all, if you follow the directions algefix if safe, safe, safe. My water is crystal clear, now i need to decide hows the best way to get all that muck I can see! out of bottom, Hummmmmm. There is just no easy way.
Be careful of those that say they are you friend. Friendship and Trust must be earned, Saying it is only part of the truth.
well, if you have snails or plants, you probably don't want the muck totally gone. remember it is a pond, not a pool.
that said, i use either a shopvac or a siphon to get the muck off the bottom of mine. i just don't get it all because of the snails and my algae eater likes to "bed down" in it.
Never used a shopvac. Do they do pretty good? Im talkin a lot of muck. this pond has a die off every 3 to 5 years. Fish are good one day and dead the next. Cant figure the cause. The other two have never done this. strange! So before I restock it i need to clean and disinfect it i suppose. Got big snails no algae eaters though to cold here.
Be careful of those that say they are you friend. Friendship and Trust must be earned, Saying it is only part of the truth.
Man, my pond is a mess!! I have algae big time. I don't know what I am going to do yet. I have 3 fish in it and a water lily from last year that I hope made it thru the winter.
Jiffy, you have an algae eater in your pond? Like one you would put in an aquarium? I have considered that, sort of.. more on the joking side. The only bad thing is, I wouldn't be able to over winter it.. unless I brought it in. Would you suggest I get one/or 20? hehe
Well yeah, I would have to have A LOT of algae eaters.. :LOL: But I figure 1 or 2 wouldn't hurt. :wink: I need to buy a new net.. I am going shopping tomorrow.. so I will take before and after pics of my mucky mess. I also need to buy a pond thermometer.
The strange thing is the water is crystal clear. So you can see all the muck in the bottom.Hummmmmmm, There are big snails and a few blunt nose minnows in the mess somewhere. pond thermometer say 43 today. got the filters and uv set up going over the weekend.
Be careful of those that say they are you friend. Friendship and Trust must be earned, Saying it is only part of the truth.
guess ill wait and do a gunk clean when the water warms a bit. dont have a shop vac big enough to do this job. Got no blanket weed. That would be to much.I guess there is no easy answer for this problem. I use the muck buster last fall ????? cant see it helped.
Be careful of those that say they are you friend. Friendship and Trust must be earned, Saying it is only part of the truth.
I have done the research now and here are the facts:
Blanket/string weed grows and feeds on calcium in the water, so it is difficult to get rid of, pulling at it breaks off the weed, but tiny fragments of it float in the water then it grows again. There is a plug in device called electronic blanket weed controller. This unit is plugged into a socket, it has two sensors coming out of the box that you wind around the hose that feeds water into the pond, these sensors omit an eletrical current that disrupts the formation of calcium, therefore the weed breaks down and can no longer grow in the pond. I bought one and IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Glenda, is this safe for ponds with fish and plants? Where do you find one?
Thanks
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. Mark Twain
I searched for them on the internet but the only ones I could find were in the UK. I was wondering if anyone knew if they made them in the USA? I sure would like to have one.
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. Mark Twain
Guess so, I told my husband I was going to order one and he pointed out to me that they do not use the same electrical currant that we do so it would be useless for me to order one. If I find one in the US, I will let you know.
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. Mark Twain
Just an update.. we cheated. We took the old liner out and replaced it!! We had lots left from when we first did the pond last year.. Hubby made the pond a little bigger, not much, just leveled some places off.. but it is nice and clean.. and all 3 of my fish made it thru the winter and I gave them their first official meal today. Now to get more mulch and some flowers for around it!!
My coreopsis and Daylilly is coming up. And I have daffodils, a pink tulip and a purple hyacinth by the pond as well.. so it is finally starting to look like spring.
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