A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Algae Problem...bad!

I hated to post this topic, because I didn't want anyone to see the shape my pond has gotten in. But, Gardencrazy is helping me out in PM's, and I figured it would be better to just post this topic because others may have the same problem, and they can learn from my mistakes.

Here is how the pond looked in the fall, and it was clear all winter...
...until it started getting warm outside.


Now it is over-run with algae. :rolleyes:
A few weeks ago I changed 3/4 of the water in it, but within a few days it was worse than ever.
The water looks like pea soup. and there's a weird algae thing floating on top.





Since this algae problem, I have started cleaning my filter every few days...and even added a homemade filter made from fiberfill, nylon netting and a trash can.

Homemade ugly filter





You can see how much yucky stuff is being filtered out with this fiberfill stuff.
I have a 675gph pump for this filter, pumping the pond water directly into the trash can.

Below is the filter that the woman at Lowe's said I needed for this pond. It has a 330gph pump in it.

Bottom Layer


Next layer (one of these blue things)


Then 2 of these black filter things on top...


Here's what the top looks like after 2 days...
All I do is constantly work on this pond.
It's wearing me out.

From Gardencrazy...
Question...
I have purchased a much better looking container for my homemade filter, and before I start cutting holes in it I wanted to ask...
Now that you have seen the one I have already made, do I need to pump the water in at the top like I'm doing now? And holes at the bottom like I have now?

Cindy~ I went through your "How not to build a pond" thread and came up with these figures for your pond. Tell me if they are wrong.
18X8X4
18' long 8' wide and at the deepest 4'
If these are right then your pond holds some wheres between 1700 to 2200 gallons of water. The filter from Lowes is way to small for your pond. Ideally you want to pump the whole amount of water every hour but at least half of the water needs to be cycled every hour. What has happened is when you first got the pond going you had enough plant life and cooler temperatures to hold off a major algae bloom. Now that we have had the hotter temps + the lack of shade your filter is to small to clear out enough of the algae to keep your water clear.

My question is are you wanting to keep the new filter on the outside or put it in the pond?

Donna

Yep...that's about it.
...and that's what I told the woman at Lowe's.
She was supposed to be an expert. :rolleyes:


I'd rather it be IN the pond, so no one will see it. But, it's gonna be pretty big...right?
I haven't planned that far ahead.
I really don't like it sitting beside the pond...it's a trash can! :p

I will buy whatever I need...I just don't know what I need.

PS

I have 3 pumps right now...
...a 330gph (in the filter I got at Lowe's).
...a 675gph I bought last week for the trash can filter.
...and a smaller pump (smaller than the 330gph, but not sure what it is) I was gonna use for a fountain.

As of right now I can think of 2 ways to do it.

1~ On the outside like you have now but with a really nice 30+ gallon flower pot(for looks)
using quilt batting, lava rocks and scrubby pads/furnace filter & 1000 gallon pump
This way will be easier to keep clean. No heavy lifting.

2~ I will need a bit of time to think it through.

We will figure it out Cindy.

I swear, sometimes I amaze myself.
I have been trying to figure out a way all day to make a big trash can look decent. :rolleyes: I never even thought about a big flower pot!

Can't wait to hear how this all goes, I just have a small pond but I like reading this thread.

Cindy, I can't believe you are going to Walmart!

I did it...I went to Wal-Mart. :p
...and a few other places.

I bought a gigantic flower pot...it didn't say how many gallons it was, but I was trying to picture at least 30 gallons of milk in it.

Well...it will be worth it to get this algae under control.

I'll take a pic of all of it tomorrow and Gardencrazy can tell me what to do with it!

besides installing the filter, mayb you can try gettng a huge bunch of fast grwoing water plant to absorb nutrients that are in the water.

try floating plants like Pistia Stratiotes (water lettuce) or Eichhornia Crassipes (water hycinth). and after the water cleared up a bit, u can try some plants that submerges in the water like giant vallis which is not delicious to herbivorous fishes, since i see that u have kois in ur pond. however all of the plants that are mentioned are invasive plants. careful not to let them go into the local water ways.

stepheus...I had the hyacinths last year and it was amazing how fast my water cleared up...but they all died when it got cold.
I'm going to try to order some today, and the water lettuce, too.

Here is what I ended up with...

This thing is huge...maybe too big. :rolleyes:
It's like half a whiskey barrel...


...and I'm not sure if I got the right stuff here...

I had to make a choice on the thickness (or something).
They had "low loft", "medium loft" and "high loft".
I'm not a quilter...didn't know what that meant, so I got the cheapest one!

Seeing those pics of the pump made me think of something....

When I moved into my house 2 years ago, I inherited a great yard and a koi pond. The pond is about 900 gallons. I don't know what kind of pump it has, but as far as the filter box goes....

Inside, there is (from the bottom up): a bag of aerators, 4 black filter pads, and then 3 bags of lava rock.

My main question is...in the Foster & Smith outdoor catalog, there are different kinds of filters in different colors (similar to those above). Is that the best way to go? Is it better to get different grades of filter vs. all the same? Would it help to catch more "gunk"?

Thanks!

p.s. thanks for the tips about the water hyacinths! I'll have to look into those for next year. Right now, there are water lilies (which need but back a bit, btw).

Hey, I love that pot! I'm really looking forward to see how all this turns out.

Wow!! Cindy you did a great job on picking a pot. I love it.

The set up is basically the same as the trash can. You need holes on the bottom and to bring the water in the top.

Once you have made your holes then layer lava rock on the bottom, about 1 to 1 1/2 feet thick. On top of the lava rock layer the quilt batting 4 to 6 layers thick.
Now on top of the batting you need some kind of diverter. The water needs to be spread around not just going into one spot.
I have a small pot filter like this and I used a pie pan with holes poked into it. I have been trying to think of something all day to use and the only thing I can come up with is a large plastic platter (the kind you can get at the grocery store with veggies on it?

Once you get the diverter in place you can place a few lava rock on top of it and then top it off with some water loving plants.

Does all this make sense?

connickfan~

There are different sized filters for different sized ponds. You need a filter that is rated for a 900 gallon pond. How many koi do you have?

I have been thinking overtime, trying to figure out how to get the pond water pumped into this planter (filter) without having an ugly hose just sticking into it with the water coming out.

(Thinking just regularly is hard enough, but thinking overtime was killing me!)

Yesterday I was standing at the pond...thinking.

I am so excited about getting this hooked up now!

I can't wait to see it when you are finished, Cindy!

BTW, remember when you had an umbrella that you moved around all the time out by the pond to shade it? I finally gave up and bought one myself!

Dianna

Dianna...I thought it was such a pain in the butt to move that umbrella around all day...so I thought I was real smart putting the new pond under the maple tree!
WRONG! ! !
Now all I do is clean leaves out of the pond all fall and winter, and those little helicopter seeds all spring and summer. :rolleyes:

I miss that umbrella now!

Cindy, since our pond area is going to be a memorial garden for my uncle, Johnny, we are thinking about planting a Pawlonia tree beside it. He loved those trees. Good thing that they have gigantic leaves, huh? Less fishing them out or maybe could leave them in there to help shade the fish!

Dianna

There are different sized filters for different sized ponds. You need a filter that is rated for a 900 gallon pond. How many koi do you have? [/QUOTE]

There are 8 koi and they're a pretty good size. I've been in talks with my new pond guy (he did a FANTASTIC job cleaning it top to bottom last year) about giving some of the fish a new home. I thought it might help with the amount of times I have to clean the filters. I was told though that with older fish it's harder to sell them b/c of the risk of sickness/death when moving them to a new pond. He said that he would take them as a "donation" rather than for sale. I've been told these guys are worth quite a bit of $.

We inherited the pond when we bought the house. The person that had the pond built hired someone that doesn't have the best reputation in the business. When he installed it, he put the pump right next to the waterfall. This is a bit of a pain in the neck b/c it seems to collect a lot of little rocks around it and I have to go in, move the larger rocks and and then clear from around the pump.

Connickfan, can we see a pic of your pond?

Xetox, you took the words right out of my mouth!
(...or my fingers, rather!)

I finally found it!
I have looked for this all day...



I guess I need to sandblast it tomorrow to get the rust off of it.
Then, I'll be able to hook it up to the pump and make my new cool filter!

Man alive... you all are making my little plastic Folgers coffee can filter look bad! But hey... Im thinkin of movin up to a gallon and a half filter Actually, it has worked very well for us... I will post some pics tommorrow... might work for somebody else too.... oh, and by the by... my algea has subsided... I had a bad out break of hair algea....waqter lettuce and the water lily providing shade just about killed it all off!