Pea soup?

[woodbloke]

My pond has turned into pea soup However, on Sunday what I did is to completly strip the UV, hard wire all the 240v contacts together (they were a bit 'icky') renew the earth contact, clean the quartz cylinder, fit a new UV tube and starter. Thus far, every thing is hunkydoodly...but how long til the water clears? - Rob

 

[Cheshirechappie]

"My pond has turned into pea soup..."

Get some of those half-pint sealable containers, print up some posh labels and start selling it at the front gate. With a bit of luck, you'll have shifted the lot before the Environmental Health people get to hear of it, and then you can just deny all knowledge.

 

[jasonB]

Well it really depends on how big the pond is, size of UV and flow rate through the UV. Nitrate levels in the water will also have an effect as they feed the algae.

Do you have any filtration, any fish and if so how much are they fed?

Also worth bearing in mind that some of the newer tubes need a larger starter, the ends will glow which makes it look like the lamp is working when infact it is not

J

PS my water is gin clear, should I bottle it

 

[woodbloke]

Well it really depends on how big the pond is, size of UV and flow rate through the UV. Nitrate levels in the water will also have an effect as they feed the algae.

Do you have any filtration, any fish and if so how much are they fed?

Also worth bearing in mind that some of the newer tubes need a larger starter, the ends will glow which makes it look like the lamp is working when infact it is not

J

PS my water is gin clear, should I bottle it

Pond is around 1000g, UV tube is 15W with a standard three foam filtration unit. We probably have around 15 or 20 fish, mostly goldfishy variety, nothing posh and they don't get fed that much (don't want to end up with fat fish :mrgreen: ) The pond has always cleared in the past with this set-up, but I've left it a bit late this year so I was just interested to see how long it may take this time. When I fixed the UV over the weekend and did a test 'fire up' I saw it glowing purple (didn't look at it for long though) so I know it's working OK - Rob

 

[jasonB]

Sounds a reasonable size UV for the gallonage but I would say you want a week to 10 days if it really is a thick pea soup.

J

 

[doorframe]

Well it really depends on how big the pond is, size of UV and flow rate through the UV. Nitrate levels in the water will also have an effect as they feed the algae.

Do you have any filtration, any fish and if so how much are they fed?

Also, do you have any surface cover ie.. lillies, floating oxy plant, etc. Now that the sun has finally arrived the fight against green water has gone to DEFCON 2.

Roy

 

[woodbloke]

Well it really depends on how big the pond is, size of UV and flow rate through the UV. Nitrate levels in the water will also have an effect as they feed the algae.

Do you have any filtration, any fish and if so how much are they fed?

Also, do you have any surface cover ie.. lillies, floating oxy plant, etc. Now that the sun has finally arrived the fight against green water has gone to DEFCON 2.

Roy

J and Roy, thanks for the info... I thought around a week might see some improvement. Plenty of lilly leaves as well on the surface - Rob

 

[treeturner123]

Perhaps you should'nt have the water TOO clear. It gives the herons a better chance, even if your fish are not over fed!

Phil

 

[doorframe]

Perhaps you should'nt have the water TOO clear. It gives the herons a better chance, even if your fish are not over fed! Phil

My garden pond gives my wife and I much pleasure and relaxation. Whenever we assume the seated position at the shallow end the fish are immediately climbing over each other and consequently out of the water to get to the food we haven't even thrown in yet. Combine this behaviour with crystal clear water and it can be a simple supper for the heron, and we get plenty of herons. After our smaller wildlife pond was wiped out by herons 10 yrs ago, we contacted the visitor centre at the nearby nature reserve (yes, believe it or not Basildon DOES have one) and were told there are 3 colonies of over 30 herons. They ate everything... frogs, newts, all the taddys, and the fry we put in from the main pond. We put defences up and so the herons had a good go at the main pond, taking many fish. We put defences round the main pond, and the herons landed on the lillies and took more fish. Since then we've had camouflaged fishing line strung across the pond about 18" above the surface. The herons have had no more success but still sit on the fence and watch menacingly.

I hate herons.

Roy

 

[Jacob]

My pond has turned into pea soup However, on Sunday what I did is to completly strip the UV, hard wire all the 240v contacts together (they were a bit 'icky') renew the earth contact, clean the quartz cylinder, fit a new UV tube and starter. Thus far, every thing is hunkydoodly...but how long til the water clears? - Rob

Are we talking Veritas stone pond here? I'd bin it if I were you.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Barley straw is supposed to be good - worth a google.

 

[woodbloke]

I hate herons.

Roy

Same here...and slugs. We have barley straw as well, update is that the water seems to be clearing slowly - Rob

 

[studders]

Are we talking Veritas stone pond here? I'd bin it if I were you.

 

[doorframe]

Here's some of mine queueing up to be heron food earlier today...

The lines over the pond aren't pretty but they keep those pesky herons at bay.

Roy

 

[Racers]

My pond has these in

Pete

 

[doorframe]

Very nice Pete. Our wildlife pond attracts the amphibians and keeps them out of my main (fish only) pond. Have you ever been lucky enough to get a Great Crested Newt? We had just 1 about 9 yrs ago. About 7 inches long. I thought it was somebody's pet lizard!

Roy

 

[Racers]

Hi, Roy

Just common newts, I would love GCNs.
We have loads of leaches as well.

The pond needs a new liner but I don't know when the best time to empty it out and replace it.

Pete

 

[woodbloke]

The lines over the pond aren't pretty but they keep those pesky herons at bay.

Roy

I tried those lines and it didn't work for me. I watched from an upstairs window one morning as a big old heron speared a fish right through my spider's web of lines, so the whole pond is covered now in a fine almost see through net (one from Blagdon) - Rob

 

[Doug B]

My pond has these in

Pete

Found a few of those Pete when renovating a pond for a customer.

They seemed happy with their new home.