Emily's Pond Build Log

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rainbowcharmer

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Jul 30, 2007
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Well Crap!

I had just been thinking how this batch of goldies from Petco had been doing SO well. No deaths at all, which surprised me since I had terrible luck with the PetSmart goldies a few months ago. Anyhow, these guys have been in QT for about a month, and last night I noticed anchor worms. :( Crap crap crap. The smallest goldie was covered in them - 8 or so of them I'd guess. All the others look to have at least one. I added salt last night and I pulled some of the worms out of the small goldie (gross!!!!), which seems to be doign OK this morning. But today I'm off to the store for meds. I was hoping to add them to the pond this weekend or next, but obviously that is out.

Going to go post in the illness forum to get some added advice since I'm totally unfamiliar with this parasite. I've never had them before, and not sure where they came from - assuming one of these goldies must have had it (got them all at the same time), but didn't show signs right away?? Bummer for sure. Hopefully they all survive as I'd really like to get them into the pond! The minnows are taking over out there!

On a good note - the pond is REALLY getting clear! And the blue pump is very annoying blue... LOL
 

rainbowcharmer

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Jul 30, 2007
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Only that it's still very green. :(

I am on pump number 4 now from Harbor Freight. Good news is, they aren't costing me anything since I bought the warranty originally. But still annoying to have to drive down there so often to swap out duds. Pump number 1 kept shorting out the circuit. Pump number 2 crapped out after the disaster. I think the motor got burnt out when it spent who knows how long sucking liner instead of water. Pump number 3 lasted 2 weeks and suddenly stopped pushing water. It would turn on but barely moved any water at all. Pump number 4 to be installed this weekend. So for now the pond is without filtration. Again. And I fear I'll never get rid of the green water.

I am debating a UV clarifyer to help, but not sure if it's worth the investment, and also not sure I'd be able to get it into my filtration. So any thoughts on that appreciated.

Beyond that, the aquatic plants and fish are all doing very well. The Petco shubunkins were added a little over a month ago and are doing just fine last I saw them. They come out for feeding time but as the pond is pea soup, I rarely see them beyond that. Probably a good thing since it means they're better protected from predators at the moment.

There is quite a large bullfrog that is living near the pond. He bellyflops into it whenever we go out near the pond. I hear him splash down most days. :) But I've yet to actually see him for more than a split second. We have had lots of tadpoles and more toad/frog eggs appeared not too long ago.

The plants I put around the perimeter of the pond are mixed with results. Some are doing well, others died out. But I'll keep at it. :)

I'll have to get new pics soon. Want to get the pump running again first. Still have to get rocks back in place in front of the waterfall where we had to remove them to fix the leak. But right now the plants are so dense there that I can't get close enough to it to fix them without ruining my hydrangeas and camellias. So those last few rocks on that side may just have to wait for fall. Ah well. Always something.

thanks for asking. :)
 

rainbowcharmer

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Jul 30, 2007
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What? Start digging what?

Anyhow, just another update - still pea soup.

Anyone know how to get rid of green water in a pond?? this has been going on months now. :( I have plants, and they're still growing well. It's not full of plants and maybe that's the issue? I divided and re-potted all the plants from the nursery so I doubled my pots of plants a month or so ago, and those are all taking off again. the floating plants are still doing really well - lots of water hyacinths and water lettuce all over the place. The lily is doing OK, though it never flowered. And it hasn't gotten as big as I had thought it might by now, but it's by no means dying or anything.

Everything's just green. :( I haven't been able to see my fish properly since before the disaster.

I'm also thinking I need to add more filter media as I think Skippy skimped on my order. What's in there does not fill the 100 gallon rubbermaid tub as he said it would. I think I need double what he sent, but that's another $130 to buy more from him. I've not found those stupid scrub pads that he uses anywhere locally, so I may be stuck buying from him again. Anyone else know what I could use instead? I tried air filter padding, but that discintegrated rapidly and just made a mess.

I'll try just about anything at this point. I want to see my fish!
 

myswtsins

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Well the most common answer (and definite cure) for green water is a UV sterilizer. If you don't want to dish out the money for that (and who does?) you will have to control the amount of sunlight reaching the pond and/or nutrient levels. Make sure 70% of the surface area is covered by floating plants and lillies. If you don't have that much coverage make a shade structure. Might want to consider some small non fruiting trees near the pond area too, from what I remember this pond is very exposed. If the water is not completely opaque try adding some hornwort or anacharis.

More filtration is always a good idea. :) Have you tried dollar stores and big lots for pot scrubbers? Lots of places have them online too.
 

rainbowcharmer

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Hmmm. The pot scrubbies might be more economical than the $125 worth of floor scrubbing pads that I bought from the Skippy's web site. I'll have to check into that. I bought pot scrubbies for my canister filters, but just never thought about that for the pond. The 100 gal filter is so large that I don't know how many it would take to fill it... a LOT for sure... but it's a thought anyway. Something worth investigating.

And yes, the pond gets too much sunlight. I have a small tree planted that eventually will help with that, but at the moment it's like 3 feet tall and 5 feet away from the pond and well... you do the math - it provides zero shade. LOL. Eventually when it grows in, it should help keep the pond shaded pretty well. It will take care of the late afternoon sun anyhow. But that is probably a few years away... In the meantime I may have to redneck something to make shade. Any suggestions on what to do there? I have lots of floating plants, but not nearly 70% of the water is covered. Probably more like 30%. And I'm betting that it's too opaque at this point for anacharis or hornwort. Also - how do those do in the winter?? Can they survive or do they turn to slime that just makes a mess come spring?

Thanks for the input!! I definitely appreciate it!
 

roscoe70

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Apr 5, 2009
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I've seen people use shade cloth for their gardens, especially later in the summer, to block the afternoon sun. Maybe find some at a local greenhouse or nursery and try something like that. Don't think the hornwort would overwinter, won't around here anyway. Could always pull the floaters when the weather cools and put em in the mulch pile and save some in a spare tank to use the following spring. Good luck.
 

pbeemer

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Apr 27, 2010
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i would suspect that the algae is feeding off all the fert's in the potting soil; since those are probably "slow release" the algae will be there for some time. (my ~10 gallon pot pond was green for a year -- despite pulling out handfuls of the hair algae (maybe a pint of dry mass per week).) eventually the algae did stop
 
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