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fish ponds
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Posted by paradisi Sunshine Coast (My Page) on Fri, Dec 23, 05 at 23:42
| My fish pond was just a terracotta pot filled with water and fish and plants in it.
The terracotta sprung a leak so I lined it with thick black plastic.
With just the pot I had to clean it out once every six months or so - but since I put the black plastic liner in three weeks ago it has grown a fairly thick green algae coating onto the plastic.
How often should I clean it out now that I have black plastic liner inside the pot? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: fish ponds
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| I wouldn't clean it any more than you really have to. Is it string algae, if so you may be able to keep it down, if it's just a coating on the liner I wouldn't do anything at all. Did you change the pots position, more sun = more algae. I haven't had a pot pond, so not sure what you need to do regarding upkeep there. My ponds are all inground and I rarely clean them out. I say rarely because there is really only two I clean the others are left to themselves. Changing water tends to upset the balance quite often and you will get an algae bloom. You may have too many fish for the size of the pot and have excess nutriments in the water. Some people do a partial water change every week, I just top my ponds up as needed. You could try some Zeolite, that is supposed to remove algae. Happy Christmas. |
RE: fish ponds
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| thanks for that Cheryl_West_Austrlali all that changed was the pond liner - - the green stuff doesn't look like its string algae - it's more of a coating on the plastic. I have four fish in a pot nearly a metre high and 1.6m circumference ll the best paradisi |
RE: fish ponds
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| You may well find the fish will eat some of it, just cut back on the food for a day or two and see if they clean it up a bit. I have quite a few fish in one of my ponds and don't feed them very much at all, just the odd occasion when I am removing dead water lily leaves and they hang around my hands, the rest of the time they are expected to fend for themselves. In another pond that is in shade, I do feed them as there is no algae growth for them to eat. Cheryl. |
RE: fish ponds
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| We have water snails in our pond and they spend their whole lives crawling around eating nothing but algae. You can buy them from good aquarium shops, you'll only need 2 to start, they breed. If you have water plants which grow under water they will oxygenate the water and the algae won't grow. |
RE: fish ponds
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| I agree with Cheryl. It could be the water change, heat, sun, or too much nutrient in the water. Did you fertilise the plants or change the potting soil while you were relining the pot? Never use potting mixes, they have fertilisers and all sorts of chemicals you DON'T need in your pond, just good old soil from the garden and then sprinkle small gravel or similar over the surface to stop the fish from digging in the pot. What sort of fish food do you use? The stuff from the supermarkets eg. Friskies or similar is the next best thing to fertiliser, it is high in I think phosphates. Doug. |
RE: fish ponds
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| thanks for all your advice - I'm probably guilty of all the wrong things. Snails are on the shopping list and cutting down on the food will also happen. The last lot of snails eventually died and turned the water into a stinking mess. I got rid of the potting mix and soil months and months ago - the plants grow in the pebbles at the bottom of the pond. |
RE: fish ponds
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| For Algae in ponds use a bag of barley straw. I dont know why it works but it does. You will only need a fistful of barley straw and put it into a "bag" made of something like mosquito netting and place in the base of the pot. You can buy these barley straw bags at the produce agents and garden centres for about $10.00 but it will be far too big for your pot. Just see if you can get a small amount (usually sold as bedding for guinea pigs etc) but make sure it is barley straw. This method is also used in dams to control algal growth. Im sure you will be able to find more info on the net. |
RE: fish ponds
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| I've tried barley straw, didn't work for me, though it is touted as a good algae cure. |
RE: fish ponds
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- Posted by dnnaa Illawarra NSW (My Page) on
Tue, Jan 10, 06 at 23:05
| What would you say if I told you that you never have to clean out the algae ? You'd probably say "Go back to your yowies - idiot !". Although initially hurt, I'd reply by meekly saying " The key is to establish and ecological balance". I used to keep many ponds and fish tanks in order to grow aquatic plants. After much study and experimentation, I was able to grow extremely healthy, exotic aquatic plants without ever cleaning the tanks for years. Algae was not a problem. I won't bore you with the details unless you want me too, but once my difficulties with yowies subside, I'm gonna re-establish my aquatic plants venture. When an ecological balance is established, algae is controlled and water quality is maintained without intevention. Consider this, aquatic plants and algae require almost the same things to thrive. How then can you suppress one and promote the other. Also, consider, I'm not gonna give away all the secrets I've learned over the years (insert evil cackle here). |
RE: fish ponds
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| dnnaa so where are the yowies this year? in behind captains flat near majors creek was where I last heard of them (1970s) as for the fish pond - i've introduced snails to help and cut back on the fish food |
RE: fish ponds
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| I never clean out my fishponds (old concrete laundry tubs) or feed my fish anymore. Haven't for at least 2 years though the kids swat flies and throw into the pond. The fish breed well and eat the algae and other growths, and the waterlilies and other plants are doing well. |
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