Balancing your pond

Question:

Can I put goldfish in the small ponds in my yard?
I have three or four small ponds that measure anywhere from to four feet across and a foot, foot and a half deep. I want to clean them up this summer and make them look nice and I thought some fish would be a nice addition.

Answer:

These are a few pond rules to know. Makes pondkeeping easy.

Balance your pond ecologically. Use bog plants like irises or umbrella plants. You must have oxygenators or submerged plants. The best is anacharis, followed by cabomba and hornwort. You must have one bunch of these submerged plants per square foot of pond surface. These plants arrive with a rubber band holding them together. Remove the rubber band before you put the plants in your pond. If you don’t want them floating freely, you may pot them up in several pots that sit on the bottom of your pond. The submerged plants are fertilized by fish waste and CO2, a fish byproduct. The fish eat the submerged plants, but they grow faster they the fish can eat them. Nice cycle, huh? Nature takes care of itself if we can j ust leave her alone. If you have too many fish, they will eat all your submerged plants and you have to start over again. A good rule for fish load is 1 linear foot of fish per 25 square feet of pond surface area; tails don’t count. If your pond gets green, have patience. It will fix itself


When pH gets on the basic side algae flourishes. Vinegar is weak and it takes forever (days) to neutralize. But it takes an expert to use muriatic acid properly, so do not put concentrated muriatic acid in your pond to balance pH unless you know what you are doing. You can buy commercial products, usually called pH down or some such. They are expensive, but work well.


It is good to have algae slime on the sides of your pond... this is a sign of a healthy pond and can generate up to 70% of the oxygen needed for your pond.


If you feed your fish, these simple ways of keeping your pond clear will not work. You will need a filter, preferably a biofilter.


You must cover at least one half the top of the pond with floating plants. Parrots’ feather is great, as are water hyacinths, water lettuce and water lilies. If you live in the tropics, you can have beautiful tropical water lilies. You must be willing to either sacrifice them in the winter or store them away until warmer weather arrives again in the spring.

Fish feeding, balanced pond

Question:

You talk about Water lilies on your web site are these your favorites or are these the flowers that generate the most questions?

Answer:

Water lilies? Yes, they do generate questions. But more questions are asked about murky, green ponds which leads to talking about submerged vegetation, the most important plant in the pond.  The water lilies are what sells the pond and are great for providing shade, keeping the pond clear and protecting the fish from predators by giving them a place to hide.

Question:

  I know you feel strongly about not feeding the fish in your pond, can you tell me why this is?

Answer:

If you feed the fish, you introduce a foreign substance. A balanced pond has 1 bunch of submerged vegetation per square foot of pond surface. The fish eat the plants, provide fertilizer for them. And the plants provide 02 for the fish and grow faster than the fish can eat it.  If the fish get fed, they grow too big, the bioload gets too much for the size of the pond. Soon you have huge fish, too much fish poop, not enough 02. The huge fish begin to die and all the fish poop pollutes the water. The pond becomes a great example of how we are polluting our planet.

Question:

 How do you go about achieving a correctly balanced water garden?

Answer:

See the last answer: One bunch of submerged vegetation per sf of pond surface area, at least 1/2 of the pond shaded with floating plants, no fish feeding, no run off getting into the pond, no more than 1 linear foot of fish per 25 square feet of pond surface.

BTW, All the previous information is for goldfish ponds only. A koi pond is an outdoor aquarium and must be treated as such with filtration and food.  If you have a koi pond, you cannot have water lilies nor do you ever need submerged vegetation because those little devils eat it like Hershey bars. Even building a koi pond is different from building a goldfish pond.

Solar pumps

Question:
How to pump water from a stream?
I'm looking for a small pump that can run on solar power and pump water from a tiny stream behind my house straight up about 10' to a barrel that I'll use to water my garden. The trick is it has to be low gallons per minute but also be able to pump high enough and run on solar power.




Answer:
Solar powered pumps are not capable of that. Solar power has a long way to go before being powerful enough to pump a 10' height. You could set up a sump pump in the stream that worked on a timer and pumped water when you needed/wanted it. It would have to be a relatively large pump to have a 10' head, perhaps as much as 2500 gph.

Water plants and soil?

Question:
Do Water Plants work without soil?
I have a small pond with no soil, only pond pebbles. Water is about a foot deep. Will water plants such as lilies grow without the soil? Or do I have to have soil?




Answer:
Pot up your pond plants. They don't need to be in soil, but they do need to be in a pot. Use pebbles if you wish or any old soil you have lying around your yard and put pebbles on top.
DO NOT plant directly in the rocks in the bottom of the pond. The plants will grow everywhere and you will have to get them out of those rocks. If it were me, I would remove the rocks now before you have to deal with cleaning them. But whatever you do, don't plant anything directly in them.

Pond pumps and underlayment

Question:
Pond Pumps: GPH and Water Circulation?
Why does a pump have to circulate 1/2 to the entire volume of water in one hour?
What pond liner, underlayment, and pump would be suitable for a pond 20 X 20 feet that is 3 feet deep?


 Answer:
Use 40 mil butyl rubber for a liner. You can use commercial underlayment or roofing felt. Old carpet can rot and start to stink as time passes.
To find liner size, measure the bottom, both sides and add 6'. I would get a 3500 gph pump so water will properly circulate. Circulating water adds O2 to the water, so the fish can breathe.

String Algae!

Question:
How to get rid of string algae in our ornamental pond.?
We've tried 4 or 5 different chemicals including clarifier and algaecide. We have a barley pad floating in it, we have a fountain running and a creek running into it, we also have about 30-40 comet goldfish and koi, and about 6 plants growing in it as well (water lily, cattails, irises) although they are not fully grown yet. The algae lines the entire bottom and sides and is about 3 inches thick. Would a pond vaccum help? We don't know what else to do :(



Answer:
I have found that Microbe LIft PL works very well to eliminate this stuff. Get as much as you can out and then put the Microbe LIft in according to directions. It's an enzyme and won't harm your fish or plants.
You don't need a pond vac at all.


To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

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My pond is losing water

How to arrange my rocks in my pond so they do not splash out and lose water?

The water looks like they are causing me to lose water off the rocks.  How can arrange them so it does not happen?

• 
  The water area needs to be twice as wide as the height of the waterfall. If it is not, the water will splash out. That's one of those laws of physics that none of us can break. Even if the water flow is in little drops, it will still splash out. So lower your water height or make the pond bigger.
• 
  

Solar Powered Fountains

Question:
How can a pond fountain work with a solar panel?
I try to put a fountain in my garden pond I would like to make it solar powered and don't know how. I’ve see it in garden magazines and I would like to do that in my yard.




Answer:
You can buy them. Oase makes the best one I know. That said, the technology for solar powered pumps is not as good as it could be and the failure rate is high. I wish they were higher on the list of important things to do.

What pump should I buy?

Question:
Hi. I am wanting to find out what pump I need.
I am putting in a garden pond with a waterfall that will come down a 3 ft gradual slope. How do I know why gph pump I need to carry the water back up? Do you recommend filter boxes to protect the pump?

 


Answer:
I would buy at at least a 2500 gph pump. I always suggest that folks buy a bigger pump than they think they need.
Yes, I advise a pre-filter. I like a box because the larger area does not gum up the impeller as fast.

To find more pond information, go to pondlady.com

And to meet a great community of gardeners, join us at  Gardeners  Gumbo

Patching a pond liner

Question:

Is there a paste of some kind that will repair tiny holes in a rubber liner for a pond?

Answer:
There is no paste, but there are patches that you can just attach. The patches are sticky on one side, so get the liner dry and put the patch on. I often help it seal to the liner by blowing it with a hair dryer.

Water Lilies

Question:
How do water lilies grow?

Answer:
They grow just like any other plant, but they grow in water. They grow from rhizomes planted in most any media, need feeding with aquatic fertilizer twice a month during their growing season. That season starts in the spring when the first pads reach the top of the water. They need at least 5 hours of sun daily in order to flower, come in hardy and tropical, night and day blooming varieties. And are beautiful.

koi skimmer, filter, pump

I have read a lot about building a koi pond but i am unsure of where to put the skimmer, filter and pump?

Does anyone have a diagram of where to put all the stuff, preferrably the pond would be L shaped. or can you tell me please because videos on youtube etc... dont really say where the filter goes.

You don't need a skimmer at all. You do need a filter tho, bugt it doesn't matter where you put it. Put it where it is easiest to hide and to clean.

Here's an article that I wrote about how to build a koi pond.

http://www.pondlady.com/Articles/koipond…

Oh and thoughts about skimmers:

http://www.pondlady.com/Articles/filters…

DIY underwater lights

Question:
Have you ever made underwater fish pond lights yourself, HOW ?
I refuse to spend 80 dollars or more on little 12 volt LED lamps or other types. What about LED lamps in water-tight containers, SELF made? Has anyone here done it, and what problems did you encounter? The solutions?
Thanks. My goldfish pond is 3 feet deep in the middle, and maybe 6' x 8' rectangle. 33 fish. Some babies every spring.


Answer:
I would not try to make underwater lights myself. Electricity and water together can be deadly. Sealing the lights safely will be impossible. Don't try it.

Water hyacinths

Question:
I live in zone Georgia, zone 8a.
Water hyacinths grow well in my area...just not my pond?

My pond has koi.
My water hyacinths were in floating nets.

They all died in the winter.

Someone said seeds can live under the old hyacinths until spring and then grow.

Haven't seen any action yet.

Normal? Do I need to wait longer? Are they all just dead?



Answer:

Your koi are eating the roots of your hyacinths. No matter what plants you have in with your koi, they will eat and love them.  The floating nets that supposedly keep the plants safe usually don't work very well and koi are pretty smart fish.

Frogs and Toads

Question:

I have a smallish pond (about 330 gallons) and each year we get many frogs and toads. Last year we had huge amounts of spawn, both frog and toad. The pond ended up teaming with tadpoles to the point where I was concerned for the health of my fish (lack of oxygen). The froglets then spread through my lawn making it unusable.
This year we already have even more than last year, and the 50+ frogs and toads continue to mate. Are there any organisations that would re-home the frogs/toads/spawn?

It seems my fish are too small to eat the spawn, causing an imbalance.



Answer:
Toads and frogs are so very valuable. Not very many survive, so please allow them to stay in the resort you have built for them. Tadpoles will not hurt your fish and the fish will not eat the tadpoles either. Nor will fish eat the eggs. It's only for a few days a year and then the mosquito eating critters are off doing their jobs until they return to your house again next spring.

DIY Pond Filter

From Craig Hahn, veteran pond keeper and all around handy guy:

Just thought I might mention a solution that I have come up with - once the ice is off the pond here. (More snow here yesterday. yuk!)

I have a half wine barrel (~20gallons) that I fill with 3" lava rock (to handle the inflow) then use that fiber material that they sell for pillows - still can see the look of the sales lady when I told her I was using this for a bacteria medium). I tip the barrel so the water spills over into the pond and cover the top of that fill material with a layer of foam thick enough to lay flat. I cover this with small - medium rocks to make it look nicer. Then the pond water is forced into the bottom (lava rocks) and is filtered and nutrients consumed when it warms up a bit by the bacteria (I don't add any product - just use nature). You could clean the filter material if you like after the water is cleared but I don't - I love the natural way of things.

GFI reset

Question:
Why doesnt my pond pump work anymore?
I cut my hedge and severed the electric cable causing a fuse to blow, after resetting the trip, everything worked except the pump, even though the socket it was connected to was live, I had not cleaned the pump filter for many months, but I cleaned it all up, I found the impellor will now move, but when I switch on there is no sound or movement at all from the pump, all fuses are ok, the make is Oase filtral 5000 D I need a new pump?

Answer:
Try this: Plug the pump into something else. Put it into a bucket of water or somesuch. If it works, then the problem is in your electrical socket. Also check the outlet for a GFI. It should have one. It will be a red or black button that turns off the pump in case water gets to the outlet. Push it to reset.
If your pump still does not work, you will need a new one. It may be under warranty. Oase has great warranties. Check and see.

Rock fountain question

Question:
Stone rock fountain question?
at a rock store I saw a fountain that was really cool but I can't figure out what it is called. It was just a elongated rock with a hole drilled through it standing up so that it was tall, hooked up to a pump. I just want to know what you would call it and also if you know of any good priced and reliable sites or places to buy them.

Answer:
Most stone yards will drill a hole in any rock you find there. It will cost you a few bucks, but not much. If they specialize in pond rocks, they may have some with the hole already drilled. Just attach a hose to a pump, put the rock in the pond with the pump in the water and plug in the pump. You now have a great fountain.

Algae Control

Question:
Help with pond and summer algae?
I have a 2 acre pond surrounded by mostly trees red (swamp maples) and the pond is mostly fed by runoff at the bottom of a hill, the pond was built in a swampy area (there are a number of seeps in the area, so it is fed by seasonal seeps/springs also) I usually have overflow for 4 to 5 months of the year of at least 10 gpm (more when it rains)...

The trouble I have is in July/August when there is no overflow and I lose from evaporation 3 to 4 feet of water level and the pond develops green algae, I am aware of using barley straw to control the algae, Is there any other methods to help?


Answer:
There are several products made by Microbe-lift that will keep your water clear. I have used many of them and they all work well.  I would start with Microbe-Lift Sludge and then use Microbe lift PL after that.

Keeping mosquitoes away

Question:
Hi. I have a small outdoor fountain. I'm not home a lot of the time, so I don't want it to run continuously. Where I live, Louisiana, we have a lot of mosquitoes, and I'm afraid the standing water will attract them. Does anyone know how I can keep the mosquitoes away without harming birds? Someone told me to use a small amount of bleach, but I'm worried about the birds. Thanks for any help!!

Answer:
There's a product called Mosquito Dunks. Safe for everything and gets rid of all mosquitoes. You can get it at your nursery or maybe even a big box store.