Clearing up Green Water

I started my pond fresh a few months ago. I scrubbed it down (gag!) and cleaned it the best I could without poking a hole in the pre-fab liner with my foot. I have a small 50 gallon that usually plagues me with all sorts of issues. I noticed that literally about 9 hours after scrubbing it down there was, no joke, at least 2 inches of algae growing on the sides. It was like magic. I let it go.. I had one potted plant in it and that was it for then.

The weather got warmer and I dropped an Eco-Bio block in it since I had that in the plastic pond liner I had on my side porch to keep my fish alive during the winter. So, my fish were transferred to the outside green pond. I then dropped two water hyacinth in there and that was it. So two floaters and one potted plant and my 4 comets.

Let me tellya, this pond is CRYSTAL clear. There is not one speck of algae in it. I usually have the terrible green water.. string algae and whatnot. I have never been able to see beyond 6 inches below surface. We have had some spells of 98 degree weather for days on end.. I can see to the bottom of this pond. I am wondering if it's not the Eco Bio block I threw in there. What else could it be? I am baffled but happy.

Also, before I put the fish in there, there was the sweetest frog. He would croak at us every time we went out.. nice little fella. Well, as soon as the fish were put in there.. GONE! He split. Why won't frogs stay with the fish?

My fish aren't anywhere near large enough to eat him.. what's the deal? I want both, not either or. Perhaps when my algae bog cleared up, he wasn't interested anymore!



Pondlady sez:

I suspect it was the Eco Bio that did the job. And chances are your frog is around somewhere, just dug in to get out of the heat.

Put some submerged vegetation in under those hyacinths, don't feed those fish and you will have clear water all summer. And keep using the Eco Bio thing. Looks like it is working!

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10 Essential Pond Building Tips

Full sun. Did I let it get overgrown?  Ya think?

But on to the ten rules to follow that make pond keeping easy.

• • You must have one bunch of anacharis (underwater grass) per square foot of water surface area. This serves as a natural filter and as food for the fish. It grows faster than the fish can eat it.
• • 50 - 60% of the surface of the water must be shaded with floating plants. Water lilies are great, as are water hyacinths, water lettuce or water poppies. Just be sure to compost them as they multiply and not allow them loose in a natural waterway.
• • You must have fish to complete the balanced ecosystem. I recommend common goldfish. Do not put Koi in your pond unless you have built a koi pond. They will eat all of your plants.
• • Do not feed your fish. They will become too big for the pond and upset the ecosystem. You will have an overpopulation problem and all of your fish will die.
• • Put in one linear foot of fish for each 25 square feet of pond surface area. If you have 100 square feet of pond, you may have 4 foot long fish, 8 six inch fish or 16 three inch fish and so on.
• • Do not allow turtles, crawfish, alligators, ducks, geese, dogs, raccoons, possums, muskrats, nutria or your children to swim in your pond.
• • Do not use chemicals!!! EVER! Add a dechlorinator when you first fill the pond and then when you add more than 10% water afterwards.
• • Do not worry about pH. It will take care of itself.
• • Remove any dead or decaying vegetation regularly so that ammonia does not build up and foul your pond.
• • Relax. Your pond will generally take care of itself. I recommend benevolent neglect as the best approach to pondkeeping.

Do not even try to seam large pieces of butyl rubber liner together at home. It won't work. If you need an extra large piece, the factory will seam it for you, usually for free or very little money.

Read this and 200 pages more of great pond building and keeping advice in my new book "The Practical Guide to Building and Maintaining your Pond."  Get it from Amazon

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