Water Gardening: foamy water, 1 by fredrump

fredrump wrote:
Hey guys, my name is Fred for short. :-)

I just came back from the one and only large pond and garden place here in Naples, Driftwood Nurseries. I wanted to buy a thermometer but - bless their hearts - they don't have any as they aren't useful around here. I asked about the heat and was told that there are many ponds around and they all manage just fine as long as the water has enough volume and depth. My measurements are fine and I shouldn't worry about it. Supposedly the bottom, where the koi hang out, is much cooler then the top which I can feel to be warm.

They are correct in that the fish seem to not even want to come up to eat. I can see them eye the food from below and circle about before they get their act together and do a quick upwards lounge only to dive right back down again.

Then I asked about the soapy bubbles. They give all the possibilities mentioned here but really have no idea why that happens. They do sell a chemical for foamy water and I bought an 8 ounce bottle. I dumped it and the bubbles were gone in no time at all. So somebody somewhere knows the chemical reason for these bubbles and has a cure for them. Sure looks better without the foam.

I was also going to buy some barley straw but it wasn't marked for price. I walk over to the counter and the girl calls a pond expert over to do a price check. She couldn't believe what the register said: $85 for three little bags of straw. I mean I've seen fields of barley galore and the straw is just waste material but here they have woven gold fibers into the stuff and sell it for a fortune. The price was correct and they claim they've never sold any either.

They asked why I wanted barley and I mentioned the folks on the net talk about all the time. Oh, you just want some enzymes and that will clear up any algae you might have. But I wanted to try barley. Ok, we do have barley pellets but I'm much better off with the enzyme/bacteria powder. That's all they ever use and it works. Well - I don't go down easily. I bought the powder AND two bags of pellets. I put the bags in the bio-filter near where the water runs out and we'll see if the water tunrs any clearer. I mean I can see the bottom just fine but it still looks like weak tea and the string algae is growing on the rocks.

I also bought a small pump to take water out and add some fresh stuff every once in a while. I can also use that pump for a small spray fountain. It's just a 500 gph job.

Anyway, I was really concerned about the heat and I'm a little relieved now that they claim it's OK. The fish will not cook.

:-)

Fred