HI:
I have started to get a thin film on the surface of my pond. It almost looks like an oil slick but it's sort of white colored. I noticed that it it not present when I turn off the pumps, etc and seems to form more from water falling into the pond (water fall) than from the aerator I have in there. With the pumps off it takes a long time to dissipate. Any clues as to what this is and how to treat it, please?
Help - Scum-film on pond surface
Hi, in my experience it is best to have movement in your pond water at all times. I'm not sure from your description what that film is, but too many disolved organic compounds can cause a film in indoor fish tanks and sometimes a white foamy substance. I might try a partial water change if that is something you can do with your pond. Adding activated carbon can help trap contaminants also. How big, what kind of filter, pump, fish, plants, etc?
Thanks for your thoughts. The pond is about 3,000 galls, outside in full sun with about 1/4 or less shading from pond plants. The pump is somewhere around 1900 GPH. This weekend I have installed a 150 gall filter system which I derived from http://www.skippysstuff.com. It has yet to settle in but I have great hopes for it as far as green water goes:-) The filter medium is a sort of scouring pad material which has been spiked with ensymes. Plantwise I have a lot of oxygenating plants and one of the anacharis' is so big we call it "Side Show Bob" from the Simpsons TV program. We also have three lillies and an overgrown water primrose (which is thriving). The bottom has small river rock and would be very difficult to clean, if needed. The scum is a fairly recent thing and I was wondering if this is what some refer to as 'foam'? It concerns me because the more I agitate the water the more it seems to appear. It looks something like a dirty film of oil and it concerns me that the fish might ingest it while feeding. BTW, I have 6 goldfish about 5 inches long. Thanks in advamce for any help you can provide. Steve
Ok, this sounds like a nice big pond and it is encouraging to hear that your plants are doing well. Six goldfish is certainly not too many, but I wouldn't add more until this gets solved.
I assume the fish are healthy, acting normal, eating, and so on because you didn't sound concerned about them except that they might eat this film-a real possibility-my koi tried to eat my dog once!
Seriously though-how long have you had the pond running? Is it new? Seasonal (I don't know what happens in winter in your area)? Any recent changes? Some water pumps are oil filled to reduce friction and are sealed to contain the oil-could the pump be leaking?
When I say foam about a pond or fish tank, I literally mean it looks like soap bubbles. Sometimes I get a little where my waterfall hits the water but it doesn't last long and is easily cured with a partial water change. Mostly it seems to be from nitrates rising in the water which happens early in the spring here before the plants really get going. I like biological filtration. Water hyacinth is something that I couldn't do without for keeping the water clean but I hear it is illegal in some warmer states.
I would probably get your pond water tested-many pet stores will do it for free. Try running the water through or over some activated carbon. This won't hurt biological filtration at all but may very well catch some substance you don't want in there but cannot see.You might try skimming the surface with a piece of cloth. Sounds kind of odd but it works great on fish tanks kept near the kitchen which can actually get grease from cooking on the water.
Hope this helps some, keep me posted!
(By the way, if this is a new pond, it takes at least a month to get a good biological build up of good bacteria.)
Sylvi
HI: Good news today. I went out last night to water the rest of the garden plants and saw that because I had turned off a second pump (to stop getting more film) one end of the pond was alive with mosquitoes. Having West Nile Virus around here, I panicked and turned the second pump back on so it throws a good size jet up about two ft high. That fixed the mozzies, but imaging my surprise when I got up the next morning to find that most of the film had gone!! There is still a little but something like you described around your w'fall, AND it now looks just like a very weak foam. I tested the water with one of those dipstick tester things and it says that everything is as it should be but the water is a bit hard (not quite sure what to do about that – hint!). I have an automatic filler (ball valve) so it only adds a little new water each day, according to the sun conditions, etc. The pond is about 16 months old and the summer is about 120F and the winter about 34F. The last lot of hyacinths were quickly eaten by the fish.
BTW sorry to hear about your dog, was it a big one? :-)
Not sure if hyacinths are illegal here but I had the last lot shipped in from CA (Van Ness Gardens) I shall certainly be looking for more (or something similar to float on the filter tank) soon.
I will keep monitoring the situation closely and perhaps I can ask for help from you again if it doesn't clear up - or I have other problems!!!!!
Thanks for your suggestions this far. It certainly feels better when you have someone out there caring and giving a guiding hand.
Steve
Okay, you had a pump shut off to prevent film but turning it back on got rid of the film? I wonder if something totally benign like pollen could have blown in? This doesn't really sound like it's related to the pump. I'm glad it is gone now. Was this the first time in 16 months that this was a problem? Hard water makes me say aha-a little bit of foam from agitating high mineral content water is not at all surprising and nothing to worry about. You said your water tested fine-I assume that means ammonia and nitrite zero, pH between 6.5 and 8.0, nitrate less than 40 ppm. How hard is the water and which scale of measurement was your test? Most of the time hard water isn't much to worry about.
Fish will gleefully eat mosquito larvae if they can get at them, and I have to keep my plants and fish in different parts of my pond to get any to survive. The dog weighs 150 pounds! He is a Newfoundland-loves the water. He stopped drinking from the pond after the fish started biting his tongue! Served him right if you ask me!
Summers sound hot there-keep water moving for good oxygenation when temps are over 80 (dissolved oxygen starts to fall at 80ish). Do the fish stay out for the winter? Mine come in around October. Big pain in the neck!
Glad I could help some. I love my pond and talking about it.
Sylvi
Yes, Very hard water around here. Water softeners and RO units are 'de rigor' in the house. PH is a little high in the pond but all else as it should be. This is the first time it went like that . . . foam I can cope with, but this other stuff looked just like an oil slick. I knew it wasn't, but it just looked bad. I shall have to keep a watch for it again. Like you say, it could have been a pollen thing.
When I lived in Spain, we all woke up one morning to find the community pool covered in what looked like yellow paint. It seemed that some pranksters had poured a load of bright yellow water-based paint in the pool. Boy, were we all mad, but later we noticed that it was covering the streets too, and soon realized it pollen from some plant which was prevalent around the region.
In southern AZ I agitate water from about March til early December. Sometimes in the winter I agitate during the day only (on a timer) to keep oxygen levels up, but the fish are quite active all year round.
Our fish are called names (well three of them), they are 'Creamy', our fav; 'Stripy' (a female), 'Titch' and others we can't tell one from another. Pretty silly, eh?
It's nice to hear about other peoples' ponds. How many fish do you have: what are your winters like? If you have a minute, perhaps you can give me the details so I can judge how I am doing and what I should be aiming for later on?
Thanks, Steve
The one thing I would aim for in starting again would be BIGGER! My pond is about 700 gallons, three plastic preform pools in a series. I use a FishMate BioMate 8 watt UV combo filter which I love. It has bioballs and a sponge along with the UV. It is a kind of ugly green box, but the plants hide it pretty quickly in the spring. I have may night salvia, sunray coreopsis, purple coneflower, creeping phlox, armeria, and several ground cover sedums (fighting for dominance right now) in a raised bed surrounding the pond. I keep water lilies in the top pool, hyacinth in the middle (I rely on them for a lot of filtration of fish waste-they do a great job), and fish in the bottom. Fish are three "feeder" goldfish (hate that term!) that got too big for work's fish tank and five assorted koi.
Sorry, got interupted. The koi I had in my indoor fish tank in apartments for several years before I got a yard, so I am pretty attached to them. They are the ones that tried to eat the dog. Michigan winters are a bummer. My pond freezes solid, so the fish spend the time in a 150 gallon stock tank in the house. I do lots of water changes to keep them in something that small! They get cranky and spit at me when I walk past. I have had great luck putting lilies in garbage bags on the cool basement floor for the winter. They look great when I open them up in the spring. I have thought about heating the pond, but I probably couldn't afford the electric bill. The pond is my favorite part of my yard. I love to watch the fish. I get all sorts of little birds that come to drink and bathe, I have wads of squirrels, and last year I had a bunny raise two litters of babies in the flower bed. I also have dragonflies that breed in the center pool. They are really cool but kind of creepy! I have had the pond for about 4 years. The first thing I did when we bought our house was start digging holes, and I haven't stopped yet.
Digging holes, eh? Well don't stop until you get where you are trying to go. Interesting you mention the 150 stock tank. As I said earlier, I got the idea for my filter tank from Skippys Stuff who are in MI. Small world, isn't it?
I like dragonflies too but they can look real ugly up close! I heard that certain dragon fly nymph are very aggressive and will tackle small fish. I heard that if they were the size of a small terrier dog, they would be the most ferocious thing on the planet.
I noticed that some birds that came to drink at my pond were having trouble because of the distance from the bank to the water, so I placed a few flat stones at one point so they can now waddle down, just like a boating slipway.
We don't get much wildlife here even though we live in a new subdivision in the country. Plenty of bugs, though! Fortunately we don't get scorpions - yet- like we did in the last house, but we have our fair share of Black Widows and Brown Recluse. Now THEY can be nasty. Which reminds me, I must spray the house:-)
Anyway, pond looking even better than yesterday although still pretty dark in there.
It's nice to see all sorts of people on this group enjoying their ponds and you certainly sound hooked on yours. BTY, why do the fish spit at you, is it to get attention so you'll feed them?
Night salvia, you say. I must look it up and see what it looks like. I an growing a few herbs (eg Rosemary, etc) around one side of the pool and they seem to thrive on being close to the waters' edge. Which brings me to ask, do you know of any pond plants that are scented? In the UK I used to grow night-scented stock by my pond. Boy, was that pleasant in the evenings.
Steve
I read that dragonfly nymph would eat koi and goldfish babies and after I saw them I believed it. I did see one actually eat a spider that was walking on the surface tension of the water. Nymph went SNAP-no more spider!
I guess one reason to like MI winter is no scorpions! We freeze too hard for any really scary bugs but I have heard of the brown recluse in MI too.
I typed badly-it is Salvia "May Night" that I have. Really dark purple flowers, one of my favorites. I think there are some water lilies that are scented but other than that I don't know. How long did you live in the UK? Stock smells so good. I like garden phlox, dame's rocket, sweet pea, and roses for scent. I tried nasturtium seeds but they didn't transplant well. I also like butterfly bush.
Born 'n bred in Bristol, England; moved in 1990 to Torrevieja (near Alicante) Spain, then 1997 to AZ.
We have trouble with the soil here. After about 9" it gets to clay and water won't drain through it, so you have to be careful when planting. Watering is also crucial & I have lost as many plants to root rot as to lack of water. I have had absolutely no luck with seeds in this new location. Perhaps I should get a small greenhouse. Strangely, roses seem to do quite well here, too. Lemons and oranges do better in a more mature garden, it seems. I tried a pear but that was calamitous - root rot again. It is so difficult to water deeply.
The self-filler for the pool broke about 4 months ago and flooded the whole yard to about 2'. Fortunately I heard it about 1am and got up and stopped it. Then I spent an hour looking for the fish. I found 2 about a foot away from the pond but lost another 2 which I never found, not even dead.
I hate it when they die, I find it emotionally challenging.
Anyway . . . I don't think I could endure those cold winters again. How do you do it? I'm a true desert rat and don't start seasonal work in the yard until it over 90F. People think I'm daft but what the h---? I must admit, though, over 120 and I'm pooped. That always troubles me when out in the field at work then having to go back into the office where they like it about 75. That can be a temp difference of 45 degrees some days. No wonder I have to be careful about catching colds in the summer!
Do you get a lot of high humidity where you are? It must be easy growing all sorts of plants, just have to watch out for the big chill, I guess? Do you get hurricanes there? I don’t think I want to get involved in that, thank you very much.
What do you call a butterfly bush, by the way? I have heard many things called that and to me it means a Buddlehia.
Oh clay soil yuck! I found clay after about 20 inches when digging the pond and had to get my husband to dig deeper as I just don't have the leverage. It's not too bad since our yard was farm field before the houses were built in the 1950s. Soil a little heavy but fairly fertile. Do you do a lot of amending with organics? I imagine that a lot of plants would suffer heat stroke in your area.
I know what you mean about losing fish. I've had my biggest koi for almost 5 years. I would be crushed if anything happened to him or the others.
Michigan winters! Well, in the summer I garden and in the winter I plan gardens. The result of this is that I have enough garden ideas to last me into the next century. So many plants, so little yard! The summers are humid but I love it. We visited Hawaii and I wanted to stay. Warm and steamy all the time. We get tornados now and then but not badly like in Oklahoma or Kansas. Thankfully we are too far from the ocean for hurricanes! Thunderstorms are quite enough for me.
I did mean buddleia when I said butterfly bush, but you are right about common names! My best friend keeps referring to "those purple things we planted." She never remembers a plant's name, and she loves purple-everything we planted in her yard is purple!! I love scented plants. I am putting in lilac and honeysuckle this year. I have hyacinth, garden phlox, and dames rocket as some of my favorites. What kind of gardens do you grow other than your pond?
Clay! I had to get a landscape company in to use a jack-hammer to get down to 2 1/2 feet. I could never have done that myself.
I try to grow orange and lemon but, like you say, it's getting them to endure the summers which is the most difficult. It's not that they won't grow around here, it's just the clay in my back yard, yuk! Strangley enough, I have two 1 1/2 year old vines and they are thriving and putting out grapes all over. I'll still be amazed if I actually get to eat any! Other than that, roses, vines and herbs tend to do fairly well and I have some of them around
I've been thinking about just cultivating tumbleweed, it's cheap round here, y'know. LOL
Now for something new.
I didn't know that Anacharis flowered! I have some flowering in my pond but it's a little out of reach for my camera.
If you think it's good enough, I might put a separate message on the forum, but I would appreciate your observation, first.
I am putting up some photos, of course :-)
I think I can only send 1 photo at a time so I'll send a couple of messages
Steve
An another photo
And the last
My neighbors Koi pond has turned red. The fish seem to eat OK. Can anyone help?
Thanks, Trois
I have no idea what that is but it looks as though it rained real hard and has stirred up the water. Maybe it has become contaminated by the algae stuff you read about in the newspaper but I thought that was confined to coastal waters and not ponds.
I assume this is not the case, so have you posted this on the main Water Gardens page? You are more likely to find an educated response there. Steve
I thought this was the main Water Garden site. I will look further.
Thanks.