Algae and cloudy water is a constant problem with me - I wanted my pond to be 'hands-free', but alas! it is not the way it has turned out to be. My pond is not a big one. About three times larger than a bath tub, deep only to 18". The water becomes black. But I have found a method to remove the sediments to keep it in control. Am using a 500ml coco-cola bottle and converted it as a 'suction pump' by fitting a small plastic tubing to the bottom through the cap and leaving about 5-6 inches outside. What I do is push the air out, holding it that way,pressed, immerse it into the pond where I want to draw sediments and then slowly release the pressure by loosening the grip. The air is displaced by the 'debris'. Then I take it out of water holding it bottom up, and doing it same excercise till the bottle fills up. This water is then fed to pots and other plants. It seems to contain a lot of fish excreta - good for the plants. It seems to be working more effectively than the pump I had made out of PVC pipe. It is useful in my case as the pond is not big. Controlling the excessive growth has been a necessity. I removed a lot of string algae last week as I read in another thread that it consumes a lot of O2. There are now a lot of tadpoles too.
I had a couple of Kois that had grown to about 7-8 inches and I got the feeling that they were eating the young and tiny fish and so the multiplication of other smaller fish had stopped. Now I have removed the Koi. Have to wait for multiplication in a couple of months.
How I clean the bottom of my pond
Genius, Dinu! Good work on the homemade energy-efficient recycled-materials suction pump. I'm also glad you removed the koi -- they'll be happier in a much bigger pond. Goldfish are a better choice for your pretty little pond -- they won't get as big.
Cool idea, and definintely worth a try. Thanks Dinu.
A little bit of effort and it worth it - from my personal experience. Not too sure how this is viable for bigger and deeper ponds. But at least for the time being, I am enjoying the clear water and am able to see what is taking place at the bottom, esp. when the sun rays enter there. I'm noticing more of those little guppies now, after the dismissal of the Koi.
I cleaned the bottom of the pond after leaving it undisturbed for 20 full months. What I noticed was that it settled gradually while the water lily did well - in fact, still doing well.
This is the bottle I spoke about, of course it has been a 3rd or 4th one as it breaks at spot where it gets pressed hundreds of times. The silt is black,settled at the bottom. I had removed it just 4 minutes back. It was a nice excercise. Kneeling down, putting the hand into the water.
Hydrogen peroxide controls string and hair algae very well. It will help keep rocks, plant pots, and plumbing clean of algae. It does nothing for green pea soup water though. Only a small amount is needed. I add 5 quarts of 3% percent HP every 4 weeks that can be bought at the drug store. My pond is around 12,000 gallons so you would have to check around to see what your pond would need. It does not harm plants or fish if used properly. Make sure you dilute in a bucket of water before adding to your pond.
It is at least one thing I don't have to worry about in the pond.
Loretta
Thanks Loretta. At this time, the growth rate is minimal and is not a problem as such. I also have a large area of the pond covered with water lily leaves and so sunlight entering it is also minimised. I'll have to wait for the summer months when this algae is more rampant. Probably this summer I will have less due to more area covering the surface. Will keep a watch and also think of H peroxide for remedial measures if the need arises.
Loretta I want to see you with that pop bottle. LOL
Like me I would fall in head first just trying to reach the bottom.
Ha ha. My pond is a small one and so no diving is allowed!
