Someone told me to put chlorox in my pond and it would clear it up....is this right? I know HPeroxide but would the chlorox hurt goldfish? I don't have string algae..just murky water...
chlorox
the someone who told you that is an idiot (a least in regards to ponds)...sorry but thats true...
Honestly, I would never put chlorox in a pond in any amount. It could most certainly kill your fish and any plants you might have.
You are very smart to ask for forum helping before following bad advice though. Many things affect pond water. Please leave the chlorox inside :)
Thanks soo much...I will not do it!
That is rotten advice especially considering people remove the chlorine found in city water before adding fish. They probably told you that because chlorine is used in swimming pools and spas to keep the water clear and they just did not know any better. The next time you get advise from them you will know better. Everyone generally has the person in their family that knows everything, in mine it is my brother bless his heart. lol
This is a good little article for keeping a clear pond. If you want more information you can google some of the terms in the article to see what comes up. Hydrogen peroxide has worked very well on controlling string algae but I started using it when my pond was chrystal clear from the spring cleaning and water change. Ponds go through natural cycles and at certain times of the year unless you have a really good filter and UV sterilizer you will have some algae and usually some debri suspended in the water. Personally I cannot afford a large enough UV filter so I must rely on nature and a little knowledge (very little) of biological and chemical processes to have a clear pond. There is a myriad of free information on The Internet about keeping your pond healthy. Also koi are notorious for rooting in the lily pots and stirrng up debri, it's just the nature of the beast.
http://www.bestfish.com/pondscum.html
This message was edited Jul 8, 2005 9:00 AM
Interesting.....I have always used clorox in my small pond (300 gal) when the algae gets really bad. I put in approx 1cup. I have 1 water lily and numerous frogs in there. It gets a bit 'frothy' for a day then the water goes crystal clear. My water lily is on it's 4th year and no harm have come to my noisy bunch of singing frogs.
Just my 2 cents.
Now I AM confused!
I do not dispute Carole's positive experiences with chlorine but everything I have read and my own personal experiences say do not add chlorine to a pond with fish. I do not know about frogs and chlorine but fish , as are birds, are very susceptable to chemicals and pesticides. Also frogs do not breath through gills exclusively underwater. When I lived in a place that got it's water from a municiple water source a diasater occurred. My DH was topping off the pond and forgot to turn it off. It ran all night and in the morning all the fish were dead from chlorine used by the water treatment facility. There are good bacteria that contribute to optimal pond health that are killed by chlorine especially the ones that consume the by-products of fish waste decomposition. And when the algae dies too quickly it uses up oxygen and can suffocate your fish. I have done this to my fish several times with algae fix and clear pond water additives.
okay so no chlorine,....and now what about this algae fix and clear pond additives?
we would love to help you...there are so many variables concerning pond water - size of pond - how much sun - fish/plant ratio- what kind of filter do you have...etc. All these things are different for everyone. Here is a link that may help you - please study it a bit and then maybe you will understand a bit more about which areas you need work on.
http://www.ponddoc.com/Topics/WaterQuality.htm
Thanks....I emailed this to my DH
sorry I called your informer an "idiot"... I hate when folks give advice regarding something they have never tried themselves..often that is the case. I'm glad flamingocarole has done okay with it..but I sure couldnt personally recommend it. You can damage fish gills and cause alot of pain and sufferring even if your fish didnt die.
Chlorox is effective at disinfecting a pond of almost every nasty imaginable, when the pond is drained and you are using a strong solution, sweeping it over all surfaces. It should eliminate problems which have wrecked fish or water lily collections.... disinfecting the pond to do a 'clean sweep'
When chlorox breaks down, it becomes a quite harmless salt water solution in a few days time.
In a light concentration overnight, a couple of spoons of Chlorox in a bucket of water should be effective at disinfecting aquatic plants of most harmful parasites, insects, harmful fungus that you want to eliminate
Putting chlorox in a pond with fish would seem a bit risky... it's possible a minute dose might be beneficial at suppressing fungus, though the risk to the fish would be difficult to measure
Regards, andy
Sorry to have been so insistent with my posts. Perhaps I should have kept my opinions to myself. Hope you find the right combination for clearing up your algae. I'm hoping a biological filter and plant cover will help mine.
Levilyla, try getting a bacterial additive such as Microbe-Lift. Add it to your pond water following the directions on the box. It isn't a chemical; it is bacteria that will give your biofilter a boost. Run your pump 24/7, and add underwater plants and floating plants with submerged roots (water hyacinth if it's legal in your area) to compete with the algae. I know a lot of people do use chemicals in their ponds very successfully, but I don't use them in my garden and it didn't seem OK to use artificial means in the pond if a more natural approach would work. Hydrogen peroxide won't do anything about the suspended algae, but it does help with string algae. The above approaches don't work overnight, but they do help given more time.
Lev, Have you heard about barley straw? In the spring as my pond warms up. I add a bag of straw under the waterfall and if the string algae starts I use AlgaeFix. Usually one application gets the pond off to a clear start. I change the barley bag every 1 1/2 to 2 months depending on how fast it decomposes,(I put in the new bag 2 weekd before I pull the old one so it can get started). Good water coverage with plants is good and helps a lot..
Thanks for all the advice...I don't have string algae and I did try a bag of barley straw in both upper and lower ponds. I have heard it (barley) only takes care of string algae...so I suppose it did that but the water is still murky and as I have said before in another post...My DH will NOT leave the pump running 24/7 no matter how many things I send him by email from this site to the contrary! VERY frustrating....................
MEN.... he will just have to live and learn...maybe you should check with the electric company and find out how much it costs to run that pump 24/7 compared to half days...then count how much you are spending on stuff to try to clean your water....?
Very interesting discussion all! Gosh...I am really re-thinking my use of clorox!
I certainly do not want to harm living things.
I do like the idea of using floating plants to help with algae.
Hmmmm.....thanks all for your input
carole in atlanta
I am calling the electric Co......what a good idea!
I think you'll find that the pump costs very little to run. It especially shouldn't be shut off at night, when the plants are taking up some of the oxygen rather than photosynthesizing to produce it. The waterfall or fountain then becomes the primary oxygen source in these little artificial environments we've created. Levilyla, do you think your murky water is suspended algae, or is it also possible that your fish or other creatures are creating a problem? I spend about three weeks every spring retraining the mallard ducks that decide this is a great place to swim, rummage around in pots (making a muddy mess!) and nibble on things. Dirt in the water settles again in a few hours; algae stays the same.
My ponds are not large enough for ducks...we live above a lake and they would rather be there...I have wood frogs naturally and I buy gold fish every year but they never survive the winter....(or rarely)....when we have storms the water looks muddy and then clears but it never looks real clear.(sort of black water). AND we are in the woods so neither pond is in full sun and has the constant stuff falling in it in fall and spring. What I should really do is cement it in! Thanks for your advice ...
:o( Nancy
Your pond is beautiful regardless of the water color! Our conditions are similar to yours--mostly shady, with lots of drop. Last year we finally cut down the large overhanging mulberry tree (leaving the other, which only comes to the edge of the pond, for the birds) and that helped with the June/July mess. But the tulip poplar produces lots of junk, the spruce trees lots of needles, the cottonwoods a bunch of fluff, acorns from the oaks--you name it, it falls in! The close-in trees are to the south and west, so the pond is in the wind's path. Our pond is also small, only about 300 gallons and 6' x 8' but Mr. and Mrs. Mallard find it attractive for duckling training. I usually net it with 1/4" bird netting in early spring and fall to eliminate the most acute problems. Maybe you could tell your husband that you aren't running a 1500 watt heater all winter (which we do here in zone 5) and that the cost of the pump is negligible in comparison!
LOL I will send him this message............
I've had a pair of ducks swimming in a 100 gallon pond. As for the clorox issue, the frogs can get out of the pond, the fish can't. The plants, other than bog plants won't be hurt. The bog plants will die. Jessamine
This message was edited Jul 9, 2005 1:49 PM
I wish some would fly up from the lake to my pond
they are beautiful but you just "think" you have murky water until they get in there stirring things up and pooing :)
Hi pond people. I don't have a pond but I do have a fish tank inside(55 gal). Chlorine is a fish killer in a closed enviroment. Any tap water added has either sat for 24 hrs or treated to remove the chlorine. I have a biological filter that would not work if it did not run 24/7 it needs the movement to maintain the mini creatures that eat the fish waste. By stoping the flow they die. They live in the filter medium and in the mini bonz that have many minute holes in them. Also I know that when I add certain types of wood to my aquarium the water can go brown if I don't soak the tanins out of the wood.The fish don't care what color the water is but I prefer clear. Perhaps you have debris that is leaching tanins into the water. If you are concerned about the quality of your water most fish stores will test it for you.
Good luck to you on your quest.
Your pond does look delighfull,I hope you solve your delema soon.
Ann
Levilyla, Great looking pond!
Reguarding hubby not wanting to run the pump 24/7....Turning the pump on and off may be what is causing your murky water. Just speaking from my experience, I used to turn off my pump in the skimmer to pull out the filter and clean it, but not anymore. When the pump is off, the water level drops. The pump feeds up to a biofilter waterfall, and when it was turned on again, the water pushing up through the bio-falls displaced a lot of muck and dumped it into the pond. Also when it rains really hard it will also displace some of the top debris in the biofall and cause a temporary cloudy state. We have aquired a balance with the adding bacteria and dechlorinator when adding tap water. Good luck with your pond .....call to the electric company!
Sheila
This message was edited Jul 10, 2005 12:25 AM
Shiela....your pond is beautiful and it looks like anyone could go swimming in it. It looks like you could drink out of it. Oh my........
Thanks Levilyla,
I have to credit our Aquascape pond system. It is almost maintenance free, we built the pond ourselves. Once a year we power wash the rocks, pull and clean filter media, other than that we dump the skimmer basket weekly and add dry bacteria every 3 months or so. It has trees around and over it too, but the skimmer does a super job of pulling off the debris.
Sheila
Sheila, great looking pond! and Welcome to DAVES! We are neighbors! and we also have an aquascape pond! You are right, very easy maintenance!
Here is what we do to maintain our balance and keep the algae down.... we add a half cup of Aquascapes AquaClearer to the skimmer box once a week. That's it.
I'd love to do a pond tour swap if you're up for it! We love to see other ponds!
Mel
TXMel: Gorgeous pond! And the old pump and the arty dragonfly are nice accents.
Mel...your pond is wonderful! Now here is a picture of my UPPER pond. Just as murky as the bottom one.
oops sorry that was my bottom pond...............
Top, bottom, whatever.... those are great! I love the stacked stone look, and they japanese maple, and the huge flagstone overhangs! How old is your pond? Did you build it? I love all of the shaded areas.
melanie
My son has a landscape company and it was built probably 15 years ago or so...check out TODDEWELLEXTERIORS.COM
Levilyla, both ponds are spectacular, and so are the plantings. Is the dog real? I think your water situation might be helped by more plant cover, especially plants with roots in the water that will compete with the algae for nutrients.
TexMel.....Hi neighbor! Hubby and I would love to come look at your beautiful pond and have you here to see ours. I will PM you and see when we can make a connection. Love the floral accents you have too.
Sheila
The dog is a fountain and drools...we have English Mastiffs.
Sheila... we are jealous... you are going to go see Mel's enchanted garden!!!!