Need Suggestion Please

[Peg]

Hi Everyone, this post will help explain why I have not been around much. Pond seems to consume most of my time of late.

Last year I had a VERY large amount of string algae in the pond. I had hoped it would die off over winter, it did not. I have been pulling it out almost every day for a year now (Except for winter) This spring it started letting go and I was starting to get a nice green carpet. After Kats spawned it let go even more, I think because the boys were at it for eggs. It was so bad that I was cleaning the leaf basket twice a day, sometimes three times a day to keep the pumps running. It seemed to settle down again until this week. I’m back to cleaning the leaf basket twice a day and pulling it out by the bucket full. Water tests seem fine; numbers are close to last year and are steady. I’m at it every day for at least an hour if not more. How do I get this under control? I have cut back to feeding once a day, They get weekly water changes of 10-15% filters are getting cleaned at least 3 times a week due to the algae. For the most part I don’t mine, but come July if I don’t get this under control I will be in trouble as I have to go away for 3-4 days. I don’t recall having this issue until I put in the veggie filter. Can anyone suggest what I can do to get this under control.
Thanks
Peg

[Koidaddy]

Hey Peg, Sounds like you got it bad! .... Spending an hour a day on maintenance sure takes the fun out of ponding!! Do you have any rocks in your pond that need to be removed?

If it was me, I'd just remove fish to the Q tank and blast the pond with a pressure washer, or you could try using salt if you have no plants in there. "Another way to help with string algae is to raise your salt level in the pond. Anything over .3% will help control the algae, but is best for KOI ponds, as the salt may also negatively affect water garden plants"

Lastly I would suggest using HP See Roddy Conrad's post:

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1768301&postcount=6

Either way, you have your work cut out...

KD
:grin:

[degan]

The Iongen is working great for me. No string algae. Last year thats all I did was fight with it and finally gave up. Now my problem is cloudy brown water, don't know what thats all about, did'nt have that problem last year. Now I have a new fight on my hands.

[Jackie Ramo]

I poured a bottle of Animal miracle in and 2 days later the algae started to die, currently I have no algae at all, not sure if this is good but it is better than cleaning the leaf basket 4 times a day and flushing the filters 2 x's a day. Currently the filters still get flushed at least once a day but most days more. I'd flush your filters more often and you may want to try the animal miracle. Seems expensive but it works out about the same as the other anti algae additives and you know it won't hurt the fish. Its been over a month since I added the MA. A few drops in the guppy tank cured the green water there in 2 days as well. Actually I think it was a capful.

[clm]

I've always had problems with string algae. I rake out the excess every day and net out any on the bottom once a week. It's not so bad that it plugs up my submersible pumps though. It's always been a part of my daily routine with the pond for the past 20+ years, so I just live with it. It's no worse a problem than the duckweed I have to net out every day too. :-P

clm

[Peg]

Thanks Everyone.
I did my weekly maintance tonight and I picked up a new test kit. I will test in the morning just to do a double check. This is truly driving me batty I was out there tonight from 430 till 700. I have a large clay pot and it is 3/4 full just from this week :eeeeek: I'll keep you up todate as I see how things go. I did get a good laugh from the guy at the pet store trying to tell me that Laguna is the best food on the market. I told him I feed EA health and Yamato Nishiki. All he could say was....... Never heard of it.

[Peg]

I poured a bottle of Animal miracle in and 2 days later the algae started to die, currently I have no algae at all, not sure if this is good but it is better than cleaning the leaf basket 4 times a day and flushing the filters 2 x's a day. Currently the filters still get flushed at least once a day but most days more. I'd flush your filters more often and you may want to try the animal miracle. Seems expensive but it works out about the same as the other anti algae additives and you know it won't hurt the fish. Its been over a month since I added the MA. A few drops in the guppy tank cured the green water there in 2 days as well. Actually I think it was a capful.

I thought of that Jackie but I don't have enough, I need more, and Terri needs to move closer :lol:

[Peg]

I've always had problems with string algae. I rake out the excess every day and net out any on the bottom once a week. It's not so bad that it plugs up my submersible pumps though. It's always been a part of my daily routine with the pond for the past 20+ years, so I just live with it. It's no worse a problem than the duckweed I have to net out every day too. :-P

clm

Gawd,,,,, don't tell me that!! I can't even imagine having to do this everyday for that long. You go girl, you must REALLY love your koi :grin:

[Peg]

Hey Peg, Sounds like you got it bad! .... Spending an hour a day on maintenance sure takes the fun out of ponding!! Do you have any rocks in your pond that need to be removed?

If it was me, I'd just remove fish to the Q tank and blast the pond with a pressure washer, or you could try using salt if you have no plants in there. "Another way to help with string algae is to raise your salt level in the pond. Anything over .3% will help control the algae, but is best for KOI ponds, as the salt may also negatively affect water garden plants"

Lastly I would suggest using HP See Roddy Conrad's post:

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1768301&postcount=6

Either way, you have your work cut out...

KD
:grin:

Thanks Kd, I will check out the link, but if I have string algae because of phosphates and Nitrites (sp) I need to take care of that or it will just return. I think I realy need to get a bit of shade to the pond as well as it gets sun from sun up till about 300 in the afternoon.

[Peg]

I have PP on hand and have used it with good resaults for other things. Does anyone know what the dosage would be per gallon for treating string algae ??
Thanks so much
Peg

[Jackie Ramo]

PP will knock it back but unless you cure the problem it will return. Besides cleaning out dead algae is even worse than the live stuff. Try flushing the filters daily and changing the pH with some baking soda. Have you dumped a bunch of clay in? Usually smothers most of the string algae. mix it in water and cloud it up for a day or two.

[Jackie Ramo]

If you do want to do PP do a very low dose light 0.1. I use less than a tablespoon for my pond.

[marla]

I've always had good luck with Barley Extract, just make sure you get all the dead stuff up right away.

degan, the brown water could possibly be tanis from all the dead stuff. I know that activated charcol in the filter will help with that but it is expensive in large amounts

[philly]

I had quite a bit of string algae during the winter months but got better in the spring but with all the problems now don't know what's going to happen.

[Peg]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Here is a bit of an update

Jackie, I tried the Koi clay for 5 days with no affect at all on the algae, but thanks anyway.

KD, Thanks for the PP info, may have to resort to that to at least get it under control.
Peter and I did a thorough water test with a new Hagen test kit

Here is what we got – in (mg/l)
Nitrate 0-5 range
Nitrite .1
Phosphate 0 (pond)
Phosphate 0 (tap)
Ammonia 0
PH 8.4 (same as last year)
KH 80 Same as last year (always have to add SB to bring it up to 130)
GH 60 (10 higher then last year)
Calcium 40
Iron 0
So really not much changed from last years numbers. As well as the year before.
To night I was raking the string alga of the bottom with a gravel rake. Worker rather well, who would have guessed
Cut back on feeding to two handfuls a day, feel so bad for the boys, they must be starving.
Filters are still getting cleaned almost every other day and water added plus their weekly water changes.
May have to look at PPing the pond this weekend and add some type of shade cover and see what happens.
Oh Ya ! well cleaning the skimmer basket tonight a mole ran across the pond edge and fell onto the pond. Tried to get him with the net. he disappeared, lifted the stone and he popped up out of the water. Lifted the stone next to it and found a whole village of tunnels. Guess it's time to go get some stuff to take care of them before they put more holes in my liner. Seems like someone is out to get me this year :banghead::banghead: sigh.

[Koidaddy]

Make sure no rat poison gets in the pond. :frisbee:

[clm]

Moles are bad news for sure. I've had voles around the pond before and I had loads of mice around the pond up until very recently. I suspect an owl discovered there was some good mice hunting around and has taken care of that problem for me.
I use both a gravel rake and a fan rake (one of those small sturdy plastic tine fan rakes). It's a rake that looks like a childs rake, but it's actually an adult implement. They both work great to get the hair algae out of the pond.

clm

[marla]

we have found holes in the liners of two ponds in the spring, I'm sure that is what did it. Yesterday I found a baby in the yard, scooped it up and took it back to the woods. Cat also came home with a adult yesterday (dead) Jerry thinks there is one under the deck, we were talking about ways to get rid of them.

[Jackie Ramo]

I wonder why you have nitrItes....

Buddy chased our mole away I think ... never thought of it being a problem around the ponds such cute little things.

[Peg]

I wonder why you have nitrItes....

Buddy chased our mole away I think ... never thought of it being a problem around the ponds such cute little things.

Not sure Jackie, I'm guessing I am over feeding and the filters can't keep up. If that's it i may have to change over to the Nexus sooner then fall like I planned.
I have had to patch the liner twice because the moles have put holes in the liner and thats in 5 years. When we installed the pond we used 2x6x12 around the top to give it a nice edge. the only place they ate into the liner was around the skimmer and that is the only place where the 2x6x12 comes into contact with the dirt. Have had to dig that area up and put a large stone between the liner and the wood hope that stops them.

[Peg]

I went to get the same stuff I used last year and they no longer sell it unless you have a pesticide licence. Will try one more place to see what they have before I go insane trying to get rid of them .You think the damn cat would get them, must be over feeding him as well:lol:

[Jackie Ramo]

It doesn't sound like you are overfeeding them Peg. I think you need to flush the filter everyday. I know I have to do so because if I miss a day the filter stinks. you'd be amazed how much crap comes out of it everyday.

Buddy is not good about sharing the backyard with other critters, he even chases the birds. He went totally nuts last year when a ground hog tried to move in. Hopefully our mole has moved on.

[Koidaddy]

Hey Peg,

Sorry to hear you're still having problems. Refresh my memory, do you have rocks on the bottom of your pond? If so, they gotta go!!!
I agree with Jackie that food isn't the problem - Think you need to add some inexpensive filtration and you'll be smooth sailing. I added a DIY fine filter last year for less than $100 and overnight I noticed an amazing difference. You should hook up one to your system too, could be the needed trick your looking for - Also acts as a bo filter which will help lower your water readings (to zero). If interested I can email you DIY instructions.

Check out my water quality just snapped today.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2387.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2386.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2385.jpg

My filters

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN1775.jpg

This one added just for fun - Day lilies are getting ready to pop!
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2388.jpg

[Peg]

I went to get the same stuff I used last year and they no longer sell it unless you have a pesticide licence. Will try one more place to see what they have before I go insane trying to get rid of them .You think the damn cat would get them, must be over feeding him as well:lol:

Filters are getting done every other day :doh: I did manage to get the mole/vole/mouse bait today and get it put in the holes. Have to do this once a week for three weeks to kill off mum & pops and any babies there might be. Then cave in the tunnels and add more dirt to pack it down and set the stones level again.

[Peg]

Hey Peg,

Sorry to hear you're still having problems. Refresh my memory, do you have rocks on the bottom of your pond? If so, they gotta go!!!
I agree with Jackie that food isn't the problem - Think you need to add some inexpensive filtration and you'll be smooth sailing. I added a DIY fine filter last year for less than $100 and overnight I noticed an amazing difference. You should hook up one to your system too, could be the needed trick your looking for - Also acts as a bo filter which will help lower your water readings (to zero). If interested I can email you DIY instructions.

Check out my water quality just snapped today.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2387.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2386.jpg

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2385.jpg

My filters

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN1775.jpg

This one added just for fun - Day lilies are getting ready to pop!
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss211/Koidaddy/DSCN2388.jpg

Water looks good KD, Water is clear here as well untill I muck it up trying to remove the algea. NO rocks in the pond at all but the water falls. I do have the big nexus to still install so I may have to get to it sooner then later :roll:

[philly]

Hey KD is that a Sequence pump at the side ? send me the DIY info and photos on how your set up there works. :wink:

[marla]

I went to clean my skimmer pads and smelled something horrid the other day and looked up and saw a baby dead floating in the lily pond...took it to the woods, came back and still smelled it, so I got my nose down and started sniffing....gross found one dead stuck in the net by under a stone, flat with maggots on it..double gross. I'm wondering if these might be babies of the mole that ate through our liner over the winter.

[philly]

Possible but it's 2 less to worry about. :)

[marla]

Ok did some water tests today and my nitrates are up maybe not to a 5 but close, I've NEVER had high nitrates...I have had 2 recent spawns I was going to do a water change when I get home from the Drs today, do you think I should do a rinse of the biofall mats also, I'm leaning towards that...guess I will cut back feeding for a while also. Well if I get home to no answers I will clean mats.

[Koidaddy]

Hey KD is that a Sequence pump at the side ? send me the DIY info and photos on how your set up there works. :wink:

Yes it is a Sequence pump from Canadian Koi & Pond. :yup:

My set up is simple. 1200+ gallon tank has a raised floor to which a bottom drain has been added. Water is then pumped to my three 60 gallon filter system that I've tied directly into my home's plumbing, this makes water changes and filter flushing a breeze! First filter is a settling tank, which to be honest doesn't collect very much dirt. Most waste is caught in the skimmer and leaf basket. Second filter is bio filled with strapping and lastly third is a gradient gravel fine filters, (GGFF for short), then it's back to the main tank. My fish load was pretty heavy last Winter, so frequent water changes were in order - Have fewer fish this year, but may add some additional bio material to settling tank or add another tank all together to keep up with the heavy demands of my feedings.

I love these tanks since they are enclosed (no smell) but the tops do not come off for cleaning, but are a deal at $10 a pop. I have since found a supplier who carries ones that tops clamp off, clamp on with water tight seals.

Oh ya, forgot to mention my air pump... some nice guy parted with it just to help me out!:grin:

[philly]

Sounds like you have a great little set up there. I like that idea of the removable top on the barrel with clamp, any thoughts on how to send a few down this way. :grin: