A bit of help required

[Gavin Orr]

Hi Guys.

So winter is passing in freezing Scotland UK and my fish are coming back to life, all survived the cold icy winter.
However I have a couple of thing I could use your help with.
1st= I think I spotted a frog or toad dive to the bottom of the pond as I approached it, is this an issue, should I try to get it out, or is it harmless to the pond and the fish.
2nd = I have a real problem with algae, string algae all over my plants and sides of the pond, I am due to clean the pond in a few weeks when it gets a little warmer but Im concerned as to the fast growth and amount of algae considering it has been a really cold and dull winter with very little direct sunshine.

Any advice on both points would be greatly appreciated

Many Thanks

Gav

 

[addy1]

The frog/toad is harmless to your pond, I have tons of them and their babies over the summer.

I get string algae in my small fishless ponds, but I leave it for the critters to live in.
If it bothers you take a toilet brush and twirl it, the stuff can be pulled out. But if you do, yo may drag a bunch of small critters out with it.

 

[Gavin Orr]

The frog/toad is harmless to your pond, I have tons of them and their babies over the summer.

I get string algae in my small fishless ponds, but I leave it for the critters to live in.
If it bothers you take a toilet brush and twirl it, the stuff can be pulled out. But if you do, yo may drag a bunch of small critters out with it.

Thanks Addy, a year and a half as a ponder and im still learning thanks to you guys.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Apparently what you have is an algae specie that is tolerant of both low temperature and low light levels. Once the overall weather changes you will likely see this algae disappear and be replaced by a totally different specie that is more easily tolerated.

 

[Gavin Orr]

Apparently what you have is an algae specie that is tolerant of both low temperature and low light levels. Once the overall weather changes you will likely see this algae disappear and be replaced by a totally different specie that is more easily tolerated.

Thanks Meyer. Thats good to know, I will remove some of it and wait to see what the warmer weather brings.

 

[cas]

Have you started your pump yet @Gavin Orr ? I get algae accumulation over the winter, but once the pump is started, the filter catches a lot of it.

 

[budgenator]

I get that as well, I call it angel hair, because it's so fine and wispy. It seems to be one of the first algae to wake-up from the cold, it even seems to grow under the ice. There's no way to get rid of it, once you have it it'll always come back. Once your pond has warmed up and the filters have cycled, your water will get up to quality, then it shrinks back to an unobtrusive fuzz; it doesn't compete well with the other plants that wake up later. Gather it up and throw it on the compost pile when it gets long. If it doesn't shrink back, you may have water quality issues like mulm and gunk built up on the bottom.

 

[Gavin Orr]

Have you started your pump yet @Gavin Orr ? I get algae accumulation over the winter, but once the pump is started, the filter catches a lot of it.

Hi Cas, started the pump last week and going to do a bit of spring maintenance next week so hopefully it will sort itself out. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Gavin Orr]

I get that as well, I call it angel hair, because it's so fine and wispy. It seems to be one of the first algae to wake-up from the cold, it even seems to grow under the ice. There's no way to get rid of it, once you have it it'll always come back. Once your pond has warmed up and the filters have cycled, your water will get up to quality, then it shrinks back to an unobtrusive fuzz; it doesn't compete well with the other plants that wake up later. Gather it up and throw it on the compost pile when it gets long. If it doesn't shrink back, you may have water quality issues like mulm and gunk built up on the bottom.

Hi Budgenator, Thanks for your reply, I have tested water and all is fine. I am going to clean hoover the bottom of the pond next week, and give it a good clean out. I will remove most of it with a toilet brush then see how it goes. Hopefully that will hold it back and make way for the summer algae lol

 

[Jakepu13]

That is interesting, I haven't noticed that before.