Algae type

[icewaterdon]

I will keep this simple......hopefully.
Can anyone identify this algae growing on my lilly pad stems, hoses, wires and a few other places. Not much on the bottom of the pond.
It showed up about a week or so ago and makes the pond look trashy.
Thanks
icewaterdon

 

[sissy]

thats the good stuff and fish love to eat and the less you feed the fish the more they will eat and clean there own home and you will have to watch because it looks like it is getting out of hand and turning into a bad thing .You may want to clean some of it off as it means there are to many nutrients in your pond .Check your ph and amonia and see what all the tests say .It should not be that heavy just a light layer on stuff .Fish usually love it if they are fed less often.Changes in water temps

 

[sissy]

Seeing how your pond is built and if you are getting any heavy rains it could come from nutrients being washed into the pond

 

[icewaterdon]

Thanks.
I have cleaned a lot out by hand and using a brush to collect as much as I could. It seems as though it has picked up since the celery started dying off.
I have added bacteria in the pond around 4 weeks ago and just changed the despensers with new just last week. These are the ones from pondalgaesoultions.com
Is there a better brand?
I only have 9 koi ranging from 6-12" in length. Swimming in around 5000 gallons.
We did get a heavy rain last weekend and the pond did get some run off and overflowed.

 

[sissy]

The reason was the plants were eating up the nutrients and now there is not enough in there and all the bacteria in the world will not stop it .I put ribbon grass in my pond and they really suck up nutrients but lemon grass is better if you can find it .The run off just adds to the problem and you will have the stuff growing again and again if you have nutrients in the pond .Koi produce tons of waste and have you tested your water lately .I only have 2 koi over 2 feet and only feed them 2 or 3 times a week so they clean there own house or pond . :razz:

 

[icewaterdon]

Here is a picture of the whole pond. I have a little grass but not much. I do not feed my fish at all. They survive on the algae. OK, maybe a little peanut butter on the finger once or twice a week. I will look for the grass you speak of. I am going to fix the run off problem this saturday. I am going to build up a berm on the one side.
Do you put the ribbon grass in pots with clay dirt, kitty litter etc?
Thanks so much!

 

[icewaterdon]

Looks like I have ribbon grass and didn't even know it. Maybe I just need more. Maybe I will put a bunch on my header pond to suppliment the celery.

 

[sissy]

yep it is ribbon grass and I put mine in with kitty litter and crushed oyster shells with a toppin of rocks ,koi root in the stuff .Divide up your ribbon grass into smaller clumps and spread it around the pond .You seem to not have much aeration and not sure .I do this with a hose from my pump fish love it

 

[sissy]

I have plants in my filters also

 

[sissy]

I think the more air you put in your pond the more it helps clean .I don't have a skimmer .Causing surface air helps and in my filters i have lava rock and 3 lbs of activated charcoal and 3 lbs of oyster shells and i have 2 filter one on each end

 

[icewaterdon]

sissy, sent you a message via PM.
Thanks

 

[sissy]

I think the only thing I use is peroxide and that is to clean things and clean off the lava rock at the end of season and my quilt batting that I use to pick up fine stuff before it goes into my filter .

 

[icewaterdon]

Yeah, I keep peroxide on hand. I clean the waterfalls with it. It seems like after I use it, the water is just so clear. We have some of the ribbon grass around the house. I am going to put it in pots and put it in the header pond and even some in the top of my filter. Hopefully that will help keep the algae at bay for now. Oh, I also have been using barley extract. Not sure I am sold on it.

 

[sissy]

actually barley extract is peroxide so you are wasting your money there .Barley breaks down to peroxide .Once you get the nutrients out it will help a lot and over aerate your pond you will see it gets easier .

 

[icewaterdon]

Yeah, thats what I feel like with the barley. I am about 95% thinking of doing away with the skippy filter and installing a bog pond that would empty into the header pond. With enough plant density, this should be plenty to filter my pond. I don't plan on have many more fish. I want to keep the fish number under 10 total. I am really wanting to go 100% natual.