CW's Back Yard Water Garden Begins!

[GBBUDD]

One other note , do not squeeze or rinse hair algae you'll release the spores that spread it.

I'd get one cat fish as they eat poop so there is no uneaten or half eaten waste even if it's algae poop

 

[j.w]

One other note , do not squeeze or rinse hair algae you'll release the spores that spread it.

I'd get one cat fish as they eat poop so there is no uneaten or half eaten waste even if it's algae poop

I've searched about them eating poop and says nope unless they do it accidentally while foraging for decaying matter etc.
This place says: https://fullserviceaquatics.com/catfish-in-your-backyard-pond-friend-or-foe/

 

[Pablo]

Did a little research, not sure if this is the problem or not. I read an article in Pond Trade magazine about removing string algae. It mentions the same techniques that have been stated here. It did talk about lowering PH and lowering Phosphorous. It says high PH can be from limestone and untreated concrete, I looked back in this thread (a wee bit long, lol) and saw the boulders you put in, I am no geologist but they might have looked limestone, and you had the concrete blocks for the retaining wall. So perhaps that is an issue. Lowering Phosphorous it recommended planting Anacharis (although I think that plant has issues itself). Going down the rabbit hole of more research on British Columbia apparently it may be fairly common to have Phosphorous in the lakes there. It was also interesting to read about the nut job who thought it was a great idea back in 2012 to dump tons of iron dust in the waters off the coast as an experiment (iron fertilization is a thing I guess, to encourage plankton growth to absorb carbon dioxide)
The fact this has been a continuous problem seems like something that is permanently in the pond which is why I wonder about the rocks. If it was more of a natural cycle thing then I would think the algae would come and go.
Just some random thoughts, even if completely useless I learned a few more things about British Columbia, lol.

 

[TheFishGuy]

Thank you! I am very proud of it. I just get this sinking feeling of failure when I spend SO MUCH TIME maintaining this thing after trying to design and build it so that I wouldn't have to do that.



I'm going to add fish (he says again...), but I really don't understand how adding more bio-load will solve a problem caused by too much bio-load.



Thank you! Just saw the photos of the bog from your Eagle project. It looks fantastic. I quit scouting one merit badge + project short of reaching Eagle. I'm almost 40 now and still regret that decision.



Sure. I don't think I'll go that route just yet, but I never turn down an opportunity to learn. Can you post it publicly so others can reference it as well?

I am sure glad I decided to finish Eagle, it’s a huge weight lifted off my shoulders now that I have finished the rank.

Below I will attach documents from my work explaining which plants thrive with pond salt and at what levels, along with a sheet explaining pond salt, and a link to the salt we use at work for our large ponds ( because it is more affordable). Pretty much the only plants that don’t tolerate a 0.2-0.3% salt level are floating plants because their roots are floating in the water and not attached to any substrate.

Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Water Softener Salt Crystals 100012454 - The Home Depot

Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Water Softener Salt Crystals have a white, opaque appearance. They minimize the accumulation of brine tank residue. Diamond Crystal Solar Naturals Water Softener Salt Crystals

www.homedepot.com

 

[combatwombat]

@Pablo: I think I've read the same article. The rock I used is basalt. I do have a lot of untreated concrete in the form of the retaining wall, as you noticed. I've wondered if that was the problem, too as I've seen it mentioned many times as a source of string algae. The general sentiment I've read on Koiphen from the chemistry-brained folks is that untreated concrete will leach lime into a pond for a few weeks after being added and then it's done.

I agree it seems it's an ongoing problem. Can't say if it's better or worse than last year, but it's pretty bad all around!

@TheFishGuy: Thanks!

 

[GBBUDD]

untreated concrete will leach lime into a pond for a few weeks after being added and then it's done

Agreed , with exception it will continue to leach but very very minimally like any sedimentatous rock that is where GH comes from KH as well and what boots kh is calcium something concrete will add too but like mentioned minimally after it initial soaking

​

rock

 

[GBBUDD]

but it's pretty bad all around!

I blame those pig shit soaked milk crates

 

[combatwombat]

I blame those pig shit soaked milk crates

Those crates were as clean as my bum after blasting it with the bidet while playing Wordle when I installed them. Seriously, though, I've had no string algae, little string algae, and lots of string algae. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate have never measured anything other than 0.

It seems there is more to learn about string algae than science has yet discovered. Some think it may be able to feed on sunlight alone. Some have 5 ponds the same size in the same place with the same conditions with the same water source and only one of them has string algae. Or 4 of them do and one of them doesn't.

Seems we know for sure some things invite it and make it worse. If you correct those things and still get it, then it's just bad luck and we don't actually know what to do.

In any case, I picked up a more sensitive kH test, a H2O2 test, and 4 more 13lb bags of baking soda from Costco. Gonna put on some hip waders this weekend to remove as much remaining algae as I can, get a more accurate pond volume reading using baking soda, and then dose the hell out of it with H2O2 and see what happens.

 

[GBBUDD]

I was just busting on the crates. It can take a couple years for the bog and pond to become viable and take care of buisness they are not plug and play.

 

[Lisak1]

Amen to this - patience grasshopper! Three full years is what it takes to reach the golden hour. You have a big volume of water there; once it finds its balance you'll be to the fun part!

MORE fish poop means MORE plant growth which means LESS nutrients. Get those plants going nuts and you'll have no more string algae to worry about. We get it on our waterfall every spring - thick, heavy, gorgeous green - and once the plants get their footing it's just GONE. I pull it off for the fun of it, but in the years I don't get to it, it disappears all the same. Natural magic! On the plus side it does collect a lot of silt - great filtration.

 

[GBBUDD]

@addy1 CAN YOU GO BACK AND DELETE @combatwombat s comment about how clean his ass is that is a visual thats going to haunt me and future readers for decades.............

 

[combatwombat]

I was just busting on the crates.

I know. I was just trying to bait you into a tirade about Wordle. But this worked out even better.

 

[GBBUDD]

Yeah wordle doesn't even get half an eye brow lift ... The other yeah it gets the head shaking what did he say, oh i can't take the little Martian widget you use to have back seeing him wipe . THE WORLDS GONE MAD...

 

[combatwombat]

Ok, small update.

Higher resolution kH test and H2O2 test arrived yesterday. Going to use kH test to measure accurate pond volume w/ baking soda.

Spent the WHOLE day today removing another 2 weeks of string algae. Put on my running tights, long sleeve shirt, and a pair of socks to keep the duck mites away and got after it.

Got tons of the stuff. Just buckets and buckets of it. Good news, though, is that it seems the pond dye is working. There was significantly less growth at the bottom of the pond than the last time I dredged it all up. Thinking I'll add even more and try to get it near pitch black and keep it that way for as long as the sun hangs around.

Once I have accurate pond volume tomorrow morning-ish, I'm going to dose the pond w/ H2O2. Have a 1 gal. bucket of 12% that I'll dilute. Then it'll be watching and washing the course intake filters like crazy. I have a garden hose jet I'll use to blast loose anything still hanging on after the h2o2 does its thing.

Then I guess it's just a matter of getting a giant family of goldfish and shoving more plants into every remaining crevice.

Dang, I can get a lot done when I ignore all my other projects and the kid is at Grandma's.

 

[combatwombat]

Alright, here we go. Initial readings this evening:

PH	KH	Ammonia	Nitrite	Nitrate
8.4	130	0.25	0	0

Notes:

1. This is the first time I've EVER measured above 0 on ammonia. Wonder if this is temporary rise from algae removal and stirring up sediment earlier today? Will test again in the morning.
2. My first reading of KH (w/ hot tub test strips) was 40-60 ppm and I've added 15 lbs of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) since. This KH reading is from the Sera KH reagent-based test performed at 2x resolution (10 mL of water instead of 5).

I estimate my water volume at 8-9000 gallons. My understanding of measuring water volume with baking soda is this:

1. 1 lb of baking soda will raise the KH of 1,000 gallons of water by 71 ppm.
2. The more you raise KH, the more accurate the volume measurement will be.

I'm currently sitting at 130ppm KH. If I assume a volume of 9,000 gal and add 27 lbs. of baking soda, then I will expect to see a rise of 213ppm to 343.

That is quite high, but I don't have anything I care about besides plants living in the pond right now, so let's have at it. I will add 27 lbs of baking soda now and measure KH again around this time tomorrow.

Based on the final reading, I will use the volume measurement to determine the dose of hydrogen peroxide (h2o2) to kill off the remaining algae (and approx. 1 metric ton of parasite carrying snails).

Over and out.