gel like algae - blanketweed

[scottb]

I ain't got a clue what that stuff is dude and i don't want in my pond. The stuff I use in my pond for blanket weed is called Blanket Answer made by Cloverleaf, Iv'e been using it for the last few years and it does work. It comes in a powder form and all you do is add 1 scoop per 65 gallons of pond water.The best way to do this is add it to a bucket or watering can fill with water from the pond give a good stir then pour it over the surface of the pond repeat this process until you have used the correct amount for the volume of your pond. When added it makes the water turn a milky colour for a couple of days and as it settles it covers the weed and starves it of oxygen then all you have to do is net it from the bottom of the pond. By the way this stuff costs around the £13 mark but in my opinion is well worth the money as it does work

 

[metal micky]

Thanks for the info sissy, but I keep the pond bottom clean by using the aquavac, I get sun mid morning to dusk. The plants are all doing well and no probs with the pond life, water around here is good no need to add anything I can use it straight from the tap but I will check the ph again did this last year. The exterminator is expensive initially but works out cheaper in the long run, the anode is the same dia as copper pipe that we use for our water supply so I can make them as required, yes it has appeared since using the exterminator, but blanket weed controller (blankit) costs around £75/year and yo have to switch the uv filter off and mess around

 

[sissy]

I check my ph at least once a week and there are a lot of natural algae controllers I have learned here .They all seem to work great too .Lucky you that you have the vac as they are expensive too .My pond gets a lot of sun too ,but I have never had much algae .I get temperature fluctuations here ,it can be 70 daytime drop down to 30 nighttime and gets to over 100 degrees in the summer for days at a time .

 

[stroppy]

Thanks for the info sissy, but I keep the pond bottom clean by using the aquavac, I get sun mid morning to dusk. The plants are all doing well and no probs with the pond life, water around here is good no need to add anything I can use it straight from the tap but I will check the ph again did this last year. The exterminator is expensive initially but works out cheaper in the long run, the anode is the same dia as copper pipe that we use for our water supply so I can make them as required, yes it has appeared since using the exterminator, but blanket weed controller (blankit) costs around £75/year and yo have to switch the uv filter off and mess around

you do use decolar when you add water dont you ? as far as i know chlorine is added to all tap water to clean it or at least it is here in the southeast ... also isnt copper bad for fish i might be wrong about that too but i have a gut feeling that thing is making your problem worse .. what are your nitrate and KH readings ... water changes dilute nitrates less nitrates less algae from what i understand lilies and floating plants to cover the pond shade water and cut down on algae

 

[sissy]

I know I will not use any of the algaecides because they have copper in them and wondered about the exterminators use of the word copper a lot even in there pdf files the main word seem to be copper .I was not sure of water there but here I have well water that I have a huge filter system to filter it .Do you have rocks in the bottom .

plus my house is plumbed with all that newer flex pipe that is plastic .I had copper in my other house and never liked it .But at least now pipes are easier to fix now that they have those new compression fittings that you just push together 1 second pipe leak fixed

I was looking at amazon.com and noticed this stuff called healthy ponds eco blast anyone use this or is there something similar to this that is a home type remedy

 

[shakaho]

That stuff exists in my pond, but either gets eaten by the fish or doesn't compete well with other plants/algae, because I don't see any significant amount of it. I know it's there because if I take water from the pond and leave it in a container, that algae grows, bubbles, and floats to the top in a disgusting mass.

You may be removing the competitors with your treatments. You might try just leaving it alone and cleaning your filter frequently.

 

[sissy]

I have never seen anything like it doesn't it remind you of jello.LOL What causes it .It's new to me

 

[metal micky]

thanks for all your info
chlorine - it dissolves overnight and i usually set the garden hose pipe to trickle and top up overnight, no signs of stress to the fish,
shakaho - you might be right about removing natural competitors, cleaning the filter might be right in summer as it is but it is my busy time 10hrs 6/7 days, I replace the wool around may / june depending on the temp and clean the other media but it still grows in winter, I am constantly removing it in winter via a net.
The filtration system is for 5000 galls the ponds hold around 3500galls the pump recycles the pond every 1.5hrs
The copper?? - I have read that most blanketweed control is based on copper of some type?. as the plants do ok and no obvious signs of stress to the fish then I can assume the water is o.k. I have not had the exterminator in the pond since mid august and have replaced the water via a trickle twice (I have got a leak in the top pond about 3" from the top and the pump is in the bottom pond)
I will check the ph and water quality, this week, (I check around june time every year with the same good results)
But If anyone knows what type of algae / blanketweed it is i would be grateful

 

[DrDave]

hey DoDad!
Do you have any recommendations for blanketweed? Does hydrogen peroxide manage it as well?

 

[j.w]

I believe blanket weed is also referred to as string algae and here is what I have tried and it worked for me. Also I found the kitty litter to be cheaper then they say on here.......around 2 or 3 bucks per 25lb bag. Here is the long explanation about it:

North Florida Koi Club

Cat Litter and Algae Control

At the September meeting Dave & Sherri Brown brought up how they had dealt with a string algae problem with information they got from Rod Lawton. Several members were interested in this information, so it is included here.

Kitty Litter has many benefits for koi ponds as described in a long discussion thread on clays on this site, and in a long article under Chris's column if you click up Chris on the home page of this web site. Note in Chris's column that one pound of kitty litter per 2000 gallons of water clears stringy algae and really clears the water overnight. Do expect the water to become very muddy in seconds, then will clear up in about 24 hours. The subject is never labeled kitty litter, it is labeled some type of clay, Bentonite or that other long name for the same kind of clay, but what they are discussing is cheap kitty litter.

The kitty litter is the equivalent of those quite expensive products called Refine and Refresh which are touted to be so great for koi ponds. The essence of this treatment is to turn our recirculating koi ponds into the equivalent of mud ponds by adding enough clay of the right type so the correct mineral content leaches into the water to provide optimum koi health. Please note that Chris Neaves also recommends coating the food with kitty litter to get the minerals directly into the koi through their food. Chris hires koi food formulated with clay content in South Africa where he lives to provide better koi health if I read his messages correctly.

The description of montmorillonite is :- one of a number of clay minerals within the Smectite Group. It forms by weathering or hydrothermal alteration of other aluminum-rich minerals, and is particularly common in altered volcanic ashes called bentonites. The description of bentonite is :- a native, colloidal, hydrated, non-metallic mineral of the Smectite Group that is primarily composed of the mineral montmorillonite.

Marketing of various brand names using the different terminology for the same thing, in the same text, is often responsible for the confusion that arises. Montmorillonite was named after its discovery locality, Montmorillon, France in the 1800's. Bentonite was named after Fort Benton, Montana, near which it was discovered. It is typically white, grey, or buff in color but may have tints of yellow, pink, or blue. Montmorillonite has a pearly or dull luster and is translucent. Montmorillonite clays are mined in various parts of the world. Whilst some are of excellent quality others are not very pure. Because montmorillonite clay is used as a human health food as well as in the fish industry, claims by health experts make interesting reading. An average mineral analysis of Montmorillonite by health experts demonstrate it contains no less than 67 minerals, including vital trace minerals. Recently it has been recognized and utilized by the cosmetic industry and by soil experts, who value it as an exceptionally good agricultural enhancement: crops grow faster, taste better, and are more resistant to disease.

There are several forms of montmorillonite available on the market. Some products are a pure montmorillonite clay. Others are a less pure form and have to be processed to remove and eliminate impurities they are mined with. Some claim to have bacteria additives. Some may have additives to the clay such as extra minerals, above what is naturally found in the clay. Whilst others are a montmorillonite clay /zeolite powder formulations.

Montmorillonite clays, depending of the chemical composition and purity, enhances water quality, replenish and enhance minerals and remove certain unwanted wastes. The uses and benefits go further than this. Montmorillonite improves the luster and skin quality of koi as well as heightening the color. Added to food it is claimed to aid digestion and increase the koi's ability to assimilate the vitamins and minerals required in their diet. Some claims are made that organic waste such as DOC will be removed from the pond. The ionic exchange capacity is increased. i.e. The scum on the pond can be reduced and perhaps eliminated by using Montmorillonite. The idea that Montmorillonite clays could be used in the emineralisation of ponds originate in Japan. Natural mud ponds are lined with bentonite to seal them. It was also discovered that feeding small quantities to koi and occasionally bathing then in it or adding regulated dosages to the pond resulted in wonderful and significant effects on their color and luster. Montmorillonite can be easily added to your daily ration of food. This is an excellent idea as it will replicate the koi feeding continuously off minute mineral rich particles on the floor of mud dams.

For the koi hobbyist montmorillonite is used directly in the pond water each week in the recommended dosage. Some types disperse more easily than others. Some have to be mixed with water before application whilst others can be sprinkled directly onto the pond surface. The pond will clear in about 6 - 10 hours, depending on the amount of organic material in the pond, but the montmorillonite will remain active. Do not be worried in a new pond if the water does not clear in a day or two. Also the clay can be mixed with the food. Coat damp pellets lightly with montmorillonite. Feed a few times a week. Chris Neaves

Additional Information: Dosages for montmorillonite:

Use the recommended dosage on the packet of the product you have bought. I use 10 grams per 1000 liters (about a heaped teaspoon) twice a week. But I must relate a story. About a year ago I was using some montmorillonite on the pond and I left the opened packet with about a kilogram in it at the edge of the pond. The family Doberman did the right thing by examining this unknown object and the packet was pushed into the pond. So I had an instant dosage of about a kilogram of montmorillonite in 20000 liters of water. The results: The next day the pond was stunning. Absolutely crystal clear. The fish were happy - they had not even flashed or tried to escape the montmorillonite cloud advancing on them in the pond. Interestingly - where the montmorillonite had fallen to the floor of the pond (only 80cm deep by the way) and formed clumps, the algae died there a day or two later. So to be quite candid the dosage I use is often higher than one teaspoon per 1000 liters. However, if you use montmorillonitemore than once a week keep to the lower dosage. I also tried this method of eliminating long blanket weed type algae on the floor of a pond of a friend of mine some years ago. The system was shut down so the water became still. Coarse salt was thrown into the pond as though we were throwing fertilizer on a field. The salt was allowed to sink to the bottom and lay in the algae for several hours. The system was then started up - and a day or two later the algae died. The Calcium Bentonite would work the best (does not clump as much as sodium bentonite). Although both work very well.

Please remember when buying the kitty litter that you are looking for "INGREDIENTS, CLAY" Kitty Litter. In our local PetSmart store in Charleston, WV, there is only one particular kind of kitty litter with the right ingredient, the brand name is Precious Cat but you must read the label, some kinds of Precious Cat kitty litter contains perfumes and the like which you do not want in your koi pond.

Sometimes locally here in West Virginia, we put the kitty litter in nylon hose and put the nylon hose full of kitty litter near the stringy algae we are trying to kill, sometimes we just dump it loose in the pond and let it go wherever it wishes. It depends on what we are trying to do with it. With a really good mechanical filter system, I like just dumping it over the side of the pond, within a day as Chris Neaves posts in his article on this site the clay is cleared up and the pond is simply gorgeous. If the pond has marginal mechanical filtration, or the stringy algae is at a particular spot such as a waterfall, we put it nylon hose and drop the hose at the stringy algae site. Try various ways and see what works for your system. Roddy Conrad

Here is some more specific stuff on what kind of kitty litter to use in the pond for the string algae. Wal-Mart has a brand of kitty litter, apparently only carried by Wal-Mart since it is their special brand, which is clearly labeled as Bentonite clay, the preferred kind of clay to add to fish ponds. It's brand name is 'Special Kitty', in a 25 pound red colored bag (unscented), costing $5 for the 25 pound bag.

 

[sissy]

I saw that kitty litter and was not sure only says clay on it but bought it any way so it was the right stuff .red bag .this was a really interesting read

 

[pond Jeb]

I have got gel like green globules of algae / blanketweed in my pond for the past 2 years since I have been using the "exterminater" which has worked o.k. What are these and how do I get rid of them, they have been increasing even over the winter, I have to net them to remove, can anyone help?? :lol:

Did you get anywhere with this? I have exactly the same problem and am netting about a bucket full of jelly every week. BTW the water is gin clear.

 

[pond Jeb]

I have got gel like green globules of algae / blanketweed in my pond for the past 2 years since I have been using the "exterminater" which has worked o.k. What are these and how do I get rid of them, they have been increasing even over the winter, I have to net them to remove, can anyone help?? :lol:

Did you get anywhere with this? I have exactly the same problem and am netting about a bucket full of jelly every week. BTW the water is gin clear.

 

[mrsclem]

@pond Jeb - this thread is 11 years old. Go over to the into section and tell us about your pond. Welcome to GPF!