Green Water

[Nancy]

My pond is in full sun for more than 8hrs.
No fish. Waterfall. The water is green. Is it supposed to be green? I was told that I need plants to shade the water. Would like advice about the type & quantity. Also,
We usually have freezing weather sometime in October. Hard freeze November. Can any pond plants survive?
Can fish survive? How do I figure the number of gallons in a pond ? I have used BENEFICIAL BACTERIA (essential enzymes)
From PondRescue. It produces 5enzymes to clear water& raise oxygen level. Been using it according to directions for 3 months. No change in water color. I read about barley & a UV light & straw. I would prefer not to use chemicals if possible. Please let me know which suggestions work and which don’t. Thank you

 

[Nancy]

Me again. Have been reading all the information on this website. Learned a lot !!!!! I understand about adding plants & fish to help clear the algae. Now I wonder if it is worth the $’s to put in plants now (end of August). They will probably freeze out in October or November. I’m in northeast NV.

The plants I have seen on line are so expensive. Can anyone suggest where to purchase plants more cheaply?

Are there some plants that won’t freeze?
Will fish freeze? Otherwise I best wait until Spring because apparently I will have to start all over again with pond balancing. Everyone I read said that you have to clean & clear up a pond annually.

PLEASE ANSWER ABOUT FREEZING TEMPERATURES. If I can get plants & fish, I better do it quickly. 🪷

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

Where do you live and what size is your pond?

 

[j.w]

and welcome @Nancy
Depends on where you live and how long and hard your freezes are. Lots of plants can survive the cold winters. Sometimes people on this forum share plants to you just for paying the postage. I got my first water lilies at H-Depot or Lowes in Spring and they were very nice and low cost and grew all over the pond. I have many plants here that survive our winters. Let us know where you live and how cold and how long it lasts.

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum Nancy.

Looks like the coldest zone for Northeast Nevada is 5a so similar to my area. Size and depth of the pond are important for certain plants and fish, here is calculator to get an estimate: https://www.thepondguy.com/pond-calculator/

Any pics you have of your pond might be helpful too.

 

[GBBUDD]

You only need cultures of many plants. The first year they will take root the second start multiplying and year 3 your throwing them away into the compost pile pile ponding is a war of patience.

Find out what zone you are in and match the plants to that and they might and probably will die back for the winter but will pop up in the spring.
Fish in the coldest environment a 2 foot deep pond and a pond breather will keep your fish over winter in the icy waters

 

[addy1]

All of my pond/bog plants and some of the marginal pond plants freeze. All come back with a vengeance.

Doing my 4th purge of the bog. And I yank a TON of bog plants

 

[Nancy]

Hello and welcome!

Where do you live and what size is your pond?

I live in Elko, NV. Between Reno and Salt Lake. Not far from the Idaho border. The winter weather is so unpredictable. Sometimes below 0 degrees. It is freezing temps all winter. Late October early November to April/May. Some days the sun will start to melt ice but never enough to eliminate snow and ice. I had just a waterfall and it almost completely froze. Some years there would be a slight trickle of water.
The pond is 3’ deep with a 10’ diameter.
Haven’t figured gallons yet.
USDA says zone 6 but that is not very accurate. After losing many zone 5 & 6
plants, I find that zones 4 or better 3 works best if you really don’t want to lose plants. Am going to try to post photos. Not sure that I know how.

 

[Nancy]

You only need cultures of many plants. The first year they will take root the second start multiplying and year 3 your throwing them away into the compost pile pile ponding is a war of patience.

Find out what zone you are in and match the plants to that and they might and probably will die back for the winter but will pop up in the spring.
Fish in the coldest environment a 2 foot deep pond and a pond breather will keep your fish over winter in the icy waters

What is a pond breather?

 

[Nancy]

Welcome to the forum Nancy.

Looks like the coldest zone for Northeast Nevada is 5a so similar to my area. Size and depth of the pond are important for certain plants and fish, here is calculator to get an estimate: https://www.thepondguy.com/pond-calculator/

Any pics you have of your pond might be helpful too.

Thanks for calculator info. It comes out 885 to 1,700 gallons depending on the slope of the sides. I posted some photos.
(At least I think I did. I’m not very good with on line stuff). The winter photo was toward the end of winter when it was starting to thaw. Most of the winter the water fall is frozen & the pond is frozen down 2 feet.

 

[Nancy]

View attachment 165146 and welcome @Nancy
Depends on where you live and how long and hard your freezes are. Lots of plants can survive the cold winters. Sometimes people on this forum share plants to you just for paying the postage. I got my first water lilies at H-Depot or Lowes in Spring and they were very nice and low cost and grew all over the pond. I have many plants here that survive our winters. Let us know where you live and how cold and how long it lasts.

Am going to try Home Depot for some plants. Am encouraged that in 2 or3 years they will multiply & fill in.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Welcome Nancy! A pond breather keeps a hole in the ice for gas exchange for your fish. But not needed if you have no fish or aquatic life in the pond. Here is a link to a really good breather but I think it is no longer available. By the way, what is all of that white stuff around your pond?

https://www.amazon.com/8PB-Breather-Heated-Aerator-Watts/dp/B000HHM9U0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[mrsclem]

Unfortunately pond breathers are no longer available unless you can find one on Craigslist or ebay.

 

[GBBUDD]

What is a pond breather?

It's a floater heater . All I use is a large air pump but it discharges in the shallows not the deepest part of the pond

 

[j.w]

I can just leave my waterfall and other smaller falls running all year here and that keeps holes in pond surface. We don't get real hard or long freezes here tho.