Spring!

[JoaniePA]

I am SO excited! We had a killer winter here in Philly area with over 75" of total snow, broken trees, and high winds. My new little pond froze a couple of inches deep, except for the hole where the de-icer was. Two weeks ago it finally thawed out, and I can see all but one of my fish and the one I can't see is black, so he may be down there somewhere too.. Yipee! They survived! We're having an early warm up which is guaranteed not to last, but the pond water was 58 today so I fed them a little bit of spring food. They JUMPED at it.

I bought the beneficial bacteria, the new filter pad for the skimmer/filter, waders, ( I need to reposition some rocks that got shoved around by ice and snow) and plant food. I'm wondering, though, what will happen when I actually start it up.. There's very little debris on the bottom as I had a net over it all winter (froze to the pond, actually) but the pond is murky green right now and there's string algae on top of the plant pots. Do I need to vacuum or do something before I turn the pump on? Water change? Anything?

Thanks!
Joanie

 

[FXM]

Hey Joanie!
My wife and I just moved from Philadelphia! I lived there all of my life. We now live in Bucks County, up in Newtown,PA. The house we purchased has a 6X4X3 built in pond. I have always wanted a pond and now I finally have one!!! Well, the previous owner never used a filter or a pump. The last two days, as you have said, have been absolutely beautiful as far as the weather goes..yes it was a long white and chilly winter!! I am in the process of removing all of the hornwort and endless out of control water lillies that have taken over the pond. It is back breaking work, but I am almost there. Let me ask you a few questions that maybe you can help me with. The water itself is murky, but I figure it is a great eco-system already. I purchased both a Laguna Power Filter and Pump. Once I remove all of the plant debris etc, should I just set up the pump and filter and clean the water? Nice to hear from someone from Philly!

F.X.:alieneyesa:

 

[JoaniePA]

Hi F.X.

Not really in the city, but close enough to commute to work and far enough to have fox, deer, bats, raccoons, rabbits, and other wildlife visit my yard. Perfect for our lifestyle!

I think your question to me is almost the same as my question to the forum! I have no idea if the filter will clear it up as this is my first winter. I assume it will do a lot.. I put barley in yesterday as that seemed to clear up green water in the summer. This is really algae water, though, kind of soupy. Probably will clog up my filter pad pretty quickly! If I get no response from the group I'll probably put a siphon in and vacuum the bottom as I can't see all the way down and don't know what's down there. Hope I don't get tadpoles in the process. :alieneyesa:

Joan

 

[nigil]

You will have to scoop out the string algae at some point, but here in Indiana the water temps have been 55 for two weeks and the waterfall/filter has been running for that time. Adding the beneficial bacteria when you start everything will help. A barley extract will help with the other algae in the water. Hope it stays somewhat mild for you.

 

[j.w]

I found this info a year or two ago and I went and bought the Wal-mart kitty litter, the kind that is in the big 25lb bag marked 100% Bentonite clay and started using it in my pond and it seems to work for me and keeps the water clear of the string algae. When I first used it I had the string algae and it killed it and turned it black and gunky looking and my filter was able to suck it up. Now I put it in a big sock thing and hang it near my falls so that it gets dispersed better. It does turn the water cloudy for a bit but clears up quickly. I'm glad I found the info :fish:

http://www.nfkc.info/nfkconliine/Cat Litter.htm

Oh by the way it was only $2.57 for 25lbs of the kitty litter (make sure you buy the 100% bentonite clay type w/ no perfumes or anything added.

 

[cudamank]

Thanks for posting, I really look forward to trying this