String Algae

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how is crushed oyster shells useful - does it lower the growth rate of algae? and is it just scattered at the bottom of the pond ?

im trying to locate someone who sells this online as i dont think its available in my country

thanks once again

Jeff
 

addy1

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My well water is very soft and acidic, ph of 5.4 or so. I use the oyster shells to buffer it up to a decent number. The well reading is below 30 with the shells it is slightly over 100. I add 100 lbs every spring into my bog. Where there is a lot of water flow. Also helps keep the ph at a nice 7.8 more or less.
Feed stores carry it and call it oyster shells for chickens.
 
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how is crushed oyster shells useful - does it lower the growth rate of algae? and is it just scattered at the bottom of the pond ?

im trying to locate someone who sells this online as i dont think its available in my country

thanks once again

Jeff
The way I understand it the bacteria in the biofilter consume the carbonates in the water to build their cells, if there isn't enough carbonates the denitrification bacteria can't grow properly and ammonia and nitrites can build up and this can fertilize the algae.
Calcium Carbonate is found in things like limestone, marble and crushed sea shells. We give crunched oyster shells to chickens with their feed (naqal tiġieġ)
 

sissy

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I get mine at tractor supply but any farm stores sell them and yes they break down and I put mine in fine mesh bags
100_7400.JPG
 
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Get a duck. An Australian Spotted drake would clear that up in no time (and oyster shells are a good idea, too.) They are a bantam breed so their needs are small, and drakes are good looking, and quiet. I wouldn't get two ducks. For one, the pond isn't big enough, and for two, they breed like mice. Generally speaking, while they might go after fry, they leave the bigger fish alone.
 

Meyer Jordan

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If a pond's filtration is not configured to accommodate the presence of ducks, water quality will very quickly degenerate.
 

Meyer Jordan

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True. But that could also be said of adding additional fish.

No quite the same thing as there are issues associated with any bird excrement that are not found in fish feces. Number Uno is disease/parasite transmission. Unless the duck's flying ability is removed they will travel from pond to pond transferring organisms as they go. Secondly, the composition of duck poop is very different from fish. It takes longer to breakdown, quickly accumulating on the bottom of the pond creating an environment ideal for pathogenic organisms.
Ducks will eat small fish. Ducks will destroy plantings. Water clarity will greatly suffer.
If ducks are introduced to a pond, many sources suggest water changes on a daily basis in order to maintain water quality and clarity.
Can ducks be kept in a fish pond? Yes, but be prepared for considerable more time devoted to maintenance.
 
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No quite the same thing as there are issues associated with any bird excrement that are not found in fish feces. Number Uno is disease/parasite transmission. Unless the duck's flying ability is removed they will travel from pond to pond transferring organisms as they go. Secondly, the composition of duck poop is very different from fish. It takes longer to breakdown, quickly accumulating on the bottom of the pond creating an environment ideal for pathogenic organisms.
Ducks will eat small fish. Ducks will destroy plantings. Water clarity will greatly suffer.
If ducks are introduced to a pond, many sources suggest water changes on a daily basis in order to maintain water quality and clarity.
Can ducks be kept in a fish pond? Yes, but be prepared for considerable more time devoted to maintenance.
Not to hijack the thread, but all bodies of water exposed to the elements run the risk of disease/parasite transmission. My ponds are visited daily by a wide range of creatures: deer, raccoon,squirrels, coyotes, a menagerie of birds, all of whom poop whenever nature calls, and that includes, inside the pond. And yet, some how, my fish survive.

Best wishes
 

Meyer Jordan

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Not to hijack the thread, but all bodies of water exposed to the elements run the risk of disease/parasite transmission.

This is absolutely true. Aquatic pathogens are ubiquitous to all bodies of water. However, one should be aware that aquatic fowl in particular may introduce an organism for which the pond's residents have no existing immunity.
How many ponds do you have and what size? Are they lined or earthen-bottom?
 
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I
This is absolutely true. Aquatic pathogens are ubiquitous to all bodies of water. However, one should be aware that aquatic fowl in particular may introduce an organism for which the pond's residents have no existing immunity.
How many ponds do you have and what size? Are they lined or earthen-bottom?
The short answer is, too many and too small. I build up, I down size, I build up, I down size, I build up. I just got rid of a dozen ponds and I'm down to fifteen. I've used wood, metal, rubber liners, fiberglass, cast iron, cement, glass, acrylic, if it could hold water, I tried it. Solid shade to full sun. With and with out plants, fish, frogs, ducks, crayfish, snails. With and without pumps.

What body part I would not sell for an earthen bottom pond? Hard to have when you live on a slope that drops ten feet over fifty. Not steep enough for bob sledding, but almost. The one flat place in our yard can't have a pond because we need it for road access. I keep telling my husband, we don't need a truck. He keeps telling me we do if we want to eat.

I salivate over ponds like the one in the photo. I have a friend who has a similar set up, slightly larger with a bio filter, and she has about 20 koi and two ducks. I will admit, her ducks also have a very heavily planted yard to forage in so the plants in the pond are not the only option. While the duck pond the ducks in my yard favor is tiny, my ducks have an acre to forage, so the pressure on the pond is not as great.

I probably should have jumped on the "why are you feeding your fish" band wagon. I never feed the fish. Never.
 

morewater

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I've got two Mallards (Tony and Carnella) that arrive every April, hang around for ten days, and then leave........
 

morewater

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am I the only weird guy on this site, or did Sissy's added "pic" look like a hot chick with a "tat" on her right arm?........
 
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am I the only weird guy on this site, or did Sissy's added "pic" look like a hot chick with a "tat" on her right arm?........
Oh thank God!
Actually, I thought it was a fat chick with a tat on her stomach, but hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 

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