Hi,
Moved into our house last year and we have a pond. Decided to get some fish and some air plant things and it has never been the same since. We've had really bad algae (which has now gone), and we have emptied the pond, cleaned liner, everything, and we still have green water! We have a pump, but at moment it is that blocked we are having to rinse the filters every other day.

We've been told by different people that we need to put plants in it, or get a UV filter. What kind of plants do you reccomend? Will the resolve the green sludgy stuff or will it stop it getting worse? What sort of set up is a UV filter and are they all the scary prices that you see them at in garden centres?!

I'm brand new to all this pond stuff, but I really like having it and would love for it to look nice again! Even worse, the cat keeps drinking from it and then being horribly sick in the living room - any advice gratefully received!

"Weez" wrote in message
...

Hi,
Moved into our house last year and we have a pond. Decided to get some
fish and some air plant things and it has never been the same since.
We've had really bad algae (which has now gone), and we have emptied
the pond, cleaned liner, everything, and we still have green water! We
have a pump, but at moment it is that blocked we are having to rinse
the filters every other day.

## How big is this pond? What type of filter are you using and is the pond
in the sun all day?

We've been told by different people that we need to put plants in it,
or get a UV filter. What kind of plants do you reccomend?

## Any kind you can find. Water lettuce and water hyacinth are fast growing
gross feeders that can and do starve algae out. Remove them as they take
over the surface. Compost them and use them in your flower beds or veggie
patch. Get potted pond plants as well. Search the web for "pond plants."

Will the
resolve the green sludgy stuff or will it stop it getting worse? What
sort of set up is a UV filter and are they all the scary prices that
you see them at in garden centres?!

## UV lights kill the algae which must be removed before it decays and turns
to smelly black mulm on the pond bottom. A good filter should remove most
of it.

I'm brand new to all this pond stuff, but I really like having it and
would love for it to look nice again!

## Google Ponds and you'll fine more information than your brain can
handle.

Even worse, the cat keeps
drinking from it and then being horribly sick in the living room - any
advice gratefully received!

## Why should the pond water be making the cat sick? Have you added any
chemicals to the pond such as algae killers?
--
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Algae is normal and natural and needed by the lower
end species in your pond. One of the bulding blocks
of life. Our problem is when things get out of balance,
very easy in backyard ponds, and algae goes gonzo...


Green Water is caused by single cell free floating suspended in the
water column algae. String algae is long, flowing, likes moving water
and has some body to it. Substrate algae is like a fuzzy green sweater
and grows on rocks, liners, plant baskets, and is considered a good
algae as it keeps the suspended and string algae at bay. It also hosts
lots of tiny zoo plankton, insect larvae, worms and other tasties that
are good for fish to consume
along with their veggies (the algae).

All algae thrives on sun, fresh water, fish waste, fertilized run off,
rotting plants and blown in dirt. In new ponds and spring ponds algae
is always the first thing to start growing.


The best defense against algae is to have lots of plants to compete for

the nutrients, few fish, not overfeeding those fish, some shade,
blocking run off and cleaning up debris.


Do not use algaecides, they only make lots of suddenly dead algae to
feed the next algae bloom. Gently remove string algae. Don't worry
about fuzzy algae that grows on the sides of things, the fish will
eat it up if they are not overfed.


Most algae blooms will pass within a couple of weeks.
Time and patience is key.
Remember patience...
and plants.

kathy :-) www.blogfromthebog.com
Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html