A place to learn, share and inspire others to create a haven for you and for wildlife.
Sign In or Register to join the conversation
After cleaning out my pond last weekend I thought I would keep a photo diary of the pond this year.
At present I have 4 goldfish and 1 green tench but will be buying more fish later on.
I actually have 2 ponds,one for goldfish and a small wildlife one.
In past years I have had a big problem with blanket weed and have tried a few different things,barley straw logs,barley straw extract and even in desperation used a chemical solution.Needless to say none worked to any great effect.
Last year I tried using floating plants to block out sunlight and so stop the blanket weed growing too much.
I used Azolla filiculoides which is a small floating fern and looks quite attractive (Google it!).
It was very sucessful in getting rid of the blanket weed but became such a problem in itself as it is so invasive! I could not see the fish and it killed several other plants in the pond as it just completely smothered them.
I am going to have to continue removing the Azolla by hand as it can be persistant!
So this year I am trying another product (natural and harmless to pondlife etc) called 'Blanket Answer'.
Since I have no blanket weed at present (thanks to the Azolla) I hope to start from a good point.
This is the pond before cleaning showing the Azolla on the surface,I would actually remove this by the bucketful!:-
Big pond before and after treatment (Day 1).The cloudiness is supposed to clear in a few days.
and the wildlife pond before and after treatment:-
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Latest update,still no blanketweed :) but still have a problem with green water :(.
Think the weather has a lot to do with it,today is very windy,still chilly but a bit of sun.
Just thinking that maybe the green water problem could be something to do with having no blanket weed there is more oxygen for the green water algae?
Hi Madpenquin,
Interesting reading through your posts on your pond, I have had a problem with green water in my pond, so I put some barley straw in it takes about 6 weeks to work, but I think it helps.
But one thing I have found works is a pond oxygenator it works by solar panel whenever the sun is out it comes on, its an air pump suitable for small or medium sized ponds up to (5000 litres) and I have to say the water in the pond is much clearer now!!
I have also got quite a lot of oxgenating plants too, and I find water snails really help the water stay clear too, they are quite cheap to buy from the aquatics shop in the garden center.
My oxygenator cost about £39.00 but its worth it, no wiring just works off small solar panel which is placed outside pond and two tubes go in the pond weighted down by a stone in a mesh bag, so quite easy to set up.
My tadpoles are looking healthy and are starting to grow their legs, really interesting watching them grow. I have not got any fish in the pond its just a wildlife pond for frogs and tadpoles and all sorts of other pond life too!! I have got some blanket weed but I keep taking bits out if it becomes too thick, but like to leave some in. Keep us posted how it goes anyway :)
Hi wildlifeloversharon
I have tried both a solar oxygenator and barley straw in the past but without much success!
The small wildlife pond has crystal clear water and the tadpoles are doing fine (no fish).
I am now skimming off the duckweed which covers the small wildlife pond very quickly and putting it in the larger fish pond in the hope that it will provide a bit more cover.It is never a problem in there as the fish eat it (I think!).
I do have the oxygenating plants but they are not growing very quickly as I think the weather is still not right and the green water is shutting out what little sun we get.
Just been out clearing the pond of all the leaves blown down in the windy weather we have had for a couple of days,feels like autumn!!
These are pictures of the ponds taken today (17th June), fish pond at the top and wildlife pond below.
Hi Madpenguin,
Pleased your Tadpoles are doing well now, its really interesting watching them grow and slowly but surely turning into Froglets. I see what you mean by your duckweed, but I think the best way is to just keep removing it a bit at a time. I find it always grows faster when the weather warms up. The weather here in Devon is very warm and humid today, and quite a warm day forcast for tomorrow!
I have found my solar oxygenator works well, certainly taken the green tinge out of the pond and water looks quite good!
Still have the green water in the main pond,am going to try barley straw extract again,I found it didn't work well for blanket weed but never had the green water problem then.
I have also introduced 10 ramshorn snails to see if they can help!
Still no sign of any blanket weed,so that's good.
Have also been told to top up the pond with rainwater as it has less nutrients than tap water.Have some in the water butt but that won't last long in this weather,no rain when you need it!!!
I think you will find rainwater is the best to use if you do have enough all the water in my ponds have rainwater in them, I think if you have to use tap water its best to leave the water in a bucket for approx three days so the chemicals in it disperse a bit. I am topping my wildlife pond up quite a bit a the moment with all the warm weather this week, so will have to be careful not to run out. I have some ramhorn snails in the pond and I do think they help!
My solar oxygenator is working overtime at the moment with all the sunshine, but i think it does help, my Tadpoles are turning into Froglets at quite a fast rate, so hope they continue to do well!!
Hope the rainwater helps I think it would be better to use than tap water, the water will never stay crystal clear but as long as your tadpoles are doing well, then hopefully will be ok!!
I am using the barley straw extract now but think it takes time to work so water still green.
The water butt is now empty so I have had to fill up the pond with the hosepipe as it lost 2 inches in a day!
The temperature in the sun was over 50 degrees (that is as high as my thermometer goes!).
Still no blanketweed!
Looking in the pond today I do believe the water is clearing a bit,I can actually see my fish about halfway down!!
Still murky but just a bit better,will see how it goes over the next few days.
I can see right to the bottom of the pond now!
Still a bit murky but seems to be improving daily.
I have even seen a baby fish so the occupants must be happy!!
Pleased your pond is looking better, weather really warm at the moment I have lots of Froglets and still some Tadpoles to hopefully turn into Froglets yet!! Lovely to see them all hopping around :)