Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Oily surface on barrel pond

capvid25capvid25 Posts: 16
in Problem solving
I fairly recently (late Feb I think) created a patio pond out of a half barrel. I used a few videos on youtube as a guide for how to do this, and the consensus seemed to be that there is usually no need to line a barrel as long as it's watertight.

It has a few marginals, a lily pad and some oxygenating plants (hornwort). All the plants seem to be doing pretty well and are putting on new growth, although a little slowly, I assume because of the cold nights we've been having. I have also placed a large branch in the water, to provide a ramp for anything wanting to get in or out.

Despite this, there seems to be a constant oily film on the surface. Initially the water gave off a bit of a whisky smell too, although I have emptied and refilled it a few times and that has now gone away. However, the oily film reappears each time after refilling it. Googling has given a lot of different options for what could be causing this, either something previously kept in the barrel (meaning I should line it), biofilm caused by decaying organic material (I guess this would be caused by the branch), or possibly pollen on the surface.

I'm very confused by this and unsure what to do, I don't want to have created a pool of tainted water that will harm wildlife, and also don't want to have to line the pond if what is happening is completely natural. Does anyone know which of the above is the most likely cause of the oily film, or is it possibly something else entirely?
«1

Posts

  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    What was in the barrel before you got it?
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Possibly the barrel was treated with something.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • capvid25capvid25 Posts: 16
    From the whisky smell coming off it I would assume whisky, although I can't confirm. 

    I'm aware the barrel may have been treated with something, although I wouldn't have thought this would be standard for a whisky barrel as wouldn't that taint the product? 
  • bullfinchbullfinch Posts: 692
    I made a barrel pond a couple of years ago, and did actually end up emptying it and lining it with pond liner before trying again. The water in mine was very bad quality until I did, but I'm happy with it now, and last summer, when it was very hot, we counted 12 frogs of various sizes using it 😊
  • capvid25capvid25 Posts: 16
    Fair enough, maybe I should just bite the bullet and line it, I just didn't want to in case the issue is something else and carries on regardless.

    Thanks for sharing your photo, your pond looks amazing!
  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    I'll be the whiskey. Mine did the same for a while. With regular water changes it will eventually disappear. I let mine overflow during heavy rain.
    Lining is good too but be careful of the barrel drying out - not a disaster in itself but the  rings may get loose and drop.
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    As mentioned in another post, birds (specifically feral pigeons in our case) started using ours as a bath which invariably resulted in the sort of scum on the surface you quote.  I changed the water on a regular basis but, being the dog's drinking trough, that wasn't too much of a faff.  You might like to watch out for birds though?
  • noniebF79CskJWnoniebF79CskJW Posts: 1
    Thanks, Capvid25, for raising the same problem I have had.  I bought a half barrel recently and the water has an oily film.  I've just emptied it out in fact.  The water stinks, but from the barrel rather than from the contents.    I think I'll try and keep filling and emptying it until it's better, rather than lining it, as I'm concerned about the shrinkage (it leaked until it was soaked).  I am also going to brush it.  Hopefully it'll improve with time.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096

    Quite a number of posters this year have commented on the 'reeking barrel' problem.
  • Linda136Linda136 Posts: 1
    I bought half a whiskey barrel for a wildlife pond bought some plants to put in it they seemed to be dying plus I can smell coming of the water what do you think I’ve done wrong ,no pond life in it.
Sign In or Register to comment.