Hi, I use Greena All Natural pond treatments, other brands available. They recommend using their algae treatment first, followed by their sludge remover which seems to work for me. I also have a bottle of pond weed remover but have never used it so far because I have not found any pond weed in my pond. My sister is plagued with the stuff and uses it, she says after treatment the pond weed turns into a bubbly sort of foam which she skims off the surface of the water.
I am concerned about the amount of liner exposed around the edge of your pond because pond liner deteriorates more quickly when exposed to sunlight than when it is underwater, As you seem to want to have a pond I would be inclined to choose another location for one, not under trees. When you have time, dig out another hole properly, line and fill it, and leave for a couple of months before transferring the contents from the existing pond, including the sludge from the bottom, into the new pond. This work is best done in the summer when the liner will be warm and pliable and ponds are at their most active, plants and inhabitants. The froglets will have left the pond. You may have one or two casualties but nothing major. The job can be spread over a couple of years if you have other essential work to do in the garden. If the centre of a pond is about 4 ft deep there is never any reason to break the ice that has formed. Most inhabitants will go to the bottom of the pond in hibernation . Fish do not begin rising to the surface until late April or May when they begin feeding again. Frogs, toads and newts, etc. hibernate under paving slabs, garden sheds, and pieces of rock, etc. mainly going into the water to breed.
I've never cleaned out any pond I've ever had, and I've had ponds of all sizes and depths, from tiny ones about a metre wide to one which was big enough to swim in.
I used a product last year on my new pond, but I'll have to look and see what it was. The new pond is much shallower round the edges than the previous one [in this garden] with a deeper section in the middle. It's excellent for wildlife using it because of that. Watercress is very useful for covering the surface [which also helps a pond] as it uses up a lot of nutrients which algae loves. Just buy a bag from the supermarket and chuck it in. It'll root here and there, and will overwinter if it's mild enough.
A photo of your pond will also help with any advice
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Wildlife ponds can take a few years get going and become really stable. The more we fiddle with them the more likely they are to get algae or become imbalanced ime. In a well balanced pond the nutrients going in will be processed so that you don't get algae and its when we remove to many plants or stir up the sludge at the bottom that we do detriment to this balance. The only real time a balanced pond should get algae is if we have a really sunny and warm spring, where the plants are not growing rapidly enough to help. I would only worry about removing the sludge if it's evident that you need to. It's a little ecosystem in there and it is processed by many creatures who remove any useful nutrients.
I used to use pond products in my wildlife pond for blanket weed etc.. I haven’ used any for a number of years now and I can quite honestly say I haven’t noticed any difference. The one thing I do each spring is a partial water change. Approx 1/3. Although I live in a soft water area there’s still chemicals in the tap water and I imagine these concentrate in the pond during normal evaporation. A partial change should alleviate this. That’s my theory anyway and whether it’s right or not, the process works. I’d love to be able to use rain water but it’s not practical.
My pond usually goes cloudy about February and clears in June and has done for years. That’s as good as I can get it having tried all sorts for the last 35 years.
I’ve found the secret with duck weed is to catch it early in the season when it starts to float back to the surface. Scoop it out on a regular basis and this will provide some control. Later on in the season it’s full of precious wildlife so removal is best kept to a minimum then. Learn to like it because once you’ve got it, you will never get rid of it. It can completely cover the pond and choke everything else out if left so removal needs to be part of your garden routine. It doesn’t like moving water but that’s not so much use for a wildlife pond.
It’s often present in pond plants when you buy them so it’s just your luck really. I’ve also heard it can be transported on the feet of birds and on frogs moving between ponds.
Duckweed is certainly transportable and once you have it, you're likely to have it forever. It can actually be handy in some instances - eg covering the pond surface in extreme temps but regular scooping off the surface should help to keep it under reasonable control.
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I use Greena All Natural pond treatments, other brands available. They recommend using their algae treatment first, followed by their sludge remover which seems to work for me. I also have a bottle of pond weed remover but have never used it so far because I have not found any pond weed in my pond. My sister is plagued with the stuff and uses it, she says after treatment the pond weed turns into a bubbly sort of foam which she skims off the surface of the water.
I am concerned about the amount of liner exposed around the edge of your pond because pond liner deteriorates more quickly when exposed to sunlight than when it is underwater, As you seem to want to have a pond I would be inclined to choose another location for one, not under trees. When you have time, dig out another hole properly, line and fill it, and leave for a couple of months before transferring the contents from the existing pond, including the sludge from the bottom, into the new pond. This work is best done in the summer when the liner will be warm and pliable and ponds are at their most active, plants and inhabitants. The froglets will have left the pond. You may have one or two casualties but nothing major. The job can be spread over a couple of years if you have other essential work to do in the garden.
If the centre of a pond is about 4 ft deep there is never any reason to break the ice that has formed. Most inhabitants will go to the bottom of the pond in hibernation . Fish do not begin rising to the surface until late April or May when they begin feeding again. Frogs, toads and newts, etc. hibernate under paving slabs, garden sheds, and pieces of rock, etc. mainly going into the water to breed.
I used a product last year on my new pond, but I'll have to look and see what it was. The new pond is much shallower round the edges than the previous one [in this garden] with a deeper section in the middle. It's excellent for wildlife using it because of that.
Watercress is very useful for covering the surface [which also helps a pond] as it uses up a lot of nutrients which algae loves. Just buy a bag from the supermarket and chuck it in. It'll root here and there, and will overwinter if it's mild enough.
A photo of your pond will also help with any advice
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
https://www.pondkeeper.co.uk/cloverleaf-blanket-answer-200g/p4651
I expect it's available in plenty of places as it's not in stock there
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I would only worry about removing the sludge if it's evident that you need to. It's a little ecosystem in there and it is processed by many creatures who remove any useful nutrients.
My pond usually goes cloudy about February and clears in June and has done for years. That’s as good as I can get it having tried all sorts for the last 35 years.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It’s often present in pond plants when you buy them so it’s just your luck really. I’ve also heard it can be transported on the feet of birds and on frogs moving between ponds.
I think it’s quite attractive in small amounts.
It can actually be handy in some instances - eg covering the pond surface in extreme temps but regular scooping off the surface should help to keep it under reasonable control.