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Pond not going swimmingly...
James 11
Posts: 35
Hello,
Probably a little background first. Decided to set up a bucket pond in the garden to attract beneficial insects to do pest control. Started to set it up early spring, didn't have much rain, and the few inches of water in the bucket started to go green. So I decided to hurry things along and filled the rest up with tap water, rushed and got some oxygenators to suck up excess nitrogen from the tap water and stuck them in with a few rocks. However it seems to be getting worse..
Any advice? Would it be a wait and see situation and risk the oxy plants getting smothered by the algae or do something with quick chemicals (if it's even possible)?
Should be a pic of it attached below
0
Posts
Leave it. All new ponds go through a green stage. It should clear by itself in a few days.
You need something to aerate the water . A small fountain or you can buy a air pump and air stone quite cheaply. Just water in a bucket with no movement will just go stagnant
There are 4 oxygenating plants in there, cant remember the names of them at the moment, might check tomorrow, won't they do the same thing?
They work a bit but you will still need some circulation. Try not to put the bucket in full sun, the algae will thrive on lots of light.
All new ponds will go green - that's normal. You don't need fountains etc the oxygenators will be plenty but a bit of shade would be good to stop big temp variations and help retain oxygen. But other than that - its fine. The algae will die down in about a month/6 weeks. Algae wont be a problem as you are not keeping fish in it and not producing nitrogen. It will find a balance.
there's a big plant on the south side of it and a wall on the west, so hopefully it should't be too bad, except when the sun is right overhead
but thank you to all for the advice so far
The beneficial insects might get sucked through a pump, they wouldn't like that much. It's just people that don't like green water, insects won't mind
In the sticks near Peterborough
Is that just green water or is it blanket weed?
I use Barley Straw extract in my big and small ponds and it works well - just a little every week stops the water going green. Look for it on the internet.