Fish pond issue

[basswipe]

I'd like to think of myself as an experienced fish pond guy but I'm having an issue.I have an upper and lower pond system.Lower has fish,upper has no fish but a few frogs.

The upper continually grows this long fine stringy green muck.Standard algae killer does nothing to it and I kinda try avoid using chems anyway.The only way I've found to get rid of it is to manually remove it which of course stirs up botton sediment which makes its way down to the lower pond.And I'm doing it twice a week if its sunny all week.

Is there something out there like an algae killer that will control this stuff?Something natural preferably but at this point I'd consider chems!

[MAC]

try a barley ball

[spence]

I just use the regular algae killer they sell at Agway. It seems to work on the sting algae, but I agree...the stuff can be a pain.

-spence

[cheferson]

Add more pond plants , you prob have too much nitrogen/nutes in the water

[MakoMike]

Apple snails will eat the stuff.

[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

Apple snails will eat the stuff.

They will eat EVERYTHING, even plants you don't want them too!

[Raven]

there's some other fish that will eat it...
possibly carp... but for something out there
that weed is a food source...

i saw this incredible video to demonstrate my point

it was on fish that were over fished that kept the
sea urchins under control...

the fishermen harvested way to many
the sea urchins over populated and all the kelp
growing in the area got consumed by the urchins.

along came management and they stopped the harvesting
of the urchin eating fish.....
and the bottom of the sea bed was literally wall to wall black
with sea urchins prior to doing this.

they eventually made a come back, ate all the sea urchins, and then
the kelp recovered and the whole area totally prospered.

[spence]

Found an article online that suggests AlgaeFix (what I use) followed by barley (bales or extract) as MAC suggested.

The key point being, the barley doesn't kill the string algae but rather releases enzymes that keep more from growing.You have to kill it first with the AlgaeFix.

I think I will try this.

-spence

[Raven]

is the best place to buy barley for human consumption
a beer supplies store?

[spence]

Originally Posted by Raven

is the best place to buy barley for human consumption
a beer supplies store?

It may be the best place to small quantities of high quality whole grains.

Keep in mind that most barley for brewing has been malted to convert starches to sugars. A beer store will usually carry un-malted barley, but it's often roasted to give body and color to darker beers without increasing the sugar content of the mash.

-spence

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by spence

Found an article online that suggests AlgaeFix (what I use) followed by barley (bales or extract) as MAC suggested.

The key point being, the barley doesn't kill the string algae but rather releases enzymes that keep more from growing.You have to kill it first with the AlgaeFix.

I think I will try this.

-spence

AlgaeFix is also what I use.Does nothing.Will have to combo it with a Barley pad and see what happens.

Just scooped out about 5lbs of this crap an hour ago.

[spence]

Interesting.

The AlgaeFix works for me, but you have to keep the applications up or the stuff just grows back. I bought some barley straw today and we'll see how it works.

-spence

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by spence

Interesting.

The AlgaeFix works for me, but you have to keep the applications up or the stuff just grows back. I bought some barley straw today and we'll see how it works.

-spence

Have a barley pad in the upper pond and just added my dosage of algae fix.I'll keep going with this throughout the Summer.According to the pamphlet the ideal time for barley is Spring but you can add it anytime.I'll continue to update my results on occasion.

[spence]

Get a webcam so we can see in real-time
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[cheferson]

nutrient load...............

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by spence

Get a webcam so we can see in real-time
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

That's like watching paint dry.....ironic in my case!