Mark

Aerial Mapping For Pond Aeration

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Pond aeration for large ponds and using aerial mapping services to get the best coverage

Can Green Clean Control Green Water?

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In my continuing effort to share some common questions that we get here at Pond Algae Control Central I wanted to address a few surrounding Green Clean algaecide.

Way back in 2004 or 2005 I became aware of, what at that time, was a revolutionary non-copper based algaecide that could be used to topically treat algae blooms.  Since that time, a number of other granulated peroxide based treatments have come along, and most are quite similar in their formulation.  Some are registered with the EPA as an algaecide and some manufacturers haven’t taken that step but for the most part, other than the concentration of peroxide, they are all similar in how they work.

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Five Things Your Pond Builder Never Told You About

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Before I build up a head of steam here let me preface this article by saying that I have the utmost respect for talented pond builders.  Like anything involving craftsmanship, this work is a true art form and many happy pond owners can attest to this fact.  So thank you to the pond builders, designers, and landscapers who bring more beauty into our world!

OK, with that lovey-dovey stuff out of the way, let’s get into the nitty gritty of all this.

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Boy Plays In An Algae Bloom

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A child plays on an inflatable covered in seaweed at Qingdao, China’s most popular beach area. The huge algae bloom is nonpoisonous, but officials worry about its effect on marine life and tourism dollars. I’m all for making the most of any situation but this just isn’t my cup of tea.

How To Introduce Aeration In A Pond During Hot Weather

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This brief article is an important one and should be read by anyone who’s putting a pond aerator into a large pond during the summer season. It’s in response to a fellow who called about a problem of losing fish after putting an aerator in his pond during some extremely hot weather.

This is an interesting and a bit of a trickly situation because good aeration is a very powerful tool for protecting fish during hot conditions, there’s no question about that. But at the same time, anytime you introduce something new into a pond’s environment, certain things can happen that may not always be desirable.

In the case of large ponds, and particularly those that have some age on them, it’s not uncommon to find some muck or sludge build up on the bottom.  Some of this can be very nutrient rich and many times it’s made up of decomposing or rotting organic material.  Leaves or dead plant matter are often the culprits.

During this decomposition process gasses can be created, and they may lie trapped in this sludge until something comes along and disturbs it.  Nature can do this all on it’s own by creating an inversion in the pond, where the bottom and top sort of switch.  This can be a very dangerous time for fish because it really messes things up in the pond.  Dissolved oxygen levels can drop, toxic gasses can be released, and basically all of this is just not a good event in the life of a fish.

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Small Pond Emergency – Saving Your Fish In An Oxygen Crisis

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Last Saturday we experienced some of the hottest weather I’ve seen in a good while.  The thermometer read a toasty 104 degrees around noon time while we checked out the local farmers market.  Needless to say the crowd wasn’t quite as big as usual.

For just about everyone out there that day it was brutal stuff.  And this got me thinking about fish.

You and I can pretty much get out of this weather when necessary, but fish are kind of stuck to deal with it.  And while heat won’t necessarily hurt them low oxygen certainly will.  Once things heat up, and they stay warm for a few days it’s not at all uncommon to find pond water temps well over 80 degrees and it’s right around that point that the capacity of the water to hold dissovled oxygen will drop dramatically.

In a small pond, you may see your fish hanging tight around any waterfall area.  You may see them gasping at the surface while they try to pick up any amount of DO that they can in a last ditch effort to survive.  They may get lethargic, much like you and I would if we are oxygen deprived.  And in a worst case scenario, you may find them dying or dead.

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