I used Blanket Answer by Cloverleaf

I've been in touch with Cloverleaf by email over the weekend and we will wait a response from them, however in the mean time I would like to vouch for the product since I recommended it in the first place. When I used it, it did make the water milky in appearance for a short while (most of the rest of that day but was clear the next morning). There was no sediment and the effect was very gradual. Admittedly, quite definite, but not the bleaching type of effect that you mention. The enzymes produced by the bacteria involved are meant to just remove the phosphates and nitrates and so the algae slowly get starved out of existence.
It's not possible that there was another algicide in the pond water as well was there? I mean something seemingly benign as like a barley straw bale, or some barley straw concentrate. I'm thinking that the mild Hydrogen peroxide solution given off by the barley straw may have amplified by the enzyme activity causing a bleaching effect.
I'm probably talking out of the top of my head, but there is often a warning not to mix algicides, and it may be something like this that it relates to.
We will wait for a Cloverleaf response with baited?bated breath.

Thanks Peter.

Prior to using BA I had not used any treatment for several weeks. Previously I used a bacterial one that had to be mixed with warm water first. That didnt work. Not tried barley straw yet.

A friend of mine who is a very experienced pond keeper (previous Koi) has told me not to put anything into the pond except barley straw. She said many of these powders have talcum powder or something similar in it - the product has to be contained in something. They all are temporary and all change the eco balance in the pond.

The only way to stop blanket weed is to ensure plenty of plants are growing and aim for plenty of surface coverage. I have been told!

I too emailed Cloverleaf but have received no response.

Thanks for your help. I am concernd about the filter box.

Maz

Thanks. I have not tried barley straw yet. The previous treatment was one of those bacterial ones that you mix with warm water - about a month before (didn't work) - depended on water temperature which I hadnt realised before. I really dont think that would have affected anything.

A friend of mine has told me not to use anything whatsoever in the pond except barley straw. She has kept ponds for years (Koi ones as well) and she said many of these powders etc use talcum powder in the product. All are temporary and all upset the eco balance of the pond. She has told me to be patient and introduce more plants and aim for more surface coverage instead of constantly worrying about the weed. Eventually it will be much less of a nuisance.

I too tried to email Cloverleaf - no response. I wish I had not used that stuff now. I am concerned about the filter box but I am getting my landscaper back to take a look.

Thanks.

Maz

Don't worry too much about the filter Maz. If there was anything that the product was guilty of, it certainly would not upset biological filters. Biological filters are after all their (Cloverleaf's) bread and butter. If they dont reply, I'm meeting some very erudite colleagues at the International Show for garden equipment at the NEC next week. Some of them are directly involved in the production of pond chemicals. I'll ask them what they think.

Cloverleaf did reply to a lady with a 'dying fish' problem a few weeks back. If you go to the koimag forum and search for Blanket weed you get the beginning of the strand. To pick up on the Cloverlaef reply you can either search for Blanket Answer or go to this link http://forum.koimag.co.uk/tm.asp?m=75551&mpage=8&key=Blanket%2CAnswer&#9... . Its a pretty difficult rag tag of a forum and probably you'll be none the wise afterwards, but hey I'm trying here.

It seems the email contact page on the Cloverleaf website just was not working properly. John Roberts, the man behind Cloverleaf rang me yesterday very much concerned by what he had seen on this forum as he was trawling around on the web. I had intended to ring him myself but doing it just kept getting shifted down the order of priorities in what is a very busy period in the aquatics trade world.

Cloverleaf's Blanket Answer is a Montmirlite clay from Hungary that does not affect any other plant or animal apart from a one or two bog plants that should not be in a pond anyway. It's unique feature is that it is absorbed by blanket weed and it is killed from inside of the individual cells. The excess clay settles out as a white dust and remains there until the blanket weed tries to grow again and eventually it gets all absorbed by the algae over time. Therefore if the white dust is still there it doesn't need dosing again.
It can get into filters, but it just needs to be rinsed out back into the pond if you want where it might be useful. He apologises for not being able to be precise about dosages, but it is difficult to specify an effective dose that works and does not leave a sediment. He warns that pressure filters need to be monitored on a regular basis as they are particularly prone to clogging up with it, but then pressure filters should be checked on a very regular basis (more than is recommended) in order to get the proclaimed performance out of them. Every pond is different and unique and so the product has to be used with a certain amount of common sense or an awareness that in order to have effect certain compromises have to be accepted in the form of milkyness fro a short period or this sediment if the dose was too high.
He also warns that the water needs to be well oxygenised in order to cope with the death of the blanket weed. This is a precaution that should be observed with the use of any algicides in the pond water.
I'm glad he rang me because it has reaffirmed my confidence in the product. When they first came to market it 'reps' who went the garden centres and aquatic centres had bottles with them, which if they saw a blanket weed ridden pond, they would give the manager a bottle and say, "Dose it with that, that'll sort it, and I'll take your order when I come back next week." From there, with hardly any advertising, the effectiveness spread through the grapevine by word of mouth. Now, when an order comes into my local water garden centre, the shelves are empty by the end of a weekend.

By the way, the website will be fixed as soon as is humanly possible, meanwhile you can talk to them on 01277 366002 if you have any more queries.