Troubleshooting & Problems

POND HEALTH AND THE TECHNOLOGICAL SAFETY NET: beginners guide to the myriad of filters, biological filters, ultra violet  clarifiers, bubble bead filters, skimmers and protein skimmers etc.

UVCs or Ultraviolet Clarifiers are capable of making green pond water clear, but they do not make it clean. Without the help of a biological filter or a very healthy pond, UVCs used on their own are just making the ingredients for a pond polluting time bomb.

The term Ultraviolet Clarifier applies to a piece of pond equipment used to the green free floating microscopic that make fish pond water green. The unit is usually fitted on the hose line between the pump in the pond and before it enters a biological filtration unit. The water is pumped from the pond through the unit which contains an Ultraviolet lamp. The water is circulated around the lamp bulb and then proceeds on to the filtration unit. The effect this has on the water is that any algae present are severely damaged. It also causes the individual cells of algae to clump together and thus they are more easily filtered out of the water in the biological filtration medium and then digested by the bacteria that inhabit it.

If you have noticed foam forming around the bottom of the waterfall or in the biological filter, it may be a sign that the new pond and filtration system is not fully functional yet, but if has been lingering around for some time it may be indicative of larger problem serious enough to cause the death of your fish. A protein skimmer may be an expensive but it will be a sure-fire piece kit that helps you avoid  anything like this being a problem.

DOCs (Dissolved Organic Matter) the bane of the serious fishkeeper

As winter approaches and water temperatures cool, the seasonal change will exacerbate the problem that foam on the pond may be indicative of. One contributing factor may be excessive runoff from surrounding flowerbeds of soil sediment or accumulated debris around the pond, also trees shedding their leaves into the pond. Certain species like yew, oak, willow and elder can be particularly toxic, but also some innocuous small leaved types of Acer, although not toxic in themselves, break down very rapidly and can add quite a bit of organic matter to the water, which to a certain extent dissolves in it quite quickly. This organic matter is referred to with dread by Koi keepers as DOCs, 'dissolved organic compounds'. These are already present in the dampness of the soil and so can create an instant foam as soon as it splashes in.

OK, if you think pond skimmers are so important, what are they and why didn't someone tried to sell me one when I bought all the other kit for the pond?

Most ponds are in gardens and gardens have plants and shrubs and trees in them. These produce all manner of debris and detritus. In the Autumn you can cover your pond with a net to stop leaves from blowing in, but even so you will only stop the majority of leaves. Many hundreds of leaves will find their way in early or late on either before or after or under the net, despite any strict adherence to the mantra to make the pond site away from trees. The Oase Floating Lake SkimmerBesides there are hundreds of successful ponds that have only been properly landscaped into place when they have a ruffle of trees and shrubs around them. In spring and summer, pollen and flowers blow off the trees and in very late spring many evergreen shrubs and trees have a fall that sheds many of the old their old tired leaves.

If you had a swimming pool you would have a skimmer system built into the side of the pool sucking in the water and collecting all the floating debris on the pond before it sinks to the bottom. You folks iThe Oase poolside skimmer of the swimming pool type.n the USA have been building this sort of skimmer into the side of your ponds for years and you cant understand why I'm bothering to make any bones about it. Well, here in the UK it has always been something that we thought we didn't have to bother with, besides it requires quite a bit of forethought and plannning and real engineering i.e. building. There has always been the excuse that we wanted to keep our ponds looking natural and besides the skimmers would suck up the tadpoles and goodness knows what. 

Well the news is that pondlife friendly skimmers have been around for a long time, and now , even if you had forgotten to put a skimmer in that's no problem any more. You can put one anywhere in the pond and hide it with plants or float it out in an unobtrusive spot. Some sit on the bottom of the pond and by linking up to your present pump can be adjusted to any height to reach the surface. The floating type have are generally self powered with their own little motor, but with these you not only get all the muck and the pollen sucked gently off the surface, you get a blast of oxygenating bubbles below the surface too. The floating types dont have to be permanently their either. You could just set them up for that shed of pollen that say comes from Lime trees in the spring, or petals from Cherry trees in May. Anything that helps delay the inevitable day of the big pond clean out, has to be worth its weight in gold.

Bubble Bead filters or Powerbead filters are particularly suitable for Koi, especially where the pond has become a little bit overcrowded as the stock has grown, to help give clear and above all healthy water. They have the ability to remove the tiniest particles of detritus that can be forever in free-floating motion and not necessarily filtered out of the water in normal biofilters removing specks down to 10microns, but their main purpose is the breakdown of the pollutants in the water.

I have never read so many glowing testimonials when I looked into possibilities of using Viresco on some of the ponds I was responsible for. These ponds had been plagued with green water or blanket weed ever since they had been created and although many products on the market were effective at reducing the problem or eliminating it altogether for a while, the ghastly strands of the green cotton wool or the thick soupy green water would return eventually. Very often with a vengeance, seemingly trying to make up for lost time, and so it gets worse than ever. Viresco however breaks that ghastly cycle forever.

DECEMBER/JANUARY in the water garden in the UK

What needs to be done with the water garden? Nothing. It is asleep. What has been done that needs to be done can now wait. As long as it is cold enough and the water is below 5°C, everything in it is blissfully unaware ofBubbles under the ice can be a bad sign. A hole needs to be made. everything, so don’t disturb it. After all you hate to be disturbed during your slumbers. Instead, appreciate the garden in its winter dress. Get into the Christmas spirit and brighten your house and the faces of your friends and neighbours with a few of the indoor plants that we have come to associate with this time of year.

JOBS LEFT UNDONE AROUND THE POND MAY BE A BONUS

In the first two or three years after planting, the more grassy marginals, particularly the Carex and Cyperus still look good in early winter. As everything else dies back to ground level, the clumpy grasses move in the wind, lending animation to an otherwise static scene.
The other tall marginal plants that you have failed to cut back may pay unexpected dividends if we get any hard frosts. Fronds of all herbaceous plants and some shrubs look stunning in winter sunlight covered in an icy hoar.
Dont go breaking a hole in the ice with a hammer. This will knock the fish senseless
What is more, even the most humble reed that has run to seed will provide excellent emergency rations for small birds and will help provide cover for any wildlife that needs a mid-sleep sip of water.
You may be able to use some of these seed heads in a dry plant display. A vogue that is set to return in force now people are beginning to forget the amount of dust that dried plants seem toInstead melt the ice with a pan of hot water. attract. The reed mace (Typha angustifolia) and even the Norfolk Reed (Phragmites australis) can be put to ornamental use. But beware they can be as much as a time bomb indoors as out, because at a certain times of dryness and humidity they can just deposit their seed head like an exploding dumper truck. Also impress upon any resident cats that a reed mace (bulrush) frond is not their Christmas present. To them it looks like a cross between a barbequed anorexic mole and a mouse kebab and definitely something to be torn apart, purely for scientific research of course!

What to do with the water garden in OCTOBER

This is probably the most important month in the UK for keeping on top of things water garden and gardening wise, so what should be done? Things can be looking a bit drab, any work done now has its dividends later on.

Any plants with leaves that are rotting into the pond should have these carefully removed. This should be an ongoing task for those of you in particular that have small ponds since they are so much more affected by the seasonal swings of growth and decay, cold and heat. With larger ponds, you can only attend to the fringes, but keeping these areas tidy and under control does make a big difference in the longer story of the ponds life.

It will be getting noticeably colder by the day and leaves have been falling for some time. This year an early quick change in temperature has started the leaf fall earnest, therefore for ponds surrounded by trees the leaf nets should be and covering the ponds already.

For those ponds too big to be netted, a bit of 'netting-off' of the surface and a bit of investigative dredging all helps to delay the day of a big clear out. Of course if the smell and the evidence on the dredging is that that day has now arrived then this is probably one of the most opportune moments to clear out – as long as it stays mild that is.

Remove any dead leaves before they sinkto the bottom of the pond.Now September is a time for clearing off decaying vegetation on plants in and around the pond. Some of the marginals could have been cut back to one third and may have flowered again. With very small ponds, if you can reach the dying leaves of the lilies or the faded flowers see if you can snip them off before they fall to the bottom of the pool. Dont tug on them too hard as this may damage the rhizome.

This year some of the trees in the UK, particularly birch and mountain ash are calling an early close to the season. This means small leaves blowing around and inevitably into the pond. Try to make a routine of netting this off.

This adventitious growth could make a new plant is removed and potted up.You can collect offcuts from the plants if you want to propagate them. Just pull them off or cut them neatly as they emerge from a basket. If they have developed root hairs then they will be guaranteed to establish in any good heavy loam set in a well-drained pot sitting in about 2inches, 5cm of water.
It may be time to replace tired and overgrown plants in the marginal baskets next month, so these will be a useful replacement.
Lilies should be the main attraction now along with the Fringe lily, Nymphoides peltata. A few bog plants like the Ligularias, the Lobelias and Astilbes may be putting on a show. This is when the robust foliage plants like the Hostas, Rodgersias,Rheums, Peltiphyllum and Petasites come into their own.

Koi keepers want to be feeding fish with good quality food to build them up for the winter. Be particularly careful not to over feed as usual. As the water cools there may be a greater susceptibility to parasites and disease. Keep a close eye on them checking for signs of 'flashing', quick movements that involve flipping onto their sides or rubbing hard against the pond sides , rocks or planting baskets. This may indicate parasites. Look also for fungal growth and bits hanging off them. Any outward signs of malaise must be treated immediately.

Even low levels of chlorine and chloramines can be extremely toxic to fish. Chlorine is a very powerful oxidizing agent and it is toxic to fish at concentrations of less than 0.05 mg/L. Water used for fish culture should not contain any residual chlorine to be considered safe. Chlorine and chloramines cause gill damage which eventually results in gill lesions. These lesions will eventually thicken the gill filaments leaving the fish unable to utilize oxygen and release carbon dioxide, thus resulting in fish death. Many of the 'Chlorine removers' (in liquid-form) from your aquatic store  will work to break the chlorine and chloramine bonds (chlorine + ammonia = chloramine) and reduce the chlorine and ammonia down to non-toxic levels.

Many of these chlorine removers contain sodium thiosulfate, which is widely used to break down chlorine and chloramines and is considered non-toxic to fish. Sodium thiosulfate was chosen because it provides a very effective solution for use in water gardens and ponds because of its ability to break the chlorine bond and chemically remove the chlorine after a short working time. Aeration of the water (which the majority of water gardens have present) will allow the ammonia, which was released from the chlorine bond, to escape as a gas over a period of one to two hours. Any remaining ammonia will be filtered out through flow through filters which most often contain activated carbon or some type of filter material.

Best used for regular water changes and when filling a new pond. Manufacturer recommends not putting in any fish or plant life until a day after treatment to be safe. This should give any residual ammonia enough time to escape or filter out.