The breed of algae that came in with spring rains is real tough. It’s so fine it doesn’t get caught in regular filters. WE’ve tried every algae killer in existence.
I finally ordered, from Foster & Smith, some real fine (lime green) filter pads, and they made a little headway.
I decided to use the trim from one to put in the bottom of the pre-filter basket, effectively doubling the filtration in every cycle through the system, and bingo! we can see the rocks in the bottom this morning.
I think I have finally found the answer. I may get some filter felt sheets to sit atop that pad, in the 1 micron variety, and that may get it.
Would it help if you had more algae-eating critters in the pond? I don’t know what sort of small algae-eating critters would be appropriate. (For “critter,” substitute protista on up through invertebrates or vertebrates, smaller than a koi, naturally.)
One suggests avoiding Triffids or The Thing or The Blob, no matter how cute it creeps, it crawls, it glides, it shivers, it slides across the floor and then it…. Yes, I’ve misquoted the lyrics somehow. 🙂
One suggests also avoiding those unusual pods in the flower bed. You know, the ones over there. No, over there, sort of out of the way of everything, behind the garage. The…oh, dear….
There was a BlueCatShip here somewhere….
Oh, there he is. No, wait, he’s over there. Two of them? Oh, there goes the neighborhood!
(Hmm, two of me could be interesting and advantageous. The ego probably wouldn’t mind….)
Hello, Minions-R-Us? How’s that 2 for 1 clone special going again? Oh, great, say, could I order…hmm…now that’s distracting….
@ BCS…..but a bluecat pod might take care of all the problems!
It’s so frustrating when you are fighting algae. Just when you think you are winning along comes Mother Nature to say Hah! in your face.
I wish I could tell you what Proge did to clear our pond. Last year at this time you could see about two inches into the water. He got this stuff from Larry the Pond Guy and dosed the pond on a schedule. I know it was more often at first. It looked good when it got really cold and then this spring it cleared so we can see the bottom. The water is a tea tint, but clear. It may help that we were right on the edge of filter and pump size and opted for the larger rather than the one that would just fit the specs. Other than that it’s one of life’s little mysteries. I really only know about pools.
Good luck…I hope you are still able to enjoy the fishies. You have such a pretty place to relax.
Mmm, looked up the site. Looks like InstaFix. I’ve never used that…but we are definitely making headway day by day with mechanical (filter) removal.
I’m tempted to try the InstaFix, but I think now that I’ve got the green stuff on the run I may try a dose of Pond Balance first, and if that doesn’t do it, I’ll order the other.
Costco (online) has a number of patio umbrellas from ~$100 and up, no base. The umbrellas are quite light, ~15 lbs, so I wonder if you could use one to shade part of the pool, reducing the algae load, and move it to shade yourselves while working or enjoying the garden.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but you might look at http://www.effens.com/ I haven’t tried their product, but I know of a friend of a friend who swears by their products.
I got an ad recently from a company called globalindustrial(.com) which mentioned ‘shade sails’ – sqaure or triangular porus fabric which blocks most light & UV and lets wind and water through. Various sizes, costing $35 to $80 without hardware. Of course you have to have places to tie them up, but they seem pretty easy to use. I don’t have a pool, or even a backyard, but they looked intriguing.
We have one. We got it for exactly that reason, and it sits folded up in the garage because we can’t figure where we could tie it…There’s one drawback to sails. And Spokane gets 40 mph winds periodically. Perhaps if we could furl it onto a 10′ pole and extend it at need, but that’s ladders, and the garage roof…which would require the drill, and heavy eyelets, and somehow it hasn’t happened. Wind and trouble is why we haven’t deployed the patio umbrella this year, either, but that’s to shade our patio table. I could put the floating shade back on the pond, but it wasn’t helping with the algae problem. The koi eat any critters that eat the algae—they eat it, but not enough of it.
I think we are, however, making progress with this new finer filter pad.