HOW DO i CARE FOR MY BACKYARD FISH POND?

Question

We just bought a house with a fish pond in the back. we cleaned it all out and now all the disgusting clouded water and algae is back!! how do i care for these problems??

Answer 1

I have had a pond with fish and plants for several years now. Before I really had a handle on it, I used a product called AlgaeFix, which I bought at my local yard and hardware store. I used it according to directions a couple of times a week until I got rid of the green water and string algae. It did not kill my goldfish or my plants.

The long-term solution, though, is bringing a balance to your pond. Plants and fish, in balance, have a symbiotic, or mutually beneficial, relationship. Does your pond have a pump of some sort circulating the water? Unplug it and check the filters. They will no doubt need to be cleaned - spray them off with your garden hose. I have 2 pumps, one in the pond running a fountain and one outside, which makes a little "waterfall." I try to clean the filters every week or 2 during the summer. And once I have the algae under control, I keep it from getting out of hand again by adding barley straw, which is a natural algae suppressant. It comes in pellets or pads. You can put the pellets in a mesh bag and float in in the pond, or put it in between the filters in your pump. Good luck!

Answer 2

you will need to balance your pond so that nothing gets out of control (like the algae) first try to figure out how many gallons you have, allow about 10 gal per adult goldfish, put in lots of plants

(marginal and water plants or lilies) the more shade you have the less algae you have, see? do not put catfish in your pond, they are predators and will attack your fish as they get bigger, they are real bad about sucking out goldfish eyes, do not keep changing your water to eliminate the algae that only makes it grow more although your fish do need a water change periodically, there are lots of good books on the market and some real good websites (also some bad) but mostly you will just have to play with your pond until you find out what works for you, do you have any kind of filtration or pump? plant some small trees or bushes near the pond to block some of the sunlight

I now build all my ponds in the shade and don't have to worry about green water but I do have a problem keeping leaves out of the pond. hope this helps some, good luck & don't give up

Answer 3

Ive had dealings with fish ponds before. What you need to do is balance your ecosystem. I don't recomend the algae killing chemicals. You should get all the following:

-regular fish, they control the numbers of the other animal life



-catfish or sucker fish, they eat algae and poo.



some kind of scavenger, though catfish will expand to fill that role. do not get crayfish, they destroy everything. I use freshwater prawn. they nibble bits of algae off everything, reproduce quickly, and are food for larger fish.



-tiny minnows, theyre a more mobile food source and plant growth controller



-aquatic snails, not "golden" snails, as they eat everything. regular aquatic snails will eat algae that grows on the side of the pond and not much else.



-plants that grow entirely underwater, like aquarium plants. food and oxygen source



-plants that grow partially in water and partially in air, like cat tails and water lilies, food source, oxygen source, and shade source. fish like shade sometimes.



-little bitty free floating plants. duckweed recomended. these grow more in the hot months, providing shade to keep your fish from overheating.



Don't bother with exact quantities of the living things, as they either die off or reproduce to fit the size of pond you have.

Answer 4

Does the pond have fish in it? There are safe algaecides available at any good fish store.