Will walnut tree litter kill pond?
Rob Gray
Although I am no expert, I do know that Walnut trees put out a chemical
that restricts the growth of competing trees. As far as their effect on
acquatic plants, I do not know.
Rob Gray
David Simcox wrote:
>
> I have just begun a pond in an area shaded by an english walnut tree. I
> have heard that the walnut husks, leaves, etc. create either chemical or Ph
> imbalances. Doe anyone know if this is true? Will I regret building my
> pond in this area? Many thanks.
David Simcox
Terri
Rob Gray wrote:
>
> Although I am no expert, I do know that Walnut trees put out a chemical
> that restricts the growth of competing trees. As far as their effect on
> acquatic plants, I do not know.
>
> Rob Gray
>
> David Simcox wrote:
> >
swimming pool under a black walnut. I regretted it
until I sold the house. The walnuts fall down in a
pod of soft stuff, then rot off. The tree attracted
racoons and possums. Also, there is an ingredient
(aresenic), I think, that makes the rotted pods
poisoness to dogs so I would imagine that would
apply to fish as well. Anyway, that's with the
black walnut I had. Id call up a nursery and ask
about the habits of an english walnut, do they
drop,are they poisoness too,etc..
Bill McJunkin
David Simcox wrote:
>
> I have just begun a pond in an area shaded by an english walnut tree. I
> have heard that the walnut husks, leaves, etc. create either chemical or Ph
> imbalances. Doe anyone know if this is true? Will I regret building my
> pond in this area? Many thanks.
Walnuts are toxic to dogs (they love them) and the leaves and husks
contain tannin which will stain just about anything. I don't know if it
will hurt your pond, but it could be a real pain to keep clean. The
growth inhibitor in the leaves could very well retard the growth of your
pond plants. The shade alone may be a serious consideration. If the pond
is already installed let us know what happens.
Good luck.
--
Bill McJunkin N6FAB wm...@syix.com
Yuba City, CA 95991
Fahey
Bill McJunkin <wm...@syix.com> wrote:
This is the first thing I have posted, I hope it's right and that you
will excuse any mistakes.
Re: The question of Walnuts in ponds.
A friend of mine has had, within the last few weeks, an almost total
wipeout of fish (Koi) in his pond. The regular water tests began to
show a high concentration of ammonia, water changes and increased bio
seeding of his filter system failed to reduce the ammonia level. Koi
began to suffer ulcers, complete loss of all fins, severe damage to
the gill filaments then die. They was no apparent reason for the
ammonia, the pond and filter system had been installed and runningwell
for approx 4yrs.
A very close inspection of the pond and filter revealed a half dozen
Walnuts and a couple of Brazil nuts, all very well rotted. These were
placed in water overnight and the water tested the following morning.
The ammonia reading went through the roof !
The test kit manufacturer assures me that the only chemical capable of
inducing that result is ammonia .
What makes this episode even sadder is the fact that the nuts had to
be introduced to my friends system deliberatly..
Mick Fahey.
Leora Goldman
Maybe just introduced by a squirrel(or squirrels) It's a shame to be so
quick to accuse a person. The squirrels are always bringing nuts to the
rocks beside my pond and eating them there. I guess they enjoy the
warmth of the rocks. It is enevitable that some get dropped in the pond.
Thanks for this info tho...time for me to put on the snorkle and look
for walnuts! Leora
--
-- peace
Fahey
Bill McJunkin <wm...@syix.com> wrote:
>David Simcox wrote:
>>
>> I have just begun a pond in an area shaded by an english walnut tree. I
>> have heard that the walnut husks, leaves, etc. create either chemical or Ph
>> imbalances. Doe anyone know if this is true? Will I regret building my
>> pond in this area? Many thanks.
>Walnuts are toxic to dogs (they love them) and the leaves and husks
>contain tannin which will stain just about anything. I don't know if it
>will hurt your pond, but it could be a real pain to keep clean. The
>growth inhibitor in the leaves could very well retard the growth of your
>pond plants. The shade alone may be a serious consideration. If the pond
>is already installed let us know what happens.
>Good luck.
>--
>Bill McJunkin N6FAB wm...@syix.com
>Yuba City, CA 95991
This is my first attempt at posting anything so please forgive any
errors I may make.
A friend of mine has recently suffered an almost complete wipeout in
his pond, mainly koi. Over a period of a few weeks ammonia levels
continued to rise despite continuous water changes. The biological
filter was seeded regularly. The koi developed ulcers and lost all
finnage, damage to their gills finally killed them. No reason for the
rise in ammonia levels was apparent. A close inspection of the system
turned up a half dozen walnuts and two brazil nuts in a corner of the
filter. These were placed in a jug of water overnight, when the water
was tested next day the ammonia level went of the scale !!!
The manufacturer of the test kit assures me that only ammonia would
affect the kit in that way, perhaps as the nuts rotted down ammonia
was released or some other chemical which affected the bio filter . I
have been told that the kernel from peaches will release cyanide as it
rots in water so who knows !
Incidentally, the owner of the pond is a reasonably experienced koi
keeper and his pond /filter has been established 4 years.
Mick Fahey.
Jim
fa...@mickfah.sonnet.co.uk (Fahey) wrote:
> A close inspection of the system
>turned up a half dozen walnuts and two brazil nuts in a corner of the
>filter. These were placed in a jug of water overnight, when the water
>was tested next day the ammonia level went of the scale !!!
Think about what you just said -- the suspect nuts (well, MOST of them)
were placed in a jar of water. The next day, the jar was found to
have a high ammonia level.
One of two things is happening -- the nuts are the cause of the ammonia
problem and the jar is nearly as big as the pond; or there is another
cause of the ammonia problem.
If anything, I'd suspect that the filter was seriously overloaded, and
the few nuts just happened to be what it took to completely kill the
filter bacteria. As a contributing factor -- are there more loose nuts
(this time I really mean walnuts) littering the bottom of the pond?
Several kilograms of decaying walnuts might cause the ammonia problem,
not several individual nuts.
By now the pond owner should have drained his pond, and can accurately
state how many walnuts and dead inches of koi he had per gallon of water.
Since this was an established pond, it's possible that the fish load
gradually increased to an unsustainable level, and the nuts -- perhaps
helped by summer heat -- just happened to be the trigger on an inevitable
event. After all, how many people here have drained their pond and found
three times the expected fish load -- or at least a lot of fish that
weren't supposed to be there?
Leora Goldman
thanks for that qualifier, Jim...I was worrying! Leora
--
-- peace
