Does algaecide kill lilypads?
bri...@my-deja.com
to clear up my pond, but I was sick of looking at pea soup and we had
guests coming over. The good news is that the water cleared up
spectacularly within 2 days, without harming the fish. The bad news is
that my lilypads have started dying.
Could the death of lilypads be caused by the algaecide? The label
claimed it was safe! I have since changed out about half the water (in
two stages), and still the pads keep croaking. They are young plants
(this is a first-year pond), but they had been healthy up until a few
weeks ago. Anything else that might be causing this?
Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks,
-Brion
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Dwight
>OK, I confess... I didn't want to have to resort to chemical algaecides
>to clear up my pond, but I was sick of looking at pea soup and we had
>guests coming over. The good news is that the water cleared up
>spectacularly within 2 days, without harming the fish. The bad news is
>that my lilypads have started dying.
>
>Could the death of lilypads be caused by the algaecide? The label
>claimed it was safe! I have since changed out about half the water (in
>two stages), and still the pads keep croaking. They are young plants
>(this is a first-year pond), but they had been healthy up until a few
>weeks ago. Anything else that might be causing this?
Safe? Safe for what? I'll bet it ment safe for FISH! Does it contain
Copper? If it does contain Copper you have a BIG problem. You'll
have to dump all the substrate in the pond and all the plants b/c
having absorbed copper they will either not grow plants at all or not
very well ever again (at least, not for many years).
This is just the sort of things that happens to aquarium people all
the time when the try to introduce plants to a previously fish only
tank. If the tank had previous "bug-'n-algae" treatments containing
copper, unless the substrate is disposed of, the tank will never grow
plants right.
The only long term algaecide that's safe for plants IMHO, (and cheap)
is Barley straw http://floridadriftwood.com/straw.html . 'tis far,
far better thing to have waited for the normal cycling to "run its
course" than to resort to inorganic chemical algaecides.
My HOMEPAGE:
www.floridadriftwood.com
My eBay Driftwood and Plants:
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/boukmn/
Remove S-P-A from my e-mail to reply.
bri...@my-deja.com
contained copper or not, but you can bet I'll check as soon as I get
home!
Believe me, it killed me to dump chemicals in the pond, but I caved
under pressure from by better half, who didn't want our guests to see
our pea-green mess.
Can you explain what you mean by "dump the substrate?" Are you
referring to the settled particulate matter that accumulated after the
application of the algaecide?
One more question, if you'd be so kind - how does the Barley Straw
work? By blocking the light to the algae? I considered buying one of
those products, but it seemed likely that we wouldn't be able to see
the fish, either...
Thanks!
-Brion
In article <396dd232...@news.mindspring.com>,
Berenice Hardman
anti-algae mat to my filter which claimed it was safe...next thing I knew I
had clear water, but all my plants were dying.........yikes!!! Even the area
of lawn where I had syphoned some pond water out developed a huge dead
patch. I came here for advice & got it! I changed 20% of the pond water
every 3 days for a fortnight, and eventually the problem sorted itself
out.....the lillies survived, but practically everything else perished. I
have used a small barley straw net pouch under a waterfall this year, which
combined with Azolla to cover the surface ( yes, it's a small pond, and I
can easily scoop out the excess!!) has produced perfectly clear water this
year. I think the theory of the straw is that it produces small amounts of
Hydrogen Peroxide as it rots. I have also heard that it can inhibit lillies
flowering, but I have not found it to be the case....check out
http://midgeure.com/garden/back_garden.html for proof!!
bri...@my-deja.com wrote:
> Yikes, now I'm really worried! I don't remember if the algaecide
> contained copper or not, but you can bet I'll check as soon as I get
> home!
>
> e-mail to reply.
> >snip
Dwight
>Believe me, it killed me to dump chemicals in the pond, but I caved
>under pressure from by better half, who didn't want our guests to see
>our pea-green mess.
Aye - yey - yey! The pattern is familiar! The other half freaks over
the algae bloom and the ponder caves in! We aught to have a section
added to ponper FAQ that includes "algae bloom / spouse management
techniques"! :-)
>Can you explain what you mean by "dump the substrate?" Are you
>referring to the settled particulate matter that accumulated after the
>application of the algaecide?
Means dump everything that could contain the toxin: sludge,
gravel/sand at the bottom if you have it, dead plants, dirt in pots.
I've got some Barley Straw info here:
http://floridadriftwood.com/straw.html
Bullfrog Ed
chemicals to control algae growth and reduce or eliminate green water.
Sometimes chemicals work temporarily and sometimes they don't, but the
balance of nature is upset and is very difficult to restore, especially
in large lakes and retention ponds.
Chemicals like copper sulfate and cutrine will kill algae, but
when the algae decompose the resulting nutrients feed still another
algae bloom.
Decomposing algae also robs the water of dissolved oxygen,
causing fish and bacteria kills. The insidious part is that the water
will "look" clean, although the lake is dying from the bottom up.
Destroying part of the pond's natural ecosystem will disrupt the
invisible balance of nature. After years of imbalance, sludge levels
will grow significantly and eventually create noxious odors.
On small ponds our dual filter system and bacteria will
eliminate most nuisance algae. On large lakes, use aeration, wetland
filters, bacteria, and algae rakes to physically remove floating string
algae.
Happy Ponding,
BullfrogEd
http://www.pondguys.com
bri...@my-deja.com wrote:
>
> OK, I confess... I didn't want to have to resort to chemical algaecides
> to clear up my pond, but I was sick of looking at pea soup and we had
> guests coming over. The good news is that the water cleared up
> spectacularly within 2 days, without harming the fish. The bad news is
> that my lilypads have started dying.
>
> Could the death of lilypads be caused by the algaecide? The label
> claimed it was safe! I have since changed out about half the water (in
> two stages), and still the pads keep croaking. They are young plants
> (this is a first-year pond), but they had been healthy up until a few
> weeks ago. Anything else that might be causing this?
>
> Any advice is appreciated!
> Thanks,
> -Brion
>
momva...@gmail.com
>
> "Could the death of lilypads be caused by the algaecide? The label
> claimed it was safe! "
Shac Ponder. Website gives no info, just that it is safe for fish.
I have a bale of barley straw soaking in there already, and that does NOT harm the waterlily, but does not do all that much for algae that cover all the waterplants.
>
>
momva...@gmail.com
"Ponder is a 100% Natural Bio Based water treatment that promotes the natural bio zones in lakes and ponds to digest overloaded sludge and organic material at the bottom.Ponder is a Liquid Unaltered Humic and Carbon treatment that binds and sinks suspended solids to the lower zones in fresh water ponds and lakes to be consumed by the already existing beneficial bacteria in your lake or pond resulting in increased retention volume and improved water clarity"