Habitat - Outdoor :: Outdoor turtle pond algae problem

[RR38]

Hello everyone! I am new here and I am having a problem with my little 100 gallon outdoor pond. I put the pond up this spring as a outdoor "playpen" for my three RES and my southern painted turtle. I take them out in the morning and inside at night. It hasent even been up 6 weeks I would say. I should also mention the pond also has 5 comets and a couple mosquito eating fish. It has a 600 gallon filter from home depot and thats it, no clarifiers or anything like that. Anyway, we had several big rains were I live in kentucky and now the pond has algae all over the sides of the pond, as well as on the rock in the bottom. I thought about buying some pond snails to eat the algae, as I dont like to use chemicals with my turtles. What about some "sucker fish", you know the ones that stick to the side of the tank? also I am not crazy about using plants because i dont know how to care for them. Any advice would be helpful.

[jozzep]

Well plants are a "natural filter" for ponds, so i would do some research and add some.Plus they look great and give the turtles some hiding spots.
But your most important problem is the absence of a UV sterilizer.
Buy one that's compatible with your pond filter and you will see GREAT improvement!

[bluedragoon85]

I have the same problem. I got a 125 G pond and it also has a filter rated for up to 700 gallons from Home Depot. It's supposed to be a biological filter (it has bio balls). My pond is completely green and you cant see nothing inside the pond. I was thinking it would clear up a bit once the biological part of the filter kicks in, but I don't know.

[callmepotato83]

A UV clarifier/sterilizer is ABSOLUTELY the way to go. I have that + a home-made skippy filter and my pond is crystal clear all the way to the bottom. Mine is a 500 gallon pond with a 600 gallon pump. They UV attachment by itself will run about 80 bucks at Lowes or Home Depot, but it is WELL worth it. Within 3 days, you weel see significant improvement, and complete clarity within a week or two.

[RR38]

Thanks to everyone that gave me some advice. But I do have a question about UV clarifiers, how do they work? Do you hook them up to your filter? I have never had one or even seen one in a pond so I know nothing about them. Also If I put plants in my pond will they live in the river rockI have in the bottom of the pond? Or do they not make a root to the bottom? I am very new to all this pond stuff. I have kept turtles inside for a long time, but I just started doing ponds this year. Any websites anyone knows of about ponds would be appreciated also. Thanks.

[callmepotato83]

Depends on what type you buy. I bought mine at Lowes for 80 dollars. Essentially, you splice the hose going from your pump to your filter and stick it in the middle. Very easy. Takes a pair of scissors and 2 minutes of your time. It requires an additional power source, so make sure you have a plug handy. It is external, not internal.

As far as plants go, it all depends on what you get. I have some Anacharis and it just seems to sit at the bottom of the pond, not taking root or anything...but it is doing ok, so I guess I shouldn't worry. Each plant is different...you will want to research to make sure they aren't toxic, anyway.

I am pretty new to the pond stuff. In retrospect, I wish I had done a little more research. You have a very small one though, so if you make any mistakes, it is easy enough to fix them.

[SuNicDa]

You said you have a regalur pond filter from homedepot, right? Try taking one of the foam pieces out and replacing it with mesh bags of carbon... http://www.petco.com/Shop/ProductCompar ... ao_48.aspx

Now you are going to have to clean the carbon bags everyday until it removes all of the algea. It worked for me. Good Luck

Summer

[Holly]

Algae requires two things; light and food. In small ponds, it's a real problem because it's hard to balance the surface coverage that ponds require to be healthy.

50-75% of the surface of the pond needs to be covered with floating plants. It can be water lettuce, duckweed, pennywort or lilies. You also need to plant oxygenating plants on the bottom, such as anacharis, to use the excess food in the water. Anacharis can be planted in a shallow container of sand and they will do quite well. About 1 bunch per 20 gallons of water is a good start.

I've been pondkeeping for about 20 years. Please don't resort to chemical clarifiers or cleaners. They aren't good for the environment and they aren't always safe to wildlife. The UV light is an excellent suggestion, just pricey and sometimes hard to find. Also, the light needs to be replaced annually in order to maintain efficacy.

HTH