Green Slimey weed!

[blackrose]

Does anyone know how to keep green slimey weed that clings to everything at the bottom of the pond? I have tried pulling all the plants out and dragging the stuff out but within days it is reappearing and smothers everthing. I have even used a chemical salution but that hasn't stopped it either.
The problem is that when I come offshore for two weeks there is no one to clean it out and keep control of it and it just grows and grows.

Is there any beasties I could introduce to munch it away??

[Deleted]

This might be of help......

www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0500/algae.asp

Sounds like you may be letting too much light into the pond - it's reccomended that you have two thirds of the suface water covered with plants...a lily would do the job well!!

[nightowl]

I don't know any beasties that would munch your blanketweed CB, but when you pull it out could you please try to remember to spread it out at the pond edge to allow little beasties caught up in it to escape back to the pond.

When I helped a friend to blitz his pond of blanketweed, there were loads of tiny baby newts in the weed, plus squillions of tiny water creepy-crawlies that the fish like to eat.

PS, I think GH is right. I've now got lots of plants shading the water and blanketweed is no longer a problem.

[blackrose]

Thanks for that, will have to start buling up the plants, to create more shade.
The weed has not been that thick so I have been able to get the wee beaties back into the water.

[madonplants]

How's your lily doing, CB? It can take upto three years to get that balance right. I have used a Rheum Palmatum potted up 'outside' the pond by the waters edge to reduce the light getting to one of my previous ponds. It certainly worked. Are you topping up with tap water as rainwater is better? Blanketweed comes because of three things, heat, light and nutrients. You can't do much about the temperature of your pond, but you can reduce the other two, by using various plants. What marginal and oxygnating plants do you have? Can you include a Typha Minima? It's a dwarf reed that is good at taking out excess nutrients like it's big brothers do in human waste management in 'Green Houses'. The only reliable 'pond creature' that deals with BW is the grass carp, but they grow too big. Pond snails help, but you would need a LOT OF THEM, to do any good.

Hope this helps.

Keith

[Deleted]

i was wondering what would eat it, its all over the oxygenating weed and the stems of my lily.
do pond snails carry the liver fluke thing?

tap water does have lots more dissolved nutrients (esp. nitrates) in it than rainwater.

[cjhomebird]

Hi Gerda. On arriving back from our holiday on Sunday I found our pond and waterfall full of the dreaded weed. it was fine before we went, I have since found out that my son was topping it up with tap water, too lazy to get the water from the butt at the back of the greenhouse, so i think that the tap water can be a problem. it was cascading down the waterfall too.
very theraputic removing it though.
CJ