Blanket weed

MrsCaz · #1 (**permalink**) 31-01-2006, 02:40 PM

Hi,

I've got a wildlife pond in my garden, it's been there over a year now. I've seen quite a bit of wildlife, mainly frogs but also a toad and looooads of insects. The problem I have at the moment is that it is absolutely choked with blanket weed. In the summer I just pulled it out with a stick when it grew but I've been away over the winter and it's out of control now. I know you can get blanket weed stuff for fish ponds, is this safe to use in a wildlife pond though? I've got loads of nymphs and things in the water and I don't want to kill them. What's the best thing to do? Thanks in advance.

pxl8 · #2 (**permalink**) 31-01-2006, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsCaz

I know you can get blanket weed stuff for fish ponds, is this safe to use in a wildlife pond though? I've got loads of nymphs and things in the water and I don't want to kill them. What's the best thing to do? Thanks in advance.

Any of the chemical solutions will only be a temporary measure at best. The blanket weed will return because there's more waste than the natural bacteria can deal with. It's a pretty complex cycle which is:

Food > Animals > waste (ammonia) > bacteria > nitrites > bacteria > nitrates

Plants will absorb the nitrates.

If there isn't enough of the right kinds of bacteria then algae in various forms will grow. The chemicals that kill off the blanket actually make the problem worse because it just generates more waste encouraging more algae.

Do a search on google for pond nitrate cycle and you'll find lots of info about what you could try based on the size of your pond, etc.

nightshade · #3 (**permalink**) 31-01-2006, 05:34 PM

I filled my pond with the fast growing canadian pond weed which took most of the nutrients away then continued to twizel the blanket weed out, rescuing all the wildlife that came out with it.The weed went on the compost heap,then when the pond stayed clear I removed a little of the canadian weed at a time until I had the space back ,clear water no or little blanket weed. A balancing act!

Tragus · #4 (**permalink**) 31-01-2006, 07:26 PM

Hi Mrs Caz and welcome to WAB

We had a similar problem with green algae and blanket weed on a lake. The resident swans were all but forced off one summer because it had grown so thick. Raking it off and into a boat was a mucky job and it didn't solve the problem. The advice we were given was to get bales of barley straw and weight them so they didn't float off, obviously not suitable for a small pond though.
I did find a site that may help...http://www.lifeforceonline.co.uk/pond_treatments.html
GOOD LUCK!!
Tragus

MrsCaz · #5 (**permalink**) 31-01-2006, 10:58 PM

Thanks for your replies.

I'm a fishkeeper so I know about the nitrate cycle in relation to aquariua- is it the same for ponds, nitrobacter etc? If so, how long will the pond take to cycle? My aquaria only took a few weeks! I'm guessing I should probably be adding water conditioner when I top the pond up then

I've got quite a few plants in there- water lily, 5 marginals and a lot of canadian pond weed. I'll give those barley things a try, they sell those at my local aquatic shop.
Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I'm going to add my pic of the little toad that visits my pond on the photo page now

kinswad · #6 (**permalink**) 02-02-2006, 01:07 PM

Hi,
Barley straw appears to control it in ours - although, I was a little lapse over winter and didn't replace it so the weed came back! I've popped a new 'torpedo' in and hopefully it will do the trick before the weed gets out of hand.
It's when the straw starts to break-down (rot) that it releases/generates something - don't know the detail, sorry.
One thing I was told to note though is that you must aerate the straw regularly (monthly?) by pulling it out of the water, letting air get to it, then dunk it back in and repeat a couple of times. This is something to do with allowing it to break down 'aerobically' as apposed to 'anaerobically'? One's good, the other's bad - apparently!
Hope this helps.

MrsCaz · #7 (**permalink**) 02-02-2006, 03:23 PM

Thanks kinswad.

Anaerobic bacteria can produce hydrogen sulphide (it smells eggy) which is poisonous to fish (and other animals I guess). Aerobic bacteria just produces nitrate so it's not nearly as bad. I'll get me some of that barley stuff then, thanks for that

henrya · #8 (**permalink**) 02-02-2006, 03:28 PM

Quote
get me some of that barley stuff then, thanks for that
Endquote

Try and get it off a friendly farmer - I've seen little bundles for sale in gardening catalogues at extraordinarily high prices!

henrya

MrsCaz · #9 (**permalink**) 02-02-2006, 04:28 PM

Ooh, thanks for the tip! I live in the countryside so it should be pretty easy to come by

Geoff tarbun · #10 (**permalink**) 22-09-2007, 05:09 PM

Hi. I have a small pond with normal blanket weed but lately I've noticed a very slimy type. It slips through your fingers and is a job to remove from the pond.
Any ideas what it is and how to treat it??