|
Organic pond products can be found at:
To figure out how many gallons
are in your pond, multiply the length times the width times the average
depth. Then multiply that number by 7.25.
Barley Extract:
A century ago, European farmers
discovered the benefits of floating a barley bale in their stock ponds.
Our backyard ponds are not well served by a big ugly hunk of straw in our
ponds so an entrepreneur in California began making barley tea. This
tea is an extract of barley straw and is an all-natural form of algae
control.
Barley tea will not kill or
eliminate existing stands of algae. It acts as a growth inhibitor and,
under the right conditions, will stop algae production within your pond,
waterfall, and stream.
The recommended dosage is 2
oz. per 1,000 gallons added once per week until the algae growth is halted.
However, in our hard alkali water, we are finding that 6 oz. per 1,000
gallons is a more effective treatment, and poses no threat to any aquatic
life other than the algae. You may back off of the treatments and let
observation be your guide from that point forward.
As far as we can tell, it would be
difficult to overdose your pond with barley tea.
Quick and EZ ex1:
This is a cultured bacteria and
enzyme product. The bacteria is an aerobic (oxygen-loving) nitrifying
bacteria. These bacteria and enzymes are naturally occurring, and in a
healthy, well balanced, and well oxygenated aquatic eco system are not even
necessary.
However, most backyard ponds have
blockades to Mother Nature’s grand design and anaerobic conditions are
inevitable. In these cases, it is a good idea to send in
reinforcements to do battle with anaerobic forces.
If your pond is built using a
skimmer and biological filter system, like one of our Aquascape ecosystems,
then we recommend you add one tablespoon of ex1 to 1000 gallons of pond
water directly to the skimmer. Your circulation system will take care
of the rest of the job. Repeat application daily for the first couple
weeks of spring, or until water clears up if you are dealing with a water
clarity issue. Once the water clarity meets expectations, you can back
off the dosage frequency and repeat applications based on your observation
of the pond.
If you are an owner of the 90% of
the other ponds possessing a less than optimal circulation system, then the
manufacturer recommends mixing the ex1 in a bucket of pond water first.
Mix until completely suspended in a bucket of pond water, then spread the
solution around the edge of the pond.
Here again, this is a naturally
occurring product and overdosing your pond is something that is unlikely.
We only recommend organic methods for dealing with pond issues. More
often than not, ponding issues are problems of perception or aesthetics, and
not actual water quality, or aquatic life health problems. Patience is
often the most effective treatment for these types of problems.
AquaClearer Bacteria:
Another cultured bacteria and
enzyme product. It is Nature's good guys designed to help clear up
cloudy water.
S.A.B. (String Algae Buster):
Helps clear up that annoying
filamentatous algae. Be sure to mix it with pond water, not tap water,
which contains chlorine.
Ecoblast:
Works to clear up string algae in
cold weather.
|
