Starting over...what to do?????

[livetogarden]

Ok pond friends, since we had to empty our pond because of fish loss and major decay smell what should we do? Is there anything anyone recommends for treating the water to keep it from getting algae before the plants start giving shade? Any ideas are welcome.

[miguynmkoi]

When I first started up my first pond I used a patio umbrella to shade it through the worst of the day.  doesn't sound like you had too much fun with your pond lately 

[HTH]

Sorry about your pond I know what it is like to loose fish.

I would let it set empty for a week to let the sun kill off nasties.

Algae is natural and reduces everything in the nitrate cycle.
Once you have a good biological balance you can work in the direction of clear water.

Use a low fish load to start with.

Use a lot of aeration.  It keeps the water moving and allows it to expel the bad gases and take up oxygen.

[crazyfishlady]

I share your pain; all my fish froze above the ice layer in Feb as well. I had the pond drained, cleaned and after a couple of weeks happily bought 7 new Koi. They are the most antisocial, frustrating little buggers. They went into the milk crate and won't come out if anyone is within 20 feet of the pond. It's been almost two weeks and still hiding. Why don't they understand that I'm the nice lady with the food? Any ideas?

As far as dealing with the water; I've been using AquaOne every couple of weeks and put in my barley bales. No pea soup but having a bit of a problem with string algae. The lilies are trying but the temps are so gosh darn low. Unfortunately last fall I majorly pulled out overgrown dwarf cattails; sure wish I had them back now.

[HTH]

@crazyfishlady

I hate string algae.

The algae is there because there is a food source, nitrates.  When you kill off the suspended algae with chemicals the string algae uses the nitrates.

What you need is something 'good' to consume the nitrates.  Try more plants with exposed roots or maybe a bog filter.  Unless the nitrates are really high I would not recommend a water change.  It will introduce new minerals to the pond and the algae will go wild. 

My pond is a bit of a mess but since the root bound lilly's roots have escaped their pots I have little or no string algae that I can see.  Not a recommended practice but it does illustrate how higher level plants can deprive the algae of its food source.  And that is what it is all about.

[tranquility]

if it were me I'd empty the pond---hit the liner with jet spray--if the algae is well established it should stay in place....suck out all the water and muck with a shop vac..and refill with tap water-you could add a bit of chlorine to the pond and let it sit for a few days-then empty again and add extra declor the 2nd time around to make sure you don't have any chlorine left in the pond...add a couple of canary fish to the pond first and let them take the pond thru its cycle....
 
Lawanna

[Tadpole]

What many people don't realize is that tap water usually contains a high enough nutrient level to support algae growth. A sufficient number and diversity of plantings along with sensible stocking and feeding practices should result in a low incident of suspended or string algae.

[Julles]

I attended a pond-building seminar Saturday, and they said the same thing as Tadpole and HTH .. plants will remove and thrive on the nutrients that the algae needs for food.