Keeping pond clean

[nic3c]

How can we keep our pond clean? We bought a pump for it but it keeps clogging up and every few days the surface is covered in floating green gungy plant stuff. We bought a liquid that you put in every few weeks to hinder it but it doesn't seem to work. Any help is appreciated.

[Whoever]

If it is continually clogging up with green algae, you can put in some very small "straw bales" which are very tiny packs of straw available from any Acquatics shop. I'm not exactly sure how they work, but once they're in the water and really saturated, they emit some substance which helps to keep the water clear. It costs around �4.99 for a pack of two bales, and the effects last several months. You need a very small amount of straw for the average size pond, probably no bigger than the size of two loo roll centres joined end to end, which is what these mini straw bales look like.

[nic3c]

Interesting, thanks, i'll try and get some straw bales. Not quite sure what type of plants are oxygenating but i'll look into it, thanks.

[landscaper2]

A balance of water plants will keep the water clear. Better to spend a fiver or so on a helpful book than wasting many pounds on a hit or miss basis. The 'Pond Expert' is very good and available almost everywhere.

[nic3c]

Thanks. The pond expert website recommends barley straw so i'm gonna try that.

[woofgang]

How long has the pond been up and running? Sometimes you need to give the thing time to get going and just keep emptying the filter and pulling out the blanket weed. IMO if you have the set up right with plants and fish or wildlfe it will settle after the first year which for me was a nightmare....also if your pond is too small it will take longer to get balanced

[spaudi]

Go to a decent pond shop / aquarist and ask for advice. Take a water sample (from the pond, of course), and note the pond�s dimensions.
Any decent shop will be glad to help, and will probably recommend a filter and uv tubes. The more you get into it, the more fascinating your pond will become. Enjoy

[gucciman]

get yourself a hozelock bioforce combined pressure and uv filter and say goodbye to green water. you may also need a different type of pump that can handle larger solid particles so the they get trapped in the filter rather than the pump.
and mae sure you have good housekeeping in your pond, always remove decaying vegetation before it settles as sludge, don't overfeed your fish and don't stock too many fish for the size of your pond.
barley straw and chemicals never work as good as a uv filter.