Topic: Grass in the pond

[Poppy Mole]

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This is my very sad & unloved pond, is it possible to get all the grass out now without disturbing the water lilyies which are just coming into flower or should I wait till later?

[Poppy Mole]

Lets try the photos again

[tonybloke]

is there any water in it?

[Ishard]

Take out the grass Poppy or how are you going to do see the lovely water lilly flowers?
Then remove all the sludge that will be there, this will probably stink of rotten eggs but is great on the flower boarders as a compost/manure, then refill the pond with fresh water. You can if needed hose off the water lilly roots to get rid of the sludge.
A healthy pond shouldnt smell.

Place the grass at the side of the pond  for an hour or so because there my be newts etc that get caught in the grass as you pull it.

[Poppy Mole]

Yes there is water in it.
The whole thing appears to be just a concrete basin set in the top of the rockery. There might be a few things in it but certainly no fish.

[Poppy Mole]

Whoops forgot to ask will I harm the water lilies by pulling it all out?

[THE MASTER]

pull it apart . but get buckets of water at the ready . anythinthing you need to keep chuck it straight in abucket of water

here is a good tip dont get rid of the muck in the bottom of the pond . keep most even if it smells real bad , dont worry just let it sellte back down then replant

jobs agoodun

[Ishard]

Dont keep the sludge at the bottom of the pond as it kills fish and anything else you put in there.

Large build-ups of organic sediment, sludge, or muck are commonplace in many ponds. This is the result of years of nutrients and organic matter entering the pond water through runoff  and through over feeding plus fish excreta. All of the above contributes the majority of this organic material, but aquatic weeds, algae, dust, pollen, fish and waterfowl droppings are also contributors.

When oxygen is depleted in a water body, anaerobic bacteria partially break down the sediment. In the process, they expel hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is the rotten egg smell present when you stir up the muck in most lakes or ponds. The cause of the odor is a lack of oxygen. Hydrogen sulfide is not only highly toxic to aerobic or good bacteria; it is also toxic to insects, and to fish at levels of 0.3 mg/l (a very low amount). The anaerobic (bad) bacteria also release ammonia into the water column. Ammonia feeds weeds and algae, and is toxic to fish at levels greater than 3.0 mg/l. Also released are methane, nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide. These also are toxic to aerobic (good) bacteria, insects and fish. Carbon dioxide and methane kill fish at levels greater than 30 mg/l. So the causes of organic sediment (sludge) accumulation, unpleasant odor and some fish kills in ponds are a lack of oxygen and high levels of toxic gases.

The presence of sludge or a rotten egg smell, are sure signs that the bottom is lacking in oxygen at times during the year. Bottom oxygen tests may show that the bottom is oxygenated. But these tests are usually made during the day, when aquatic plants are putting oxygen into the water. Bottom oxygen tests in the middle of the night may show no oxygen because plants take up oxygen during the night. Lack of oxygen also depends on the time of year. Just a few hours without oxygen is enough to kill the beneficial bacteria and insects that feed on organic sludge.

If oxygen is present throughout the water column at all times, beneficial aerobic microorganisms and insects feed on the organic sediment. It is similar to bacteria and insects feeding on compost. The bacteria feed on the organic sediment, and the insects feed on either the bacteria or the muck, or both. Bacteria are high protein food for insects. The bacteria convert organic sediment into carbon dioxide and water and a microscopic amount of inorganic “ash”. In this process, the good bacteria exude an enzyme to break down the cells of waste material in order to consume the various types of muck within the sludge layer. It is evident that these problems will not go away on their own, and while some methods such as chemicals work to reduce algae, they are dangerous to the fish and can be harmful to the environment. Remember, just as aspirin relieves some cold symptoms, but does not cure the cold, chemical additives temporarily relieve the symptoms of a poor aquatic environment, but do not cure the problem.

[Olivia G]

I had the dirtiest pond in the world... the kids kept telling me to put fish in there but there was no way in this world that anything would have survived. i was at a complete loss what to do - the last option i had was to start getting my hands dirty and do things myself however, i really didnt want to do this. i was searching around the web for pond cleaners, i wanted something cheap and which was good - i came across the word 'Pond Vac' on many different occasions so i started looking more into this. The cheapest one i found was from a comapny called Primrose London. i found them at www.Primrose-London.co.uk. They were reliable, very informative and the pond vac arrived with me the following day. I would definately recommend this product for cleaning out your pond!! :D

[Poppy Mole]

Have finally got round to the pond, the water I could see earlier had by now all dried up & I was left with an awful lot of weed & grass & water lily.
Now for the questions!
1. Do the oxygenator plants have roots or do I just drop some back in?
2. I have chopped up the water lily rhizomes (had to to get it out)  & put them in a big bin of water for now, can I replant them now or should I wait until the spring - if so how do I look after them in the winter?
3. Shall I fill it with the hose or wait for the rain?
It is going to be a wildlife pond NO fish.

[Ishard]

Poppy, Yes times 3 :)

[Poppy Mole]

Thanks Ishard, but which bits of the questions is it yes to?

[Ishard]

Q. Do the oxygenator plants have roots or do I just drop some back in?

 A. Yes drop them back in and yes they have white roots that find their own way to the bottom if they need to


Q. 2. I have chopped up the water lily rhizomes (had to to get it out)  & put them in a big bin of water for now, can I replant them now or should I wait until the spring - if so how do I look after them in the winter?

A. Yes put them back now


Q. 3. Shall I fill it with the hose or wait for the rain?

A. Yes fill it with the hose.

I hope that clears things up a bit.  ;D

[Poppy Mole]

Many thanks

[Ishard]

You are welcome :)