Duck pond

eggman · #1 03/10/12, 05:14 PM

Hi. I dug a duck pond 6x12x10" and put a pond liner in it. It seems like every 3-4 weeks the water turns green. Will this hurt the ducks? I am wondering if anyone knows how to slow the green growth down. Someone told me that there is a blue dye that you could put in the pond to keep it from turning green, but they could not tell me if the dye would harm the ducks.
I have tried barley straw,also tried lilly pads but the ducks ate them all.

Thanks for any help.

goatlady · #2 03/10/12, 05:34 PM

You can use food grade hydrogen peroxide - I use that in my kiddie pools for my geese and it inhibits that alge growth lots. I still have to bail and scrub about every 7-10 days in the summer. I'm surprised the barley ball did'n't work or did you just throw in barley hay? You can buy a ball-looking container, stuff that full of the straw, and float it in the pond, supposed to work real well to prevent alge growth.

MushCreek · #3 03/10/12, 05:36 PM

It's only 10" deep? That's part of your problem- water that shallow gets very warm, and very warm= algae. That, coupled with duck poop makes for the perfect place to grow algae. The only way I know of to prevent the green is to block the sun and use up the nutrient. The water dye is supposed to help block the sun. My garden pond stays clear most of the time, but it is 30" deep, is full of plants (to consume the nutrients) and there are no ducks. I don't know if its possible to have clean water with ducks.

honeyrobber · #4 03/10/12, 05:46 PM

There are 2 ways to keep it from turning green and they are water changes(hard to do partial water changes on a pond that size) and having a plant uses those nutrients. You did not say where you live so the type of plant is hard to give good advise on. Frog bit or duck weed is a floating plant with small leaves(tiny on duck weed). They multiply like crazy but there is a reason it is called duck weed. Ducks eat it. So it depends if you can get enough of it going and number of ducks wether or not it could keep up production for what is eaten. Another great plant which is critter friendly is ancharis. Ancharis is winter hardy and you ducks could not kill it all as it is planted in the bottom of the pond. It can reach the top of the water and lay across the surface. If you cut the top off it just branches from lower and shoot back out toward the surface. Water Lettuce is another great nutrient sponge but in southern states it is illegal as it gets inot native water ways and can not be gotten rid of very well. In TN it is a great choice for goldfish ponds as they do not eat it except a few roots. I know this stuff because of raising tropical fish in outdoor containers in summer. Some types of fish I raise need a vegatation to eat and the duck weed and ancharis are what I use. I have been collecting ancharis all winter to bring in the house and feed my flame back cichlids. It does not grow in cold weather and turns a darker green but is still safe. You would need to make up some trays to put your ancharis in and set them on the bottom on your pond. I could send you enough to plant the bottom of you pond real cheap vs pet store prices. If you had some trays like bedding plants come in filled about half way with sand and then topped with small pea gravel for it to root into you could cover the bottom of your pond with trays. It has no roots when you get it but the cuttings floating in earth pond will get to the edge and root in and in time the pond bottom will be covered if you did not have something to eat it up. I raised a few bottle fed calves years ago and they would wade out in the pond and eat it. With yours having a liner though you have to have something on the bottom for it to root into.

honeyrobber · #5 03/10/12, 05:47 PM

Utoh I missed 10 inches. A duck will dive that far. Needs to be atleast 3 feet deep. I never make ponds less than that.

CountryWannabe · #6 03/11/12, 12:50 AM

You could try putting some vinegar in the pond - algae hate that, ducks are fine with it.

Mary

Old John · #7 03/11/12, 08:43 AM

IIRC, my old Uncle use to put Copper-sulfate, in his pond to kill algae. I'm not sure it's healthy to your fish or ducks, or if it's legal. But he used it every year to get rid of the algae. It worked & made the water blue.
ETA....I know we use to catch to fish & eat them.

sammyd · #8 03/11/12, 08:49 AM

we use a kiddy pool for the ducks. Easy to clean out every week.

fishhead · #9 03/11/12, 04:18 PM

Ducks, water, sunlight = algae.

You can either do daily water exchanges or pump the water through some kind of hydroponic plant bed to remove the nutrients.

barnyardgal · #10 03/11/12, 04:42 PM

I got a gallon of - Crystal Plex,algae control-from the feed store & use a little about once a month to help control algae in my little duck pond....started using it in February when temps started warming up & so far seems to be working ok...