Where to put barley straw, UV, screen, mosquito dunks

14 years ago

I have some questions about where to put some things in my pond. See the attached diagram and photos for more info. Sorry the diagram is not great. I can clarify as needed.

My pond capacity is about 1500 gallons. It is an old concrete pond with straight sides and a flat bottom from the first part of the 20th century. I lined it, added a bottom drain and a few other things. I've been constantly re-engineering things as years go by. This was the first year I added fish; just a few goldfish right now. This will be the first full year with a bottom drain. When I started up the pumps this spring it took about 2 weeks for the water to get crystal clear. Since passing that milestone, for about 2 weeks now it's showing increasing algae, though I can still see light objects on the pond bottom.

1. Where should I put barley straw? Right now I have one bag near the top, but fully submerged, near the skimmer & bottom drain discharge. Another bag is 8-12 inches off the bottom, near the bottom drain, trapped under a milk crate that has a plant basket weighing it down.

2. I am considering a pressurized UV filter, 20-40 watts, to supplement the 9W UV I already have. I am very tight on real estate. I might be able to fit it on the bottom drain pump discharge, near the pump. Or I could put it on the combined bottom drain and skimmer discharge closer to where the pipe dumps it back into the pond. It's my understanding that these can help reduce live algae but I am concerned about the effect on enzymes or bacteria that keep the live algae at bay.

3. Do I need a screen on the pump suction in my vortex filter? There is no media in the filter. I just clean it via the blowdown valve as needed. I haven't caught any fish yet in the vortex filter but I am wondering if I need a screen in there.

4. I have mosquito dunks in the bottom drain cleanout standpipe and in the skimmer. Should I have one in the vortex filter too? The water in there is constantly moving clockwise but at very low velocity, and floating stuff usually stays in there until I skim it with a net.

5. Any other general or specific suggestions or questions are welcomed. Thanks.

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Comments (3)

drh1
14 years ago
A few mosquito dunks in that size pond will have minimal impact and specially so for moving water. If you look on the package you'll see the recommended dose. You'd probably need a dozen or two to get the concentration of the larvicide up there. Are you having a mosquito problem? If not I wouldn't bother with the dunks and if you are having a problem you'd probably need many, many more to handle the mosquito issue in that manner. The rule of thumb is 1 dunk per 100 square feet of surface water but that's for non-moving water. Your algae issue appears to be mostly suspended algae (as opposed to the string type). The higher capacity UV should help but you may also wish to think about adding plants that might remove the nutrients that are stimulating the algae growth.
---David
jblanche
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks drh1. I don't have problems with mosquitoes in the pond but am concerned about the areas between the coping shelf edge and the border stones; there is some standing "backwater" there. My understanding is that mosquito larvae don't like moving water.

The vortex filter is the spot I am wondering about. If I pull off the lid I sometimes see flying insects come off the water but I don't know if they're mosquitoes.

Correct, it is not string algae. Does it make a difference where in the "pipeline" the UV filter would be located, in terms of its effect on beneficial organisms?

I do plan to add more plants, just haven't gotten that far yet. I am sure that will help.
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lsst
14 years ago
Great job!
For the intake of my pump, I use a strainer. It can be found at pond stores but I find it much cheaper at the big box stores. The strainers are usually in the sump pump dept.
There is a link below showing what it looks like.

I have screens on top of my barrel filters and notice when I remove them, I have gnats or possibly mosquitoes flying out.
I tried mosquito dunks but they broke apart very fast and stuck to the strainer. It did control the flying bugs though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Strainer

Where to put barley straw, UV, screen, mosquito dunks

Comments (3)

drh1

jblanche
Original Author

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Where to put barley straw, UV, screen, mosquito dunks

Comments (3)

drh1

jblancheOriginal Author

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jblanche
Original Author