|
|
Post by owdboggy on Aug 8, 2007 12:18:17 GMT 1
We are having an odd problem with our Lily pond at present. Every time we go down there, there are lumps of silt floating on the surface. I know that there used to be catfish in the bottom and there are a couple of goldfish plus dozens of frogs. There have been newts around too. We keep fishing the stuff out as it does not seem to sink back to the bottom at all. Any ideas as to cause? TIA.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sleepy on Aug 8, 2007 12:23:41 GMT 1
We are having an odd problem with our Lily pond at present. Every time we go down there, there are lumps of silt floating on the surface. I know that there used to be catfish in the bottom and there are a couple of goldfish plus dozens of frogs. There have been newts around too. We keep fishing the stuff out as it does not seem to sink back to the bottom at all. Any ideas as to cause? TIA. Silt? Silt is a sediment such as sand - it can't float. Is it in dust form and catching on the surface miniscus? Blown on by the wind? Or are we talking about some sort of algae bloom? |
|
|
|
Post by The witch on Aug 8, 2007 12:33:05 GMT 1
I used to see what you describe in my old pond if I disturbed a planting basket and/or the thick mud around it at the bottom of the pond. The sediment (fine aquatic compost) was brought up with air which had been trapped by the basket and/or plant roots - it smelt awful too.
Maybe fish or frogs have done something similar in your lily pond?
|
|
|
|
Post by madonplants on Aug 8, 2007 12:56:58 GMT 1
We are having an odd problem with our Lily pond at present. Every time we go down there, there are lumps of silt floating on the surface. I know that there used to be catfish in the bottom and there are a couple of goldfish plus dozens of frogs. There have been newts around too. We keep fishing the stuff out as it does not seem to sink back to the bottom at all. Any ideas as to cause? TIA. What catfish, as that could be the problem? Maybe you also need to get rid of some of the silt, via a vacuum or manually with a strong longhandled net. Keith |
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Aug 8, 2007 13:34:33 GMT 1
Could the fish be breeding and this silt is in fact milt?
|
|
|
|
Post by owdboggy on Aug 8, 2007 18:00:33 GMT 1
I said silt when in fact it is lumps of mud, but mud does not float either. It is mud not algae nor is it surface dust and the lumps are heavy. We have been removing it with a net, running out of places to put it on the borders too!
We did remove a lot of the Iris which had gone wild in there, so I suppose it could still be the loose stuff from that, but it has been coming up for over two weeks now!
No idea if the catfish (small ones) are still there, we transferred them from the old pond before we filled it in. I am not going looking for them the pond is rather deep!
|
|
|
|
Post by sweetleaf on Aug 9, 2007 12:01:21 GMT 1
 What could be making it float? Have you broken any open? Could it be hollow ? This is very, very strange.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sleepy on Aug 9, 2007 12:04:20 GMT 1
All I can think is that if it is not algae then it is decomposing plant matter. That would very likely have gasses in that would account for the buoyancy. And decomposing would account for the mud-like look.
|
|
|
|
Post by madonplants on Aug 9, 2007 12:36:10 GMT 1
The only way to cure it, is to de sludge the bottom. It maybe, like Sleepy says, rotting plant material, that is being dislodged within the silt at the bottom!
Keith
|
|
