Posts Tagged ‘fish kills’

Pond Turnover: What It is and How to Prevent It

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Pond turnover is a phenomenon that would go largely unnoticed if it weren’t for the sometimes awful consequences. Mild turnover can leave your water cloudy for a couple days.

Severe turnover can kill thousands of fish, and leave your property smelling like a month-old rotting egg.

What is pond turnover? How does it affect my pond? How to I prevent turnover from occurring?

The purpose of this blog is to answer these questions—helping the average homeowner to find a solution to their pond turnover problem. (more…)

Why Does my Pond Smell?

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Do you dread changes in the wind because the smell of your pond or lake wafts into your home? Do you avoid gatherings or cookouts down by the water because of its unappealing odor? You’re not alone.

We’ve all walked past stagnant, a stinking pond and lake at some point in our life (and a lot of times we wish we hadn’t!), but have you ever wondered where that smell is coming from…or how to stop it?

Let’s first look at the causes of pond or lake odor. The smell you notice comes primarily from three sources:

1. Rotting Plants, Fish, and other Organic Matter:

When something rots, it smells—this is a simple fact of life that has us routinely taking out the trash and hunting through the refrigerator for foreign smells.

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5 Reasons to Avoid Algaecides

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

Here’s a situation that pond owners run into time and time again—we’ll use Dan as our example.

Dan loves the pond on his property; he loves to look out over the fish swimming around, frogs leaping into the water from the edge, and birds fly in to rest.

With the best interests of his pond in mind, and hoping to get rid of a little excess algae, he contracts a ‘pond company’ manage his pond.

When the company arrives for their first ‘treatment, ’ Dan walks out to observe and is surprised by what he sees—two men wearing protective suits, gloves, and a mask are navigating a boat around his pond, spraying an unnaturally deep blue liquid all across the surface.

When Dan inquires about what they’re spraying, they respond with “copper sulfate, it’s a chemical algaecide.” Concerned about his pond and the wildlife living in it, Dan then asks if it’s safe, prompting the pond company to respond, “uhh sure, it’s perfectly safe…”

Dan then asks the next logical question, “then why are you both wearing hazmat suits?”

Encounters like this are leading pond owners nationwide to give up use of harsh chemicals like algaecides to manage their pond. Just like Dan, they are gaining the awareness that chemical treatments are not really ‘treating’ at all—they are actually devastating your pond’s natural ecosystem.

This is only one of many reasons why pond owners are avoiding algaecides:

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