Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Pond Maintenance Help?

Hello

I just completed 2/3 acre pond about a month ago.

We want to swim in pond Do not want plants or fish. It's 6 to 8' deep. I put blue dye in water and use a hyblow 200 pump with 2 double 9" diffusers towards each end.

Water is very clear. Floating algae keeping me busy. I use a 5' parachute skimmer pretty much daily. I ordered 35% hydrogen peroxide that I plan to dilute to 9% to spray floating algae I can't get with skimmer.

Today there is a lot of green floating algae. It's been the thicker brown before.

Any pointer on what I can do to keep water clean for swimming.

Pond is lined. We put about a foot of dirt on top of liner

Do I use chlorine? Do I put salt rock? Since I don't have fish and plants? We do have deer that drink the water. Do I put 2 blocks? I put first block in about a week ago.

Any pointers or products you can recommend would be greatly appreciated.

If you want a swimming pond you either need to basically turn it into a pool with chlorine which would kill any fish or frogs in the pond and likely anything that drinks from it. This would be a bad idea if you have dogs that drink the water.

The alternative is to stock TP which should eat the algae but you seem strongly against a fish and swimming pond. Really all you can do is what you are doing, algicide and skimming.

Yeah, you can either use fish or chemicals. the guys on here can help you with the correct chemicals.

I just wanted to ask/add about organics getting into the pond. Do you have trees dropping leaves into the pond? If so, cut them back, and keep the grass clippings out. Don't let lawn fertilizer get into the pond. These things will add to the nutrient load and let algae thrive better.

Dirt is full of nutrients. If wanting a swimming only pond, consult a swimming pool supplier and treat the pond as a pool...remove the dirt also, if possible, and replace with cleaned river rock or sand if needed.

You may have expectations and goals set too high for a dirt bottom pond.
Rainman is correct "Dirt is full of nutrients". These nutrients are feeding the algae which are plants. 0.66 ac is a relatively large swimming pond. Ponds are catchment basins and GREAT nutrient collectors by trapping all sorts of organic materials that contain nutrients to add to your already nutrient base when these organics biologically decompose and recycle the bound materials. You will fight algae and other plants as long as you own that pond. Generally, the ponds tends to grow more plants over time due to pond aging and natural eutrophication.

I would check the swimming pond websites and learn what other pond owners are doing to deal with nutrient accumulation and continual plant growth.

Ditto what was said above. The only way to have a "natural" swimming pool is to have the same size bio filter next to the swimming pond, which is filled with plants that will utilize nutrients that are in the water, and use a pump to circulate water from the swimming pond through the bio filter. Those nutrients are feeding the algae.

Without any fish in there (even fathead minnows) you will be creating a perfect habitat for mosquitoes to reproduce.

This site has more detailed information for you.

https://www.niftyhomestead.com/blog/natural-pools-swimming-ponds/

If he doesnt care to have fish or any plants in it, what would be the downside of tossing some cattle salt blocks in? Suspect it would take more than want to buy??

I would hit that pond with a huge shock of hydrated lime. It will tie up the nutrient load after the organics break down on the bottom of the pond. Calcium nitrate, calcium phosphate, ect. into bonds that are much harder to break. Plant roots would need to break the bonds.

The water will clear and be good to drink from.

Adding salts could be adding the the PH swing that is most likely adding to the available soluble nutrients. You want to tie them up with a strong covalent bond.

Cheers Don.