Effective ways to combat algal blooms in artificial ponds. How do the above factors work? Removing debris using a skimmer
You filled it with water and planted the plants. But a few days passed, and you began to notice that the water in your pond became cloudy, and after a week it completely bloomed. Why did the water bloom and how to make sure that the water in the pond is always clear and clean? In this article we will talk about how to purify water in a pond at your dacha with your own hands.
When we made the decision to build a pond, we imagined a fantastic picture. Crystal clear water, blooming lilies on the mirror surface of the pond, the quiet croaking of frogs...
But during the operation of the pond, problems begin to arise. a large number of problems. It turns out that creating a natural balance in a pond is not an easy task.
How to care for standing water in a pond
Standing water tends to become cloudy and bloom. Over time, the bottom of the pond silts up and becomes covered with fallen leaves from garden trees. The plants you planted in the pond, being in unfavorable conditions, begin to fade over time. Almost all garden pond owners face similar problems. What needs to be done to avoid these problems?
Freshwater algae in a pond
The most common plant living in water is algae. Their presence contributes to the normal biological process in the pond. But when there is a lot of algae, the water begins to lose transparency.
Freshwater algae are protozoa. However, despite their primitiveness, they are capable of multiplying at tremendous speed, filling the entire space of the pond when conditions in the pond are favorable for this. Your task is to prevent the creation of such conditions. Of course, you can plant a pond with plants that can absorb minerals not by roots from the bottom, but by shoots from the water column. But even in a densely planted body of water, outbreaks of algae growth are possible.
All problems with your pond can be prevented in advance. Prevention is much easier than dealing with problems that have already arisen. To ensure the cleanliness of your pond, two methods of pond cleaning are practiced: the use of mechanical biofilters and the use of biological cleaning products.
Mechanical biofilters for pond cleaning
A natural rocky stream can be considered an analogue of a biofilter. The water in the stream, being in constant movement, is simultaneously saturated with oxygen and purified by active bacteria, which form a biofilm on the surface of the stones. This water purification scheme is also implemented in the simplest pond biofilters. They work as follows: water from the reservoir is pumped into the filter container, where it passes through the filter media. In the filler, the water is purified and then returned to the reservoir.
Biological products for cleaning a pond at the dacha
Another method to clarify water in a garden pond is used selectively. Depending on the problems, you can add one or another complex of biological products to the pond water. If the first signs of water bloom appear in the pond, it is necessary to add a certain set of bacteria. Moreover, depending on what you are fighting, the complex of bacteria may be different. The best proven products are complex drugs that can fight all possible reasons cloudiness of the water in the pond. It should be remembered that to maintain the vital functions of any living organisms, including bacteria, oxygen is required. To saturate the water with oxygen, aeration of the reservoir is necessary. An ordinary small fountain can do this job.
Cleaning ponds and reservoirs, carried out at regular intervals, is the most significant measure for creating a comfortable landscape. Non-flowing or low-flowing reservoirs need constant attention. After all, everything that falls into such sources settles in them, creating favorable conditions for the development of useful or necessary organisms, changing the composition of the water and appearance pond or lake. In addition, small standing reservoirs quickly silt and become overgrown with aquatic and coastal plants. As a result, the contour of the coastline is lost, and the reservoir gradually becomes a swamp.
What is removed from reservoirs
Cleaning ponds and reservoirs is a complex and multifactorial process. It often requires the use of technology and special chemicals.
A pond or lake is an enclosed body of water of artificial or natural origin. Its main advantage and at the same time disadvantage is the weak flow or complete lack of water change.
Depending on the degree of flow, a reservoir may have its own specific pollution. If it is flowing, solid particles can be carried into it with the flow of water. They accumulate, gradually settling to the bottom. This changes the shape of the bottom and banks. As a result, the reservoir becomes shallow, and its coastal zone rapidly begins to become overgrown with aquatic and wetland vegetation.
Thus, the development of a reservoir is influenced by the accumulation of sand, pebbles, and organic matter falling from above. Therefore, cleaning water bodies may include not only the elimination of obvious pollution, but also the removal of useful, but unnecessary garbage - sand, silt, and other organic matter.
Pollution categories
Pollution of ponds, lakes, rivers and other bodies of water can be:
- mechanical;
- chemical;
- biological.
Cleaning a pond is not always easy Pollution mechanical represents the accumulation of a large number of solid particles and objects alien to the reservoir. Typically, various types of garbage fall into this category. If this is, for example, a pond at the dacha, then mechanical pollutants can be not only all sorts of bottles and other objects made by man, but also sand, pebbles, and clay that have entered the pond in quantities that are not acceptable for the desired state.
Pollution chemical character enter the water in a liquid state or dissolve in the pond, penetrating into it in solid form. Water is a good solvent, so they always penetrate into any source. different substances. The degree of danger of such solutions depends on their concentration.
Pollution biological- the concept is ambiguous. Biological means a living organism or processes involving one. Can organisms be contaminants? Not their waste products, but the organisms themselves?
Pond water can be contaminated by microorganisms. Biological pollution can also include the appearance in large quantities of bacteria that were not found here before. Changing the species balance often affects the composition and properties of water, as well as the appearance of the garden pond.
How to determine the cleanliness of a reservoir (video)
Often different types pollution reinforce each other. A striking example is the eutrophication of ponds, lakes and even seas. This is the same phenomenon that is called water blooming. At the same time, there may not be plants in it, but previously the water acquired the color of the sky or soil, and now, during the period of eutrophication, it itself acquires a specific shade. The use of the term blooming is due to the fact that the water in the pond turns green due to the abundance of aquatic plants.
Eutrophication - or simply water blooming Such biological pollution is a consequence of the leaching of highly soluble substances into the reservoir. Most often these are mineral fertilizers. Their appearance in large quantities causes an abrupt increase in the number of algae and bacteria. At the same time, the number of herbivorous organisms increases. As a result, there is little oxygen in the reservoir. The air that comes from the atmosphere cannot compensate for the consumption of oxygen.
After this, fish and other animals begin to die, and the composition of the water changes greatly. The smell of hydrogen sulfide appears. This means that animals and plants die in massive quantities, and are replaced first by mushrooms, and then anaerobic bacteria, accumulated in the bottom sediments of a reservoir. After this, your pond looks like a cross between a sewer and a swamp.
How to diagnose your pond
Here we will talk about indicators, the recognition of which does not require the involvement of specialists and special laboratory research. Most often, the reason for cleansing is quite visible and even olfactory changes. Among them:
- Change in color and transparency of water. Most often this is the beginning of the eutrophication process. However, the ingress of water from big amount inorganic suspensions. Most often this is clay, soil or fine sand. In addition, the color change may be due to the activity of microorganisms that began to multiply due to the accumulation of organic matter at the bottom.
- Overgrowing of a reservoir with plants. This can occur not only due to chemical pollution, but also due to sediments accumulated at the bottom, which makes the reservoir shallow and well-heated.
- The appearance of a new, most often unpleasant odor. This is usually due to the activity of bacteria or fungi, which begin to actively multiply.
As a rule, these three signs are enough to understand that it’s time to clear the pond of everything that makes it not a beloved little lake, but just a pit of water that, at best, resembles a swamp.
Cloudy water, excessive vegetation, an unpleasant odor - this means it’s time to clean the pond What cleaning methods are there?
Four methods are usually used to clean water bodies: chemical, mechanical, biological and ultraviolet (irradiation with ultraviolet rays).
The chemical method is aimed directly at changing the composition of water in the pond. It allows you to eliminate chemical contaminants in a very short time. This cleaning is done by adding to water special reagents. Their purpose is not only to change the composition of water, but also to saturate it with oxygen. This method of cleaning a reservoir requires precision, so it is better to involve professionals in the work.
So-called sorbents are also cleaning agents. The minerals commonly used are zeolites. They are placed in special filter chambers and then immersed directly in water. If you put them in special grids, then there will be no problems with changing filters - just pull out the container and replace the zeolites in it.
Purifying minerals have structural porosity, which allows nitrogen and phosphorus compounds to be adsorbed from water. They stimulate the growth of algae and water blooms.
Pond cleaning - the easy way (video)
As a rule, at a dacha or personal plot reservoirs from a small pond to nearby rivers are surrounded by lands under agricultural use. This means that runoff from fields and beds will always end up in the water. For this reason, zeolites should be used once a year as a prophylactic agent. For these purposes, take 0.5-1 kg of zeolite per 1000 liters of water. If the reservoir is in a risk zone and water constantly flows into it, then it is best to keep filters there permanently.
Manual Pond Cleaning Mechanical cleaning is simply the collection of debris that floats on the surface or lies at the bottom. How to clear a pond of debris if there is no possibility or desire to remove everything manually? The solution to the problem is simple - you can collect foreign objects from the surface with a net, and it is recommended to run a seine from a net with small cells to the bottom.
Cleaning a reservoir can be done with or without draining water. In the first case, the liquid is removed through a drainage ditch into an additional reservoir.
After draining the water, everything that can be considered unnecessary for a given reservoir is collected from the bottom. As a rule, if the pond is small, not only foreign objects themselves are removed, but also organic deposits of natural origin. Do-it-yourself mechanical cleaning of a pond from silt often allows you to open springs, remove layers of organic matter, and remove overgrown plants.
If you start cleaning your pond, then you need to clean the banks as well. Usually, excess plants are removed and accumulated debris is removed. Excess grass is also often removed. All this is done so that the shores of the reservoir acquire clear contours, which can then be designated ornamental plants, stones and soils.
Ultraviolet water purification system How to clean a pond using ultraviolet radiation sources? As a rule, a special ultraviolet filter is used for this. It looks like a vessel with a lamp inside.
The vessel with the lamp is immersed in water. Because he will have to be in a body of water long time, it may begin to become overgrown with algae. For them, these radiations are not an obstacle.
To prevent the vessel with the lamp from becoming completely overgrown, it is equipped with a mechanism that cleans off algae. Usually it is a plastic rim, which is driven by a special handle. Moving the rim removes algae, preventing it from accumulating.
All of the above methods are applied depending on the situation - simultaneously or separately from each other. Be that as it may, the removal of mechanical pollutants must necessarily be accompanied by ultraviolet and chemical cleaning.
Mechanized bottom cleaning
The most a big problem The responsibility of a pond owner is to ensure the cleanliness of a large pond or lake. Here you will have to use mini dredgers.
Operating principle of the dredger (video)
Such dredging devices are often the only way to clean a large reservoir of silt and other bottom sediments. They can collect everything that has accumulated at the bottom using a powerful soil pump. If we talk about cleaning the bottom of a reservoir with a mini-dredger, which has been overgrown for many years, then such a device turns from an ordinary pump into a suction pump.
Silt and water under high pressure are supplied through a system of pipelines located on the water and the shore. Through a sludge pump and pipeline, all bottom sediments fall into special areas called sludge cards. They are preparing even before the start of work on cleaning the lake. This is a plot of land fenced on all sides by an earthen rampart.
Most often, a specialized Watermaster dredger is used for such work. These machines not only have good performance, but also high maneuverability. They can cope with cleaning any bodies of water, except seas and oceans. It is especially recommended to use them for deepening the bottom. After all, deposits of silt, other organic matter, sand and suspended matter sometimes raise the bottom by as much as more than a meter. As a result, the reservoir becomes shallow and gradually becomes swampy.
As a rule, a mini-dredger is quite enough to tidy up the pond. By removing layers of suspended matter, you will make your pond deep, transparent and beautiful. It can be replanted with ornamental plants.
After a few months, when the turbidity settles, fish of different species can be introduced into it. And then the birds will fly there. After all, nature does not tolerate emptiness even if objects are created by man. A pond or lake always becomes a focal point that attracts different species. In order for an artificial reservoir to become part of nature, you need a little - good water, a few plants and no chemicals for several years. Then you will enjoy nature, and not tap water in the bath.
2017-01-16 Igor Novitsky 
A pond in a suburban area is not only an element of landscape design, but also a place for growing fish. In order for the pond to become suitable for life, the owner will have to take care of combating flowering, wintering plants, and ensuring clean water and constantly clean the pond of foreign debris.
It's no secret that a decorative pond makes any area cozy and original. The construction and design of a pond in the garden is an entire art! For a pond to look truly attractive, it needs to be properly looked after.
Before the pond became a feature of my garden, I made many mistakes. There were too many details to consider. This includes water purification, lighting, cladding, and aquatic plants, and decorative fish!
A well-balanced pond independently regulates the microflora. After filling the pond, balance is established in it quite quickly, and the sight of our reservoir causes us great delight. One of the first problems we encounter is algal bloom. It occurs due to the proliferation of single-celled microscopic algae. Most often, this misfortune awaits small, easily warmed by the sun reservoirs, devoid of aquatic vegetation.
How to deal with water bloom in a pond?
Try planting plants with leaves floating on the surface of the water (water lilies, water lilies, nymphaeums), as well as oxygenating plants that enrich the water with oxygen. These are swampweed, elodea, hornwort, tillea, fontinalis, urut. They create a deficiency of mineral salts and carbon dioxide dissolved in water for algae. By actively releasing oxygen, they prevent pond pollution. If the water in it blooms in the spring, you should not immediately sound the alarm. Soon the bloom will disappear as a result of a self-cleaning process.
How to winterize pond plants?
When purchasing plants for a pond, immediately find out how frost-resistant they are. Heat-loving plants in ponds need to be covered with special material or dug up for the winter. Therefore, for myself, I decided to simply not have them. I choose only those that winter well in our climate and plant them in baskets. But they still require attention, especially my favorite water lilies, or nymphs. By the way, when purchasing, pay attention to the planting depth of this variety. Now there are different types of nymphs adapted for living in ponds of varying depths. If you plant, for example, a dwarf nymph at the bottom of a pond that is too deep, it may die.
I replant pond water lilies every few years. At the same time, I wash them thoroughly, removing weak and dead parts. I usually prune after flowering or in the spring, when growth begins. By the way, the plants of a pond will bloom more abundantly if strong shoots are shortened by half and the flowers are removed immediately after wilting. In regions with mild climates, they can be left to overwinter in a pond. At home, in the Moscow region, I move them to an unheated basement. The largest ones overwinter in barrels of water, and the small ones in buckets with wet peat. If you don't have a basement, replant them in the ground on your property for overwintering. The depth of the holes should be at least 50-70 cm. Cover the entire space from the plant planted at the bottom of the hole to the surface of the ground with fallen leaves.
How to keep pond water clean?
Make sure that there are no weeds or debris on the surface of the water in the pond. Clean it with a rake, net or special net. If the pond is large, it makes sense to buy a special skimmer pump. IN summer period Once a month, collect silt, mud and plant debris from the bottom using a bottom vacuum cleaner. Unlike the regular one, it does not have a filter. Water is sucked inside, after which the device is turned off and its contents are poured into the compost.
Pond sludge is an invaluable organic soil amendment! I use it to cover tree trunk circles fruit trees and bushes. If mud appears in the pond, remove it from the surface of the water with a stream from a hose. But do this carefully, as various microorganisms live in it. I leave the mud at night near the shores so that its inhabitants move back to the reservoir, to their usual place of residence.
The most troublesome time in caring for a pond is autumn. At this time, fallen leaves become the main enemy of the garden pond. To prevent them from getting into the water, I stretch a net over the pond. After the leaves fall, I simply remove it. Do not allow leaves to rot in water under any circumstances!
Prepare your pond for winter and do it right
Everyone knows that water expands when it freezes. So, to prevent ice from tearing the walls of the reservoir, do not completely drain the water from a film or plastic pond for the winter. I usually empty the pond by a third of water. Then I throw various hollow objects onto its surface - plastic bottles, polystyrene foam, old balls. In winter, the ice compresses them and does not damage the walls of the pond. Some of my neighbors drain the water completely, clean the pond and fill it with fresh water for the winter. But this is already a matter of habit!
If your pond is populated with fish, do not forget to take care of their wintering in advance.
In the cold climatic zones the most great danger for fish - ice crust. If a pond is under ice for more than a day, gases from decaying plant debris accumulate and cannot reach the surface. In such conditions, the fish die. In deep enough ponds, a small pump can be used. It pulls from the depths to the surface for more warm water, which prevents the formation of an ice crust. If there is no other option, make at least one hole using a pan of boiling water placed on ice. But you can’t chop the ice - it will stun the fish! Another way to avoid complete freezing of water is to throw logs into the pond and stir them periodically.
If the country pond is very shallow, the water in it freezes completely. To prevent the fish from dying, they need to be caught and taken home. I have them overwinter in the basement with water lilies. But, mind you, in your own aquarium, and not together with homemade ornamental fish!
How many fish can you keep in a garden pond?
For each finger-length fish there should be at least 50 liters of water. So count how many of them you can put in your pond! Do not let freshly purchased fish into the pond immediately. First, lower the vessel or plastic bag in which you brought them into the pond. This way you will equalize the temperatures of the “internal” and “external” habitats. A big difference These temperatures, when fish enter pond water, can put them in a state of shock.
Choose the ones that are most harmless to fish and frogs. For example, algae can also be controlled biologically. Get snails. They will eat the algae, saving you a lot of hassle. If aphids attack your aquatic plants, simply wash them off with a hose.
What and when should you feed your fish?
Usually the fish themselves find enough food in the water. These are algae, duckweed, mosquito larvae and everything that lives at the bottom and in the soil. But if the pond is new, recently built, there is not enough food there. In this case, the fish need to be fed. Give the fish as much flake food as they can eat in 10 minutes. Otherwise, it will sink to the ground, begin to rot and muddy the water. In autumn, the fish become less active and eat less. When the water temperature is below +10 °C, the fish are no longer fed.
In the spring I carefully examine the fish and plants. I isolate and treat patients. Remember that you need to be very careful when using chemicals in your dacha pond.
Many owners of suburban areas give up the dream of making a pond or reservoir in the garden only because of fears of the development of algae, turbidity and blooms in the water. And in vain. Anyone, even the smallest one water body is able to give the site beauty and comfort.
Experienced pond owners know a lot of ways to protect the water in a pond from blooming, saving themselves from unnecessary hassle. Let's look at the most common methods.
Method 1. The transparency of water directly depends on the amount of penetrating light. In order for algae to bloom and microorganisms to multiply, there must be a lot of light in the water. Based on this knowledge, it is better to place any pond in a place on the site where little sunlight penetrates. The less light that enters the water, the less algae growth will occur.
It is important to take into account one nuance: you should not create artificial shadow with the help of bushes and trees. Yes, there will be no water blooms, but another problem will have to be solved - leaves constantly falling into the water in autumn period. However, the solution to this problem is also simple - when there is intense leaf fall, a fine mesh net is stretched over the pond (for birds). This way, by removing the net, you will remove all the leaves at once, making gardening easier.
But how to properly create shading if a body of water already exists on the site and it is not possible to move it to another place. In this case, it is useful to plant aquatic plants in the pond, for example, water lilies, the leaves of which will cover the water surface, preventing it from warming up enough for the water to begin to “bloom.”
If you decide to place plants in a pond, remember that they should not occupy more than a third of the total area of the pond.
Method 2. Ornamental fish that feed on pests and mosquito larvae will be good helpers in the fight against algal blooms. However, you should not add a large number of fish to the pond and feed them excessively - otherwise you can get the opposite effect.
Method 3. In specialized stores you may be offered to use tablets as a means of preventing the “blooming” of water in a pond. However, you should not abuse such means, since the presence in them chemical elements can cause irreparable damage to soil and aquatic plants.
The greatest effect is achieved by using various UV sterilizers. These are special ultraviolet lamps, the action of which is aimed at destroying microorganisms whose growth causes water blooms. Such devices do not harm fish or pond plants.
Method 4. Strong blooms appear only in stagnant water. If possible, you need to make sure that the water does not stand still, it should flow, splash and seethe. This does not mean that the contents of the reservoir need to be changed every week. It is enough to install a fountain in the pond or organize a small cascade - the water will be enriched with oxygen, and the proliferation of algae will noticeably worsen.
Method 5. There is another simple way to keep the water in the pond clean and clear for a long time. A small amount of bog peat should be placed in a loose fabric bag and lowered to the bottom of the pond. To prevent the bag from floating up, it is pressed down with a stone. This natural remedy will allow the water to remain clean for a long time, without turbidity.
Keeping the water clear and not blooming is quite simple. Using the 5 methods listed above, you will make your pond an attractive and unburdensome place on your site. Do not be afraid of the difficulties of maintaining it, because its beauty can become the main highlight of your garden.
Each body of water can be considered as Living being. He is born, grows up, lives fully or not so full life, and then grows old and dies, turning into a swamp. The life cycle of different bodies of water has different durations. Large lakes exist for millions of years; smaller bodies of water usually have a shorter lifespan. But if they are in harmony with environment, their life continues happily ever after.
What are the main factors that determine the condition of a reservoir?
The main problem of small fresh water bodies is the accumulation of organic matter. In any body of water, if it is a natural body of water and life in it is not destroyed chemicals, the formation of primary organic products occurs. As a result of photosynthesis, algae produce organic matter using sunlight, carbon dioxide and essential minerals. Sooner or later, each generation of algae dies, sinking to the bottom, and is replaced by a new generation of algae. Replaces species composition algae and other hydrobionts, and all of them after the end life cycle end up at the bottom. With each such cycle, more and more organic matter accumulates at the bottom. This is the same silt that we find at the bottom of reservoirs, and its thickness can reach several centimeters or several meters. Eventually, the silt accumulation reaches such volumes that the reservoir turns into a swamp.
In addition to the primary production of phytoplankton, the accumulation of silt deposits is accelerated by mineral and organic suspensions entering the reservoir from the water supply source. Flood waters and rain runoff, which wash away various substances on their way into the pond, leaves falling into the water, and dying higher aquatic plants all contribute. If the pond is used for growing fish, then an additional source of organic matter becomes washed-out and uneaten food, excrement and metabolic products of fish.
What happens next to the organic matter accumulated in the sludge layer? There, anaerobic decay processes begin, accompanied by the formation of methane, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia nitrogen. Under reducing conditions, iron oxide transforms into an oxide form, soluble in water. Toxic protein breakdown products appear - indole, skatole, hyasmine accumulates in the bottom layer of water, giving the water an earthy, unpleasant odor. All these compounds eventually end up back in the water, and this is a process of secondary water pollution. Depending on the condition of the pond, flow, oxygen supply, the pond resists this for some time, but sooner or later the water acquires an unpleasant odor and Brown color, the oxygen content drops, and there is a threat of death. In winter, in the absence of surface aeration, death becomes inevitable.
From the above, it becomes clear what needs to be done to ensure that the condition of the pond is normal.
>- The pond must be flowing. Fresh water will significantly improve the hydrochemical regime and protect you from many troubles.
- The pond must be drainable. Sooner or later there will be a need to drain water and clean the bed from silt deposits.
- The pond must be deep enough. Small ponds become overgrown with aquatic vegetation faster, warm up more in summer, and in winter they can freeze to the bottom. It is enough that 70-80% of the pond area has a depth of at least 2 m.
- The water in the pond must be saturated with oxygen. This point can be put in first place in terms of importance. After all, it is the oxygen dissolved in water that provides the conditions for the self-cleaning of the reservoir and the prosperous life of all aquatic organisms.
- The pond should be protected from rain runoff by drainage channels around the pond, and no leaves from trees should fall into it.
- The pond should be protected from excessive intake of organic substances. You should not use high fish stocking densities if your reservoir is not intended for commercial fish farming. Maintenance of a technical reservoir, which is a fish pond, is a separate topic for discussion.
A radical method of combating pond siltation is summering - a set of measures that includes draining the pond in the fall, freezing the pond bed and cleaning it from bottom sediments in the winter, and reclamation work in the drained pond in the summer. When operating intensively used fish ponds, flying is carried out at least once every 5 years. Flying is also a radical method of healing a reservoir from the vast majority of fish diseases. In terms of its effectiveness, flying has no alternative.
There are many methods for maintaining a pond in good condition, but not all of them are useful or safe. We use a limited number of techniques, giving preference to those that activate natural self-cleaning processes, without introducing chemical reagents into the reservoir. There are many chemicals on the market that claim to improve the condition of the pond. But in most cases, these chemicals provide short-term effects. The long-term consequences of the impact of reagents on the aquatic biocenosis of a reservoir are difficult to foresee. It is difficult to deceive nature. Instead of one group of living organisms destroyed by chemicals, others will appear in the pond, which can cause even more trouble.
The methods we use include the following.
1. Installation of aerators - flow formers - on the reservoir. Aerators allow you to saturate the water with oxygen, eliminate dead zones, and create a flow in the reservoir, which significantly activates the self-cleaning processes of the reservoir.
Under certain operating conditions, our aerators can erode bottom sediments and transform them into suspension. The stirred silt rises into the water column, where it comes into contact with oxygen. In this case, anaerobic decay processes stop, being replaced by aerobic ones using oxygen.
Under the influence of water flow, floating algae in a pond are driven to the banks of the pond, from where they can be relatively easily removed. This measure is very effective, as it allows you to remove organic matter accumulated in the form of algae from the pond.
2. Use of natural coagulants, sorbents and ion-exchange materials of natural origin. We use zeolites to treat ponds - natural minerals that, as a result of the ion exchange process, absorb ammonia nitrogen, heavy metals, and other substances and compounds from the water. In addition, zeolites act as coagulants, absorbing suspended matter on their surface and removing them from water. Zeolites are absolutely safe and are widely used in drinking water supplies.
Along with zeolites, we use diatomites - also natural sorbents, similar in action to zeolites, but do not have ion-exchange properties.
3. Liming of ponds. Tested and effective method solving a whole range of problems. Liming allows you to clarify the water, slow down the development of phytoplankton, reduce the number of bacteria in the water, destroy or slow down the development of pathogens of fish diseases. Liming increases water hardness and shifts the active reaction of water (pH) to the alkaline side, which is necessary to optimize the conditions for growing fish. Liming the pond bed significantly accelerates the mineralization of organic residues in the sludge.
It should be remembered that if the content of ammonia nitrogen is high, liming of the reservoir cannot be carried out due to the threat of ammonia poisoning of fish. The dose of lime and the frequency of treatment are determined on the basis of hydrochemical analyses.
4. Mechanical water filtration. We have developed a unique technology for purifying water from suspended particles and algae using mechanical filtration. The technology is based on the use of our flow aerators equipped with filter elements with a large surface area. The technology makes it possible to clean up to 3000 m3 of water per day from suspended matter and floating algae. The filtered organic matter is then removed from the pond, stopping the sludge formation process. Mechanical filtration is an absolutely safe and effective method of water purification. However, it applies only to small reservoirs with an area of up to 1 hectare. The use of the method is preceded by hydrochemical studies, which will indicate the feasibility or inexpediency of this measure.
5. Adding hydrogen peroxide to the water. Hydrogen peroxide is a natural component that is found in small quantities in the water of clean natural reservoirs. It enters the water as a result of the vital activity of peroxide-forming bacteria of the genus Arthrobacter, which oxidize ferrous iron, as well as with melt and rainwater containing the products of interaction between ozone and water. Hydrogen peroxide increases the redox potential, creating favorable conditions for self-cleaning processes. In combination with small amounts of ozone dissolved in water and in the presence of ultraviolet radiation, active oxidizing compounds appear in water, destroying complex difficult-to-oxidize organic matter and eliminating odor and color of water.
Currently, there has been a craze for hydrogen peroxide as a treatment for most known diseases, and for treating water from ponds and aquariums. It should be noted that the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide occurs with the formation of atomic oxygen and free radicals - particles with an unpaired electron. Their targets are polyunsaturated fatty acids that are part of cell membranes and other bioorganic substances. There is a widespread belief that both the aging of the body and the formation of cancer cells are based on a free radical mechanism.
Hydrogen peroxide is used to increase the oxygen content in water. However, at the same time, hydrogen peroxide can be harmful, causing the death of fish and degradation of the biocenosis. At a concentration of 25 mg/l, hydrogen peroxide leads to the death of white fish, roach and a number of fish of other species (Kanaev, Metelev, Dzasokhova, 1971. Aquatic toxicology). Signs of inhibition of the biocenosis in some cases are detected when the content of hydrogen peroxide in water is at a level of 10 mg/l.
Before using hydrogen peroxide, it is necessary to measure the redox potential of the water and perform other tests.
Perhydrol is a strong oxidizing agent and dangerous to handle. Careless handling can result in fatal burns and even an explosion. Only persons who have undergone special training and have the necessary skills can work with this oxidizer.
The first step in helping a reservoir is to conduct hydrochemical studies. All ponds are individual. The method of treating a pond, like the method of treating a person, is chosen after testing.
We are already accustomed to the fact that the doctor must obtain test data before prescribing treatment. This fully applies to the reservoir. Without knowledge of the processes occurring in it, it is impossible to choose the most effective options help.
Our mobile laboratories are equipped with a set of modern instruments that allow us to conduct the necessary research on 12-15 indicators right on the spot. At the same time, we do not use indicator papers or aquarium tests, which give only approximate results. Our laboratory uses photoelectrocolorimeters, pH meters, ORP meters, thermooximeters, which make it possible to obtain accurate and objective results. In the event that we cannot carry out a number of studies on site, the water sample is delivered to a certified stationary laboratory, where not only hydrochemical, but also microbiological studies are carried out.
