We have a good sized pond for the ducks and geese, problem is within a few days (usually 1 to 2) the thing goes green, so we are constantly cleaning the thing, and scrubbing constantly, putting in fresh water. we have kiddy pools too and they are changed 3 and 4 times a day, sometimes more. does anyone know of any way that there is to not have this happen? some people said by putting water plants it would stop this, but how would that work? our animals eat everything. someone else said pennies to help, and also to ward off any bugs, that made it worse. than others said rocks and the bottom. its a good sized plastic pond. so anyone know of anything to suggest? we have atleast 30 or so ducks not including the ducklings hatching and 4 geese...well....11 all together and a few more to come. so any ideas i appreciate. heres a picture of the pond, and a day or so after it was cleaned.
You may have to get a sump pump to drain the water out and refll it every couple days. I have about 4 of these pre-formed ponds i want to use for the ducks but i haven't gotten them all planned out yet.
oh they love them, the babies and the geese more so than the adult ducks,and they are awesome just a pain lol
I have heard apple cider vinegar helps prevent algae in the water and is safe for the ducks, I am not sure of the amount to use, I think it was 1tbs per gallon but I would research in case I am not correct about that.
Duck poo is fertilizer and algae loves it. It also loves light. So putting plants into the water will work, if you over over 70% of the surface. That will kind of prevent the ducks from having fun. Also ducks will eat many water plants. So in a sense don't bother with the plant idea. Install some plumbing so you can drain it faster. You can also try barley balls, but they need to decay in the water for at least 4 weeks before they start to work. Katharina
Quote:Shading the pool will SLOW but not stop the pool from going green. The bit about pennies is outdated, pennies used to be copper which will also slow algee growth but current pennies are mostly zinc. You might check with a pool adviser but I doubt you will find a solution that is safe for your ducks and geese. The green is from algee and when the ducks poop in the pool it just adds fertilizer. lots of luck.
I have the same pond but here is what I did. We cut a hole in the bottom and put a tub drain in, then we dug a trench for a 2" drain pipe, we also dug the pond into the red Georgia clay--uuurrrggghhh then we put about 2 pipes on it with a turncock? anyway to drain it outside the pen. In winter I put hay bale on the end of the turncock so it doesn't freeze. Works pretty well, My geese use it. They do pick up gravel and sticks and put them in the water, silly geese, that I have to take out or it clogs--usually it clogs a bit, but I can shove a hose down it . I made a screen for it, but they manage to move it, need to fix the screen better, probably too tall. The algae grows faster if the water is in the sun and stagnant. But like with horse troughs, you have to keep the water fresh, add fish(which ducks would probably eat) or drain it periodically...
