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Swimming Pond Design
Mac, just a word of caution about islands in ponds.
While Harvey is correct in what he says, islands can also be a real PITA.
In my line of work, golf courses, islands are a big NO-NO. They are impossible to cut the grass on easily, and they encourage the use of the pond by geese and other wildlife. This can be a real problem. We have had cases where nesting pairs of Canada Geese made good sized areas around ponds completely unuseable for a period of time during nesting season.
A client of mine had such a circumstance and unfortunately he had visitors who where unaware of the danger and let their toddler 'go see the pretty birds'. The gander attacked the child who suffered a broken arm and several nasty bites before his father could get to him, the father was also bitten and attacked.
Geese are also less than perfect in their toilet habits.
Best of luck.
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Swimming Pond Design
Depending on the type of stuff growing in the water, something as simple as a bale of rye wheat straw will fix it. Bear in mind, it is not a light switch, it takes time to work.
Do a Google search on 'pond water cleaning' or just 'pond water' and see all the info that comes up.
Also, depending on the type and amount of algae you have, and the conditions of your pond, sometimes the solution is as simple as buying some fish or domestic waterfowl (ducks or swans) that will dine on the plant growth quite happily. The colourful large gold fish known as Koi are able to over-winter in the pond as long as a portion of it is more than 6' deep.
If you have too much decomposed plant material in there it may need to be cleaned out first.
Best of luck.
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Swimming Pond Design
Matt, as with a lot things the 'natural' cures are not as powerful as the man-made stuff.
The proliferation of algae you talk about may, depending on the type, be the perfect feed for a school of fish. A lot of that same problem is caused by previous years algae decomposing at the bottom of the pond. This is why I said earlier that it is NOT an overnight fix.
We have had ponds in tough shape like yours that took several years to come around.
Basically you have to attack the problem on several fronts.
You need to physical reduce the amount of fertilizer in the water. In your case the pond is spring so that's easy, put a pump on the pond and pump water out into a ditch or such. With the old water will go the nutrients, and likely some algae, and it will be replaced by fresh clean water.
You need to add something to reduce the algae's ability to grow, barley straw, fish, ducks, or some combination will be likely needed depending on the size.
Finally, you need to consult with an expert who can look at your pond, test the water and advise you on how much of what is needed. This is usually available for free through your local extension office, or for a couple of hundred dollars from a private consultant. I usually recomend the private expert since the gov. people often tell you what the gov. would like to see you do, not what is best for you, in your circumstances.
Best of luck.
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