Mouldy plants in pond?

[tootyfruitypickle]

Had a little peek at my barrel pond today and noticed that most of the plants seemed to have furry mouldy elements to them. Like actually mould with it's own life because it seems to be growing off them?!!

This pond has been a bit of a disaster since I started it last spring - does this mould mean I need to get rid? I feel like I've spent a fortune on plants and they all die !

Except I did see a frog once so I worry about any that might be over wintering ?

Not sure whether to drain it and just plant it up with soil or just take out the mouldy plants and see what happens ?

I do actually hate it at this point though - plus I think it's attracting rats ...

Is the mould a death knell? I do not want to spend a fortune treating the water and replanting but I don't mind getting the odd plant

Not mould but algae

Ah ok so I could use envill?

As above, is it definitely mould?

I'm wondering if it's algae and a goal of crystal clear water is what's at the root of this? i.e. the more you mess with it, the worse it tends to get

Photo please to help us ID?

Good plan I'll take one when I'm home . It's quite difficult as it mainly takes my reflection, I did try on starting the thread!

It's around the insides of the barrel and the plants under water so maybe algae but it's not green

Sludgy furry bits around plants and inside the barrel

That does rather look like the plants are dead and decomposing to me.

Ah in that case I may give up on it and return the envii winter pond treatment !!

I don't know if it's the barrel or me but it really has been an unmitigated disaster ! It smelt of eggs all summer and full of mosquito babies and now this . All these lovely YouTube vids of barrel ponds seduced me into it !

Is it worth just removing the dead plants and carrying on without replacing them ? I've got one that is doing really well. Haven't looked at the water lilies as I put them low down at the start of winter .

There's a lot of this stuff around the inside of the barrel as well.

I'm having to get a pest controller out anyway as I keep seeing rats in this area so if he says get rid I think I will at this point! Just not looking forward to emptying it !!

It's normal for pond plants, like garden plants, to die back in winter. I would just leave it for now, and see how it looks in mid to late spring.

Even covered in gooey sludge like this ?

(A glimmer of hope returns ...)

Could be stagnant? Has it got oxygenating plants in there?
Mosquitoes love still ponds to lay their eggs!

It did have oxygenating plants , twice I put them in, both times they died . This is the thing, it's so expensive

What plant is it? Is it floating or planted? It looks like it's completely submerged, is it supposed to be?

Is the barrel in the shade?

No it's not in shade. I can't remember what plant it is, it was a selection of marginals in a tray and you could be right it's too deep as the barrel has filled over the winter.

Would a solution be to remove all the yucky dead plants , add winter pond treatment regularly and see where I am when the weather warms up? No point adding new oxygenators at this time of year is there ?

I did definitely see a frog hopping around the edge of it once as it was at night and both me and the dog shrieked!! Not sure if it made it in or not .

Ok so shall I try

1. cut back and remove all plants that have this goo on them and use a net to try and remove the rest
2. add winter pond treatment now and again in early March
3. add hornwort in the spring ?
4. keep it really simple this year rather than spend ££ and focus on oxygenators and also I need to plant something tall and overhanging near it to give it some shade
5. replace water Lily if it's dead with something else to help cover surface ? Will have a look in the spring

I mean the water is now proper pond water at least... (was originally filled last summer with tap water)...

Yeah I think it's too deep, it might only be supposed to be 4 inches deep (depends on plant) maybe take the plants out, cut the rotten bits off and just leave them on the ground and see if they come back to life, you might have drowned them though :-D
Hornwort seems pretty indestructible to me and reproduces like crazy, it will shade the water underneath and allow things to hide in it. It's normally cheap so good choice. Are there ledges to help the frogs get in and out? You might want to put some rocks in if you haven't already for any marginals to sit on and the frogs to get out. Another plant I've found pretty indestructible and suitable for any size pond/still water is water hawthorn (Aponogeton Distachyos), not sure how pricy it is though as I got some from my mum.

Did it get too hot in the summer? If it smelt horrible then something is wrong somewhere. I'd be inclined to tip the whole lot out, save anything still alive, and start again.

There's a lot of this stuff around the inside of the barrel as well
Water fleas. But I would just pull the dead sludgy plants out.
blades-bio.co.uk/shop/living-organisms/pond-life/daphnia-pulex-water-fleas-c300/

I saw them recommended for an algae filled pond. The water, and the sides, all crystal clear a week or so later.

It smelt of bad eggs in the summer and yes i think it got too hot .

I'm not sure I can face going right into the depths but I could definitely empty a good third of it - might that help?

Thanks for all the advice this is very helpful!

If you know a good pond in the area, take a handful of silt from the bottom and add it to yours

@MereDintofPandiculation

If you know a good pond in the area, take a handful of silt from the bottom and add it to yours

Not recommended at all now due to concerns about spreading disease/ invasive species actually