Pond sludge

[Fishies86]

Hi, I work at a garden centre and we've just had a customer in asking about pond sludge.
He wanted to get rid of it and had tried powdered products to clear it.

I just wanted a bit of advice for him for when he comes back next week.

Should he be concentrating more on the cause of the sludge. What causes it? Is he feeding fish too much? If he hasn't got fish, what else could be causing it? He has used a pond vac before but doesn't want to use one again because it takes so much water out of his pond.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Fishies86]

No one have any ideas?

 

[avonsurfernc]

complete Water change and set up a UV clarifier. That should keep the Algae plumes from coming back

 

[Maya]

A complete water change? What if his pond is 20000 gallons?
I would suggest better water movement (bigger pump, surface agitator, etc) and trying to remove as many of the leaves and other debris as quickly as possible. Anti-algae treatments like barley balls are an option but water flow may fix his problem if it's a clarity issue.