Nathan Hill reviews two new pond treatments, ideal for the new season.
Pond Equaliser is a logical progression from envii’s existing range of biological pond supplements. In a nutshell, the company was puzzled when its biosupplements worked in some ponds but not in others. On investigating, what it found was that those ponds where the treatments were ineffectual had pH and KH levels way outside of levels required for functioning nitrification — biofiltration struggles where hardness is excessively low, and in acidic conditions.
Such conditions arise in old systems — in aquaria we call it ‘old tank syndrome’ and it is a situation where hardness has been gradually reduced by filter activity, while pH is lowered as bacteria produce acids (part of the nitrification process involves a huge release of acids as a by-product). Left long enough, it can cause an outright crash as filters run out of ‘fuel’ in converting fish wastes.
In steps Pond Equaliser, which stabilises pH, KH and GH in ponds. Used at the recommended doses, it will shift pH values to between 7.5 and 8.5pH, while lifting KH and GH to above 5°H (respectively). With those values now stabilised, bioactivity can resume.
As a bonus, Pond Equaliser also neutralises heavy metals and ammonia present in the pond, meaning that if the collapse in mineral content has caused a spike, the equaliser will both resolve the issue and detoxify it.
Envii recommends dosing three times a year, though I’d be inclined to base it on water testing — some ponds may deplete more rapidly than others, while those with very low biodensity may need minimal supplementation.
Packaging comes in three sizes — 250g for 2,500 l of water, 500g for 5,000 l and 750g for 7,500 l.
Blanketweed Klear is another extension to an existing product, in this case Pond Klear, which seeks to starve out blanketweed by denying it a food source. The only catch was that for some, Pond Klear was slow to act, so Blanketweed Klear works immediately.
Primarily hydrogen peroxide based, the powder is simply dispersed directly on to the top of blanketweed growth, at which point you sit back for 24–48 hours while the product oxidises the nuisance algae. At that point, you then remove the dead blanketweed and follow up with a Sludge Klear/Pond Klear treatment to convert any resulting organics.
Like other products in the envii line up, Blanketweed Klear also needs a sufficient level of hardness and buffered pH in order to function, so you might want to test and consider using in tandem with Pond Equaliser if things have slipped a bit.
There are three sizes in the range: 300g for 10,000 l, 600g for 20,000 l and 1.2kg for 40,000 l.
Prices: Pond Equaliser, 500g £27.59; Blanketweed Klear, 600g £24.48.
More info: bio8.co.uk