Anyway, all has been well with the pond and the occupants, Outspan has not leapt out again, although every now and then we hear a splash and rush out to check! But some time ago our UV light blew (we were away at the time and our poor cat-sitter was locked out for a while...... also a blog entry!) and we have not been able to locate another one, (light that is, not cat-sitter!) It came sealed in the pump unit, so we actually do not know how to replace it short of buying an entire new pump!
And since then, the water has turned from clear to green. Very green! Very quickly!
We have added specially made pond cleaners, both liquid and powder. The powder one tends to get up my nose and I cannot breathe! But, neither seems to work. And as the pond is in the sun for most of the day, it has remained a beautiful pea-green colour and looks as thick as mushy peas.
Rob cleans the filters almost daily and luckily we have rainwater tanks to enable us to top up the pond, as we now have strict water rationing and cannot use Municipal water for pools and ponds.
So, the other day I was at the nursery when I saw a load of yellow water irises standing in the base of the fountain that leaks! Aha I thought, these will help to clean the water naturally, so I brought a big bunch home and we stood them in a bucket while we mulled over how to plant them!
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| Gorgeous. |
Another 'aha' moment! My wash basket! It has been slowly breaking for years and Rob has fixed it as best he can, but we decided that if we used it as the outer holder and made an inner holder from the remains of the square mesh stuff that Rob used for the door when Kindle first arrived, we could make a pretty damn fine iris holder!
Basil agreed!
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| He fits in there rather well! |
Out with scissors and cable ties (the tools that are used most often for any DIY these days.) Rob cut a few 'rounds' off the basket to make it a bit shallower. We blocked the largest holes with stones, placed the irises in the baskets and then used klippies to hold the whole lot in place. Rob had placed two half breeze-blocks for the basket to stand on and we lowered it carefully (until I dropped my end) into the water.
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| Filling the pond after planting! |
It looks lovely and the irises are flowering, so they are happy.
But the water is still green!
Any ideas before I throw chlorine in and make it a swimming pool?
