Water Gardening Direct Blog

Garden Pond Protein Froth and Foam

Protein Froth is an unsightly foam which sits on the water surface and can look like some one has tipped washing up liquid in to your pond. Protein Foam is normally formed where the water comes back in to the pond at waterfalls and filter returns, but can also happen around fountains and venturi’s. In most cases it is caused by Protein, which is an oil based chemical that floats on the surface of the pond and makes the bulbs last longer. This oil is a natural chemical and will eventually disperse by itself, the problem is it will take months to do so and your pond can look awful until it goes. Not only is it ugly, but it can be dangerous to fish as well. The surface of the pond is where most of the essential gas exchange takes place, allowing Carbon Dioxide out and Oxygen in to the water, if the surface is then coated in protein oil it can hinder or even stop the gas exchange. So solving this problem not only to improve the appearance of your pond, but also ensures the health of your fish. Thankfully this is one of the simplest things to eradicate in your pond, TAP Anti Foam will literally make it disappear in front of your eyes.

Click here to go to our TAP Anti Foam Treatment Page

TAP Anti Foam is designed to breakdown the froth in garden ponds, created by the excessive build up of protein in the pond water. TAP Anti Foam is non toxic, harmless to plants, all fish and other aquatic life and does not affect bacterial filters.

Where did it come from?

It helps to understand why it has occurred in the first place, because in some cases it is preventable. The two most common causes for Protein Froth are spawning from fish/ frogs/toads and feeding the wrong type or quantity of food. Spawning is not something you have control over, but you can control the amount and kind of food you feed. If the fish are fed too much in one go, they will wolf it all down, but it will pass through them quickly and much of it comes out as waste including Protein. In the summer month’s food should not last for more than 5 minutes, any more and you will be overfeeding. If you are not convinced that the fish will get enough food this way stick to the 5 minute rule but feed them several times a day. To help you keep an eye on how much food the fish receive you can use a floating feeding ring, these float on the surface of the pond and keep the food in one place. In the cooler Spring/Autumn weather, fish are programmed not to absorb Protein, so feeding them a growth or high protein food at these times of year will mean it passes straight through them and comes out in to the water. Use the low protein wheatgerm foods at these times of year.

So the best way to prevent the protein foam from occurring is to feed your fish the correct kind of food for the time of year (and temperature) and to feed little and often.

Garden Pond Heron Protection

Why are Herons a problem

This is the time of year when Herons can be the biggest pests to pond owners. They are rearing young and as such their need for food increases and they are tempted in to our gardens for easy pickings. The early sunrise in Spring and Summer means they can visit our ponds before many of us are awake, in fact one of the most frequent comments we here is “ I opened the curtains and I just saw him (the Heron) flying away”

Herons are mostly solitary birds of prey who enjoy peace and quite whilst fishing, so they prefer to visit ponds in the early hours when they will not be disturbed. As a rule they will land away from the pond, often on an open area of lawn, and slowly walk in to the pond to avoid disturbing the fish. To be effective they really need to wade in to the water because once in the pond they release a chemical which actually attracts the fish to them. If they are prevented form doing this, they are much less likely to be successful. It is rare that you will find any obvious evidence of the heron after a visit. However, the chemical they release is slightly oily and in the right light you can sometime make out the rainbow colour of the oil on the surface of the water.

So How can you protect you pond

So how do you stop them? Unfortunatly the only certain way is to net the pond preventing them from getting in to the water and removing fish from the pond. Obviously this can be unsightly and detracts from the appearance of the pond, to minimise this you could build a frame or structure, which would enable the net to be removed when you are in the garden.

However, there are other options.

We offer a Decoy Heron, which because they are mostly solitary birds will hopefully persuade a Heron flying above, to keep going and pick on some one else’s pond.

Click Here to go to our Blue Decoy Heron Page

As mentioned Herons want to land away from the pond and walk in to the water, putting a physical barrier in the way may deter them. If you know where it lands you can put clear nylon threads up to disrupt the flight path. This method is entirely dependent on the layout of your garden allowing overhead wires and may have an impact on other birds, but does mean the Heron can be deterred with out impact on the appearance of the pond.

We offer a Heron Stop which consists of 8 stakes that can be positioned around the pond through which you thread clear nylon wire to create an invisible barrier.

Click Here to go to our Heron Stop Page

If you’re not convinced the trip wire would be enough by itself, then step up to the Pond Protector which is an electrified version carrying a mild charge through the wire so that the Heron is put off trying to figure out a way around the barrier. This product is our industries version of a livestock fence and should not harm the Heron, but will certainly put it off.

Click Here to go to our Pond Protector Page

Other options might include custom made decorative metal covers or screens. We must point out that Herons are a protected species and as such can not be harmed or killed.