Oil in my Pond

Rainbulimic

So I go out into my garden today and guess what! The little shits that live next door have apparently put oil all in and around my fishpond!
What can I do (aside from kicking the crap out of those kids) to get rid of the oil? I sort of want to avoid having to empty and clean the pond because it's pretty cold right now.
I'm currently running the hosepipe into the pond to make it overflow in the hopes the oil might leak out...

Any advice?
Also, yes, the fish are still alive. They're pretty hardcore goldfish, I'll tell you that! So I can't use any chemicals, because I don't want to harm the wildlife any further.

PS. someone said putting ice in the pond would work, because the oil would stick to the ice. Any idea if this is worth a try?

Thanatos

Wouldn't putting ice in the pond drop the temperature for the goldfish a shitload?

Lail

I'd try to find something like this:

http://carsforsale.classifieds1000.com/garage-stuff/Garage_Furniture-Oil_Absorbent_Pad.html

Just throw them on top of the water and they'll do all the work.

Not really sure where to buy them. Check your local gas station?

JustinSane07

I'd try the oil pad too. But your flooding trick might work, since oil does float on top of water.

Trillian

Thanatos wrote: »

Wouldn't putting ice in the pond drop the temperature for the goldfish a shitload?

No

Goldfish can survive basically anything, even if their pond ices over almost completely.

RUNN1NGMAN

Rainbulimic wrote: »

So I go out into my garden today and guess what! The little shits that live next door have apparently put oil all in and around my fishpond!
What can I do (aside from kicking the crap out of those kids) to get rid of the oil? I sort of want to avoid having to empty and clean the pond because it's pretty cold right now.
I'm currently running the hosepipe into the pond to make it overflow in the hopes the oil might leak out...

Any advice?
Also, yes, the fish are still alive. They're pretty hardcore goldfish, I'll tell you that! So I can't use any chemicals, because I don't want to harm the wildlife any further.

PS. someone said putting ice in the pond would work, because the oil would stick to the ice. Any idea if this is worth a try?

I second the sorbent pads--that's what a pro would probably do. There are more effective methods for getting rid of oil, but they all involve chemicals that will just emulsify the oil into the body of water (good idea on the ocean when fish can swim away from it, bad idea in a pond), not to mention the fact that the chemicals are basically heavy duty detergents that will probably kill your fish outright.

Hevach

Those pads work, I've used them on my koi pond once. Flooding it can help, but oil should come to the surface, not dissolve like test fluids or root tabs or any of the stuff I've dropped in mine (which the pads don't help with), so it'll be fairly easy to remove. Just like a protein scum, draining and refilling will only break it up, not really help to remove it. Flooding will eventually wash it all away, though.

Also, talk to the kids parents. I had a talk with one of my neighbors about theirs wading in the kiddie pool full of guppy fry in my yard or trying to feed my pond fish. Usually it's genuine interest mixed with ignorance.

Edit: If you want to be evil, keep redhook silver dollars in the pond during the summer. Get them out before the temperature dips below 60, but while they're in there, they're harmless, but look an awful lot like piranhas. Baby pacu can work, too, but they'll get huge by the end of summer. Very few people will mess with the pond then.