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Q: What is algae?
Algae are microscopic plants. Though they are small, they
are very strong plants. Like all plants algae require
nutrients (fertilizer), light, oxygen, aqua (water) and
heat. There are in excess of thirty thousand different
species in fresh and salt water. The most common types that
occur in ponds are "string algae", "surface algae" and
"green pea soup algae".
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Q: What is string
algae?
String algae is mostly found crowding
your marginal plants, in the stream bed, and sometimes in
bad cases it will grow on the bottom of your pond. String
algae is really hard to pull out of a pond because it
clings to rocks, plants and everything else (well, not the
fish because they are slippery).
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Q: How do I remove string
algae?
Never rip string algae out because this will cause the
algae spores to detach from the algae and encourage future
growth. Either hold the algae and cut it out with scissors,
or twirl around a stick to grab all of the algae.
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Q: How do I rid myself of string
algae?
We use a combination of 3 products: Barley Straw, Algae
Fix and Pond Balance. These products work
great for lessening your algae growth. I have found that
the best results are if you use all three products
together. First put in the Barley Straw (which takes 1
month to activate). Then put in the Pond Balance to uproot
the algae. Wait 10 days, then fully remove all the string
algae by hand. Next put in some Algae Fix and continue to
do so once a week. Only replace the Pond Balance every time
you do a water change.
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Q: What is barley?
Barley straw pillows are placed in your bio-falls, or
anywhere water passes through it. As your bacteria digests
the barley it lets off a natural hydrogen peroxide that
kills algae which is safe for plants and fish. Barley
pillows last 3 months and are great for string algae
prevention.
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Q: What is Algae
Fix?
Algae Fix helps kill the string algae
spores and coats the string algae making it harder to
create food.
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Q: What is Pond
Balance?
Pond Balance is a salt solution used to
loosen the grip of the string algae, making removal 10
times easier. Salt also kills the algae. Do not over dose
your pond, too much salt can cause your plants to die.
Because Pond Balance is salt, it does not evaporate out of
your pond, so only add more when you do a water
change.
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Q: What is surface
algae?
This is the good algae, it lightly
covers the rocks and makes the pond look more natural. Also
this algae provides about 60% of the oxygen in the water.
It is quite easy to remove, just scrub with a scratchy side
of a sponge.
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Q: My water is
murky, like pea soup, what is
it?
This is a free swimming microscopic algae. The algae
particles are too small to get caught in the skimmer. It's
very hard to miss this type of algae because it's so cloudy
it resembles pea soup (hence the name). This algae cannot
be physically removed via net or other instrument, other
than draining the pond (which doesn't handle the problem,
but makes it worse). Pea Soup Algae feeds off of phosphates
which are found in tap water. The easiest way to rid
yourself of Pea Soup Algae is to get more biological
filters, or a UV light. Both are guaranteed to
work.
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Q: I have a new pond and the Green
Pea Soup Algae is driving me crazy. What should I
do?
You must wait it out because your
eco-system has not been established yet. Every time we
install a new pond there is a lot of nutrients in the tap
water for the algae to eat. Also the bacteria hasn't
established itself yet so it can starve the algae. This
exists up to 2 months, but it will clear as the water
equalizes. The typical types of algae for new ponds is both
String Algae and Green Pea Soup Algae.
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Q: Should I use algaecides for my
algae?
The main rules for algae are: "don't
panic" and "don't use any algaecides". Algaecides will kill
the algae as well as your plants. Algae can be handled by
addressing its causes and being patient enough to try the
solutions. Most chemical treatments are even hazardous to
humans. Algaecides are only a temporary cure for the
problem: algae is killed off, sinks to the bottom and
begins to decompose. The decomposing algae release all of
the nutrients that it had taken up, creating a nutrient
rich environment for the next wave of algae. The next wave
of algae, about a week later, will be larger than original,
due to all the nutrients available. Using algaecides will
cause your pond to become "chemically dependent".
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Q: What is good about
algae?
1. Provides shade for the fish, thus
protecting them from predators.
2. Makes a great egg shelter for fish, snails, frogs,
newts, dragon flies etc. etc.
3. In the winter time string algae is about the only thing
the fish eat.
4. Is a great food source for small fry.
5. Great "daytime" source of oxygen for the fish and
animals.
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Q: What are the drawbacks to
algae?
1. At night uses up all the oxygen,
thus lowering the water quality for the other plants and
fish.
2. Not very pretty, and makes it hard to locate fish and
plants.
3. With overgrowth make cause other plants to die due to
absorbing their nutrients, light and oxygen.
4. Algae decay increases the amount of nutrients in the
pond.
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Q: How do I balance my
pond?
Plants are probably the most important
addition to your pond, since they directly compete with
algae for nutrients and light. Add a wide variety of plants
to your pond. This not only creates a natural look, but
also will help reduce the algae in different areas of your
pond. Place water hyacinth and water lettuce in your falls.
These floating plants reproduce rapidly, using up an
enormous amounts of nutrients.
Plenty of bog and marginal plants should be added to the
pond. Plants such as cattails and iris use large quantities
of nutrients. They are hardy and will be back each spring
to help you balance your pond. Cover the surface of the
pond by planting water lilies. Lily pads float on the top
of the pond soaking up the warm sunlight. The lily pads
will reduce algae by preventing sunlight from reaching the
deeper portions of the pond. Don't overlook oxygenators!
They soak up nutrients and sun light directly through their
leaves. Think of them as nutrient sponges. Physically
remove clumps of string algae if it begins to overtake the
pond.
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Q: I have soil in my pond is that
bad?
Soil is a fertilizer, which has
nutrients for the algae to feed on, so remove any soil from
your pond. Also when adding new plants take them out of the
pot and plant them directly in the gravel. Keeping plants
in pots doesn't help reducing the amount of nutrients in
your pond. They are in an enclosed area and may die
eventually for over crowding and nutrient depletion. Also
make sure to rinse out the soil, sand, or clay off the
roots. This will rid your pond of unnecessary nutrients and
cloudy water.
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Q: My sprinklers cause water to
run in to my pond, how does that effect my
eco-system?
Sometimes water and soil may
flow in to your pond from rain or sprinkler systems. Use
your hose to test the edges of your pond and make sure that
the water is being diverted around your pond, not in it.
Never use lawn fertilizer or insecticides on trees around
your pond or on areas of your property that will drain
towards your pond. Lawn fertilizer and insecticides will
cause large nutrient blooms and will severely threaten the
aquatic life inside your pond, and may be harmful to your
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Q: Does bacteria kill
algae?
Adding bacteria and enzymes to use
excess nutrients helps but doesn't always control a severe
algae problem. Adding high doses of either will not help
kill your algae. Bacteria needs a place to live, adding
more will just cause a bunch of dying homeless algae on
welfare, which their death will cause more nutrients in the
water, thus helping the algae survive.
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Q: Should I get an aeration
device?
Beneficial bacteria's effectiveness
is enhanced by the use of an aerator. Proper aeration also
adds to the overall health of the pond and can get rid of
the "bad" types of bacteria growing in deep waters where
there is no oxygen and sludge build up is great.
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Q: Should I skim out dead or
decaying leaves?
When plants decay they
create nutrients in the water. Make sure all the leaves are
swept up in your skimmer or by hand. In the wintertime some
plants may go dormant or even die. You must trim or remove
the plant waste or algae will find it's way in to your
pond.
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