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Algae problems giving you nightmares?
Don't lose sleep over Algae, it is completely natural and does not
harm your fish or plants.
First define the type of algae,
The water is green? see "green water" below, or do you have
the stringy algae that can be held on to? see "Blanket weed" below.
Blanket weed
Blanket weed is a filamentous algae and usually appears in ponds where
the water quality is good.
It is very unpredictable, but harmless. The best way to eliminate it is
by pulling it out, either with your hands, twirling it around a stick, using a net.
This algae is full of nutrients so use it as mulch in your
gardens. Aim at achieving a natural ecological balance in your pond, add more plants, do not overstock
your fish, and good quality water is essential. see Microbe-Lift Calcium Clay
Montmorillonite Clay for good water quality.
Too late for prevention? for a healthy beautiful pond try Pond Balance from Interpet.
Green
water
Algae
in the form of "Green Water" commonly occurs in ponds. The algae itself is not a
problem but it looks unsightly and hides your fish.
Green
water means there are too many nutrients in the water caused by either too many fish, over
feeding, not enough plants or lots of rotting vegetation.
Most
ponds will go green in the spring, this is known as an Algae Bloom. The reason being,
Algae grows much faster than most other pond plants. We have found, "Tinting" the water just before it freezes helps prevent algae growth
by stopping the sunlight from passing into the water, therefore the other plants have time
to grow and compete by taking away the nutrients the algae needs.
There
are chemicals that will kill algae but the dead algae sinks to the bottom and rots,
providing more nutrients for a fresh new bloom. Therefore you will have to add more and so
the cycle starts over again. These chemicals can also kill your other plants or
invertebrates.
Algae
is an indicator that there are too many nutrients in the pond. For example, the algae
consumes the nitrates formed by ammonia and grows until the ammonia is used up. If you
kill the algae with chemicals the ammonia level will climb until it kills your fish.
So,
the best way is prevention, Aim at achieving a natural ecological balance in your pond,
add more plants, do not overstock your fish, and good quality water is essential. see
Microbe-Lift Calcium Clay Montmorillonite
Clay for
good water quality.
Shade as much of the water as possible with lilies and other aquatic plants. Algae
requires sunlight - so floating plants prevent sunlight from feeding the algae.
All aquatic plants absorb nutrients from the water that would otherwise be used for
algae.
Feed your plants only as directed. Lily Gro fertilizer
tablets can be inserted into the soil - so the fertilizer is absorbed by the plant roots
with very little released into the water for algae to consume.
Aqua-Zyme
Aqua-Zyme, a full season water clarifier program, contains a high concentration of
natural, beneficial bacteria and enzymes that consume the organic matter and nutrients
including algae.
AquaRem
AquaRem remedies green water by clumping contaminants, such as algae, to make it easily
removed by external filters.
A guaranteed way to keep water clear is the addition of a UV Clarifier. Exposure to the
correct wavelengths of UV light kill the DNA in algae. Once it dies and clumps together,
the external filter can filter it out. This has become a very popular and effective way
dealing with green water.
The best way to control algae problems naturally is to minimize the amount of phosphate
and nitrate in the water. This is achieved by properly feeding the fish and adding plenty
of aquatic plants to the pond. All ponds experience an occasional algae bloom. Don’t
panic. Follow these tips and your pond will clear up and stay clean.
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