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Now that Spring is upon us and things are coming back to life in
your pond with the warmer weather, many of us are battling with
string algae. String algae is caused primarily by a combination
of the buildup of organic nutrients in the water, and sunlight.
What happens is that during winter, when things slow down and
many of us turn off our filters, decaying leaves and other
organic matter (including fish waste) begin to break down in the
pond.
The result is an excess of organic nutrients in the water, which
is essentially food for algae growth. Add sunlight and some
warmer weather to these conditions, and you have an ideal
environment for algae growth, both the green water and string
algae varieties.
The green water, or 'pea soup' algae is easily eradicated with a
properly sized UV sterilizer, which we highly recommend. String
algae, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated and difficult
to get rid of.
Because it is usually attached to the walls and rocks of the
pond, it becomes more difficult to get rid of and unfortunately,
there aren't and easy solutions. But we are going to outline a
few remedies here that will help. First, we recommend a pond
cleaning - if possible. For those of you who don't clean your
pond at least once annually, there are many good reasons to do
this.
By cleaning out your pond, and removing as much of the decaying
organic material from the bottom, you are also removing much of
the 'food' for the algae.
Another good thing to do is to cut back on feeding your fish,
until you get your string algae under control. The fish food,
both eaten and digested, and the uneaten food, will both also
contribute to this algae growth - so don't worry about the fish,
just stop feeding for awhile.
There are several products available which can and will 'help'
with the string algae problem, like barley bales and/or barley
pellets. The idea is that by adding these to the pond, they will
also start to decay in the water, and the resulting natural
'humic acids' will actually oxidize the algae, and help keep it
under control.
Farmers in the 13th century noticed that lakes with bales of
barley straw in them, had much less muck and string algae in them. So, now we use them in fish ponds. Barley pellets are a
newer version of the same idea, but will generally start working
faster. Barley straw needs several weeks before it starts
working, and only after it starts to 'rot' in the water.
Another way to help with string algae is to raise your salt level
in the pond. Anything over .3% will help control the algae, but
is best for KOI ponds, as the salt may also negatively affect
water garden plants.
We also really like the Microbe Lift line of products. They also
seem to help control string algae, by adding millions of
beneficial microbes and beneficial bacteria that will feed off of
this algae and also help to decompose any other organic waste in
the pond.
An alternate method that many pond owner prefer is to add a
chemical algaecide like PondCare's Algae Fix. This is safe for
fish and plants, and does seem to temporarily knock out suspended
and filamenous algae, but does need to be added periodically for
long term control.
One new method that we've been hearing more and more about is
adding a certain type of clay to the pond water. Calcium
Montmorillonite Clay is gaining popularity among KOI pond owners
and water gardeners as an effective, natural method of algae
control. It is also noted as having many beneficial qualities for
the fish in the pond.
Happy ponding.
About The Author: Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com and pond-filters-online.com. He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 6,000 pond owners. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary 'New Pond Owners Guide' for joining, just visit MacArthur Water Gardens
"Specializing in pond filtration and clear water solutions"
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