Pond Algae Control

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Control String Algae in a Garden Pond

Several natural factors cause algae in your garden pond and force you to control algae growth in summer. The rain, pollen count, rotten foliage and the excrements of pond fish create a surplus of nutrients in the water that is ideal to increase algae growth. Another reason is the warming of the pond water by the sun. These factors will produce green algae and string algae in your biotope even with a sufficient amount of pond plants. In small amounts these green algae are useful for your garden pond, because they are a natural cleaner of the water. It is important to control excessive growth of pond algae, because otherwise it is going to disturb the biological balance in your aquatic garden. The algae will tangle up with your pond plants and provide an unhealthy environment for your pond fish.
 

You can control string algae in a garden pond mechanically by rolling these green algae around a rough, not lacked wooden stick. Also with a pond net you are able to take these long and thin algae out of your fishpond.

In large water gardens and big garden ponds with lots of green algae, we advice to get rid of the pond plague with a technical solution. Special uv-devices, that send short-wave and high energy, ultraviolet light, can kill all micro algae in the pond.
For pond algae control you should use this technical method only as a last solution in fighting pond algae, because these modern uv-devices damage all micro organisms in the water.

 
An aerator as well as a partial exchange of about 30% of the water in your fishpond is an other possibility to reduce and control pond algae. Be careful and avoid any shock effect for your sensitive fish and keep an eye on the biological balance in your aquatic eco system. Provide enough oxygen in the pond by water circulation. Increasing water temperatures in summer worsen as well the water quality as the living conditions of the fish by an increasing lack of oxygen. We like to remember that the installation of Garden Pond Streams & Water Garden Waterfalls enriches the pond's water quality by water circulation and by providing necessary oxygen. The same benefits you may get by installing Decorative Water Garden Fountain in your garden landscape. All these possibilities are vital precautions for a successful pond algae control.
 

Stop Algae in your Fishpond | Cause and Effect

To stop algae in a pond you have to analyse the cause of blue and green algae in the water garden. Compare to a natural lake the amount of fish is very high in relationship to the volume of your artificial pond. After a short time the excrements of your fish provide much more nutrients than your pond plants can absorb and transform. This is the moment when the ecological balance tips over and green planktons starts spreading excessively.

In some cases, we also heard from garden pond owners, who have used soil from their garden for their garden plants instead of small gravel. This provides best conditions for green algae to develop. Algae in the fishpond also start growing, if fertilizers from the lawn or nearby garden plants are washed into the pond water. Old foliage on the ground of your aquatic garden, pollen count and even rain can provide a fertile base for micro algae and string algae. An effective precaution to stop algae from spreading excessively is to bring floating pond plants in your water garden, because these flora is taking nutrients direct from the water. We recommend Anacharis as a very effective aquatic plant to stop algae growth.

Precautions against an algae pond start already in autumn and after the winter during Garden Pond Care in Spring, when dead foliage and autumn leaves have to be removed from the ground of the pond. This helps to avoid that rotten vegetation creates deadly gases during winter and produces nutrients in summer. Also feeding your fish to generously with heavy and cheap fish food can provide additional substances for algae growth. Overall, the fact that amounts of ammonium, nitrate and nitrite get into the water simply by rain is another cause for a backyard pond turning green.

To fight algae with natural countermeasures for a prolonged period, you need to plant sufficient pond plants in your aquatic garden that are able to bind nutrients and you need further floating plants like water lilies, that will spend shadow for your fish. Evergreen underwater plants, that clean the water during the whole year are an additional step to enrich the water with oxygen and to reduce string algae. We advice to follow all these natural and ecological useful precautions, before you try to get rid of green algae with chemical substances. To stop algae with a chemical clarifier should always be the last choice, after all natural and biological ways have failed as well as all technical devices like pond bio-filters uv-devices and pond pumps.

The balance of oxygen and water quality in aquatic ecosystems depends also a lot on the proper amount of fish and other pond life in relationship to pond volume and water flora. Check out which fish can live together in harmony and what kind of underwater landscape they need. With Water Garden Plants, Floating Pond Plants and underwater evergreen flora you can increase oxygen in the water and reduce substances that help algae to grow. If you guarantee continuous water circulation, especially during hot summer months, you are on the best way to control pond algae in your ecological biotope.
 

String Algae and other Green Algae in a Garden Pond