Mark

Are There Different Treatments For Different Algae Types?

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You might recall a recent article where I talked about pond weeds and algae, and that when you deal with weeds, it’s important to identify what you have so that you can treat it effectively.

Different weeds require different treatments in some cases.

But what about algae? Does this work the same way?

Well, kind of, but not so much…let me explain.

There are some things that might be used to help with algae problems that are very specific. These would include uv light, which is really only useful on green water issues. It won’t help with string algae problems. Ultrasound can help with both of these general types of algae but there are some very specific species of algae in each group that it may not work well against due to their cell structure.

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A Leading Cause Of Algae In Fish Ponds

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As far as small fish ponds go, pond algae is a pretty common problem. In truth, you don’t necessarily need fish to have algae issues but there’s no question that our finned friends add another dimension into a water garden that may promote the growth of algae. I say “may” because you can’t correlate fish and algae blooms 100% of the time. Nevertheless, the two go together often enough to encourage us to look into the reasons why.

There’s good news here too because for the most part, as the pond owner, you can control most of these things in one way or another and that means you have a direct influence on these frustrating algae outbreaks.

How Many Fish Is Too Many?

This is what I call the “sardine can effect” and it comes from watching my father-in-law snack on sardines and crackers. Have you ever noticed how many fish are crammed into that tiny metal canister? It ain’t pretty.

Believe it or not, a similar, although less dramatic event can happen in a small pond. Every pond, no matter it’s size, will only be able to safely hold so many fish. There are limits to everything. The overall gallon volume and size of the pond will be the first limiting factor.

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Keeping Your Koi And Other Pond Fish Healthy

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You know, there are days when I envy a fish. I never have been that good of a swimmer and it must be nice to just cruise around under water and enjoy your life. I have to admit though, I wouldn’t want to live in some ponds. They just aren’t very accomidating.

I’m not talking about a small pond with little bit of green water or a spiff of string algae in a few spots. It’s the things you can’t usually see that will kill you. As a pond owner, and a fish care giver (sorry I can’t think of a better description at the moment) it’s important to know how to keep your fish healthy, and in simple terms, that often comes down to keeping their home, i.e. water in a healthy condition as well.

Let me say that again…healthy water usually equals healthy fish.

So let me leave you with a few fish friendly tips for healthy pond management.

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Aquatic Weeds And Algae – What To Treat First

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In large ponds there are times when if it weren’t for bad luck, you’d have no luck at all. What I mean is that while pond weeds or pond algae aren’t all that uncommon during the summer, it’s bad enough if you have one of them, let alone both, or in the case of aquatic weeds, several different varieties.

Interestingly and often enough, when you have a big old algae bloom, it may choke off everything else and not allow other plants to grow. The same might be said of things like duckweed. When a pond owner treats the duckweed and clears it, lo and behold, an algae bloom crops up. Such is life I guess. Seriously though, the reason one plant simply took the place of the other is that you really didn’t address the reason the plants are growing so well in the first place. If nutrients are abundant, things will likely grow.

For the scope of this article however I want to talk about what you can do if you find several different plants sprouting up in your pond. In my opinion, it’s important to go at the problem in a logical fashion rather than just trying to kill everything in one atomic blast of chemicals. Namely because the latter approach usually doesn’t work well.

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What About Planting Lavender Around The Pond?

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Last week I mentioned the addition of a new product for small ponds that blended lavender straw and barley together to help retard algae in ponds. This combination has shown good effects, and there is anecdotal evidence by some pond owners that each of these plants can restrict algae growth on all their own.

But a question came up…is there any reasonable use for lavender around the pond instead of in it?

Interestingly the answer appears to be yes!

After posting last week’s pond tip I received the following email from our friend Vic Kovaks.

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Why Is Green Water So Hard To Control?

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Green water algae, which, as we’ve described before, is made up of millions of single cell algae that freely floats around in a pond, can be very difficult to get rid of once it develops out.

This is not new news for many pond owners that are plagued by it.

Here’s the normal course of events. A frustrated pond owner sees their water turning green. Over a few days or a few weeks time, the appearance could range from just a hint of tint to a full blown green catastrophe where you can’t even see your fish a few inches below the surface.

Quite often there’s a reasonable assumption that since the pond started out pretty clear, if you just drain and change the water out, then maybe the algae won’t come back. But this rarely if ever helps that much. It often turns out that this just ends up as a great waste of time and water because in a short while, the green water will be back, just as it was before.

The problem with the idea that you can just wash this green stuff away is that the root causes of why the algae is growing well to begin with have never been addressed. It’s also important to realize that almost any new pond, or freshly renewed pond that’s being started up in the spring, may very well show some green water symptoms early on.

As I pointed out in this particular video on making your own bio-filter, there is a time early on in a pond’s start up that you should use some form of beneficial bacteria to get some good bugs established in the pond, and in the filter. These are the cleaning and balancing mechanisms that a pond will use to keep things like green water from getting out of hand.

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