Algae and Your Pond

[crsublette]

Right. People should try to learn to work with algae, not completely eliminate it...imo.

@MitchM , I agree, but, algae definitely CAN become so terrible, persistent, long lasting, that "not eleminating" much of it might be unavoidable.


... If people choose to completely eliminate all of the algae... then they need to learn "what other issues" they must address due to the elimination of algae....

 

[crsublette]

Anybody can post anything they want... will not offend me, as long it is loosely related to the topic of algae... Do not think there is a specific "flow" to this thread.

So if.. there are any good observations... good articles... good explanations... good solutions... good threads and literature and posts....

Then, please do share them here!!

 

[sissy]

I think maybe it depends on what kind of algae also .I get a little string algae in my lily pond and it will choke off leaves from there stems .I had to pull it out .But then put an air stone in there and taddies are in there now and they need something to eat also .Then taddies will get legs and go to new homes .I get algae on my waterfall rocks and I leave it and love the look of it and i know it helps clean the water .I only use stuff in my empty stock until I get babies from my fish and then once I get enough I call people to get there new fish .

 

[crsublette]

I think this would be a good time to talk about WHY some folks have such a terrible, persistent problem with algae while others just allow time to fix their algae problem.

Lets start with what the "nature" guys have to say here, which I think what they say is quite pertinent as to the reason why some folk have such a terrible, persistent problem with algae.

Would love ya'll to contribute...

@morewater @Lisak1 @Meyer Jordan @MitchM ... and others...

 

[sissy]

I wonder if she put air stones in her stream it would be better solution .

 

[crsublette]

Here is a good post and interesting thread.

Green water ggrrrrrr..... (https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/green-water-ggrrrrrr.18979/)

Stay away from ionizers! https://www.gardenpondforum.com/articles/are-pond-ionizers-safe-you-be-the-judge.23/

Green water is a sign that your biofiltration is working. It is a normal occurrence in Northern latitude ponds. It is Nature's way of restarting the aquatic food chain and should disappear on its own as the zooplankton population gets re-established. During this time it is important to not overfeed your fish.
Spring algae blooms (green water) are a sign of a pond re-establishing its biological balance.

 

[crsublette]

I wonder if she put air stones in her stream it would be better solution .

@sissy , well, streams are already very well aerated... not for sure how much an air stone in the stream would help.... but worth trying if there is the means and motivation to do so.

Most likely the accumulation of organics OR increased decomposition OR stream beds are just a good place for particular specie types of algae.

 

[crsublette]

Streams and waterfalls resemble to me to be a crude algae scrubber device (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algae_scrubber)...

...that is... using the algae to help clean the water... when the algae gets thick enough to "pull/remove" out of the stream, then simply just remove the algae from the stream for your garden compost pile.

 

[crsublette]

Yeah, this is the thread...


Good example showing when UV anod algae treatments are NOT necessary...


Maybe not true for everyone, but could possibly be true for your pond...


@Patchtig , did the best thing for her pond... As far as I am aware, she did NOTHING... no UV... no algae treatments... she just had patience....


Beautiful pond @Patchtig


From thread "Green water ggrrrrr...." (https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/green-water-ggrrrrrr.18979/)


27th March, 2016

29th, April, 2016

 

[crsublette]

Seeing is believing...

Please share your algae testimonials as well.


Reference your thread's hyperlink here ... a post... or pictures.... etc...

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Everything that you ever wanted to know (and a lot that you didn't) about algae.
http://classroom.sdmesa.edu/eschmid/lecture11-microbio.htm

 

[cas]

A well written and, for the most part, accurate article.

I thought it brought up a lot of items that people may over look.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I'm interested in the kind of plants you mention, please share!!!!

All plants, terrestrial and aquatic, require, and thus utilize, certain nutrients. The two most important being Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Different species of plants exhibit widely varying abilities in assimilating these nutrients. Since Algae also requires these same nutrients, it is advantageous to utilize higher plants (macrophytes) to control excessive algae growth as these higher plants have the ability to out-compete algae in this nutrient quest. The plants that exhibit a higher ability of assimilation are certainly the best choices to utilize in algae control. Many aquatic plants have this competitive edge. This list of plants include:
Nymphea alba (European White Water Lily), Phragmites australis (Common Reed), Sparganium erectum (Simple Stem Bur-reed), Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag Iris), Schoenoplectus lacustris (Common Club rush), Carex acutiformis (Lesser Pond Sedge), Hydrilla verticillata (Water Thyme) and Elodea/Egeria/Anacharis.
Although any plant in that list would prove worthy, their ability to assimilate nutrients pales in comparison to Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes.) and Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes). However, everything has a cost. As the ability of a plant to assimilate nutrients increases, so does its invasiveness. Periodic manual reduction (thinning) will likely be required.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...rEwL0K5HxUA8n_LcED4n2w&bvm=bv.122448493,d.amc

 

[crsublette]

I thought it brought up a lot of items that people may over look.

Yep, I found this tidbit from that article quite interesting....

"Unabated algal blooms in lakes and stagnant waters usually leads to massive decrease
in oxygen content especially in the lower lake regions which often leads to sudden episodes of fish killings in affected water sheds.
- in 2008, there were 146 known coastal regions in the world in which fish and bottom-
feeding life forms have been entirely eliminated due to algal bloom connected oxygen
removal from these waters;
- one of these so-called "dead zones" is in the Gulf of Mexico which is about the size
of the city of New Jersey and expanding;
Only heavy investment into modern waste water treatment plants in the 1960s through 1980s in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the world - with the successful removal of phosphates and nitrogen from human waste streams - saved many prominent lakes (e.g. Lake Washington in the U.S., Lake Konstanz & Tegernsee in Germany) from progressive oversedimentation and "biological overkill"."

Algae CAN be both your FRIEND AND ENEMY.... A type of love / hate relationship.

 

[crsublette]

@Meyer Jordan , excellent post!

People have to control the nutrients in their ponds if they want to control the algae...

Not all plants are created equal... some plants are far better at nutrient consumption than others.... some plants are just "pretty for their looks" rather than actually useful in controlling the pond's nutrient pool... however, most, if not all, plants allow a home for various beneficial organisms that are very good to have in a pond.


Diana Walstad (a trained microbiologist) wrote an excellent book.

Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.
https://www.amazon.com/Ecology-Plan...B94K5I?ie=UTF8&qid=&ref_=tmm_kin_swatch_0&sr=


@cas and @Nepen ... The book also makes some good plant recommendations that would work for the pond. @Meyer Jordan already referenced quite a few of them.

Walstad also talks about the types of plants that can help fight algae through its allelopathic chemical release, which some of the plants can be used in the pond as well...