Serious Algae problem

[RobAmy]

@Meyer Jordan Thank you very much for your detailed answer. Clears things up for me

 

[AnthonyRibis]

I have got quite a bit of the same stuff, ugly stuff for sure! Hoping bumping up the filtration/circulation knocks it back so I can find a happy medium for me and the Koi.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

A naturally occurring event in all ponds that experience a true Winter. As bacteria and other algae specie begin growing it should disappear..

 

[Lisak1]

We get "winter algae" but it's not string. It's kind of... ruffley? If that's a word? It's really cool stuff that we've only seen over these last two winters. I'll try to get a picture of it before the fish eat it all. They had cleaned out about a third of the pond as of yesterday. They start with the stuff that grows in the shallower parts of the pond - I'm guessing because it greens up first.

 

[Margo]

I get the ruffley stuff also - I always wondered about how it is different from string algae. It's sorta pretty. I usually just physically remove it as it comes of in hunks.

 

[Lisak1]

I get the ruffley stuff also

You do! That's good to know! Hey, wait... you live near me! Maybe we've discovered a new form of algae indigenous to Northern Illinois!

 

[callingcolleen1]

Yep, pretty hardy stuff. It is really unfortunate that it can detract from the looks of a pond because filmentous algae can probably do more for water quality than the best biofilter on the market. Nature knows!

My algae grows best all winter long, even under the ice. Nature provide greenery for fish to eat and hide in all winter long. It is a necessary evil that is good for the winter pond. Come spring the big sedges and floating hornwort start to regenerate and grow and the algae cannot compete. It will all be long gone by the long hot dog days of summer if you have plenty of sedges.

 

[sissy]

I think the aeration is what keeps most of it away on my pond .I make sure water keeps moving on the surface of the pond also .You can see it under my bridge

 

[callingcolleen1]

yes that is true Sissy, good water movement helps a lot as well!

 

[CometKeith]

I pull it out by hand or use a thistle style brush to pull it out in the spring. Once my pond is fully cycled 95% of it disappears because there is not enough food for the algae because the beneficial bacterial uses it instead. By cleaning your pond too much you can delay it from cycling. I never add chemicals to my pond. I don't see the need for it.

 

[sissy]

I used toilet bowl brushes I got at the dollar store to clean things .There are always 2 or 3 by the pond so I can clean the cages on the pumps good .

 

[callingcolleen1]

My fish are pecking away at the algae now that water is little warmer

 

[RobAmy]

I use this dryer vent brush, works good

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ettore-Dryer-Vent-Cleaning-Brush-48400/204267902

 

[Gunner68]

Hey robamy did the treatment work on your pond and was the fish ok with it . I may give it a go if it worked.

 

[sissy]