HELP! I have algae in my pond!!!
Algae Problems in your pond, discussed.
I hear this one a lot. There may be several reasons for this…
#1 is something “they” call New Pond Syndrome - loosely defined this is an over abundance of algae in the first season or two after a pond is built. The theory is that until the pond has the right amount of natural bacteria and mature plants to help break down muck and detritus, algae has a lot of nutrients to feed on and hence, thrive.
#2 is an over abundance of external nutrients in the pond. This can come in many ways; it could be fertilizer runoff from the yard getting into the pond, or dirt and mulch getting into the pond. A well designed pond should not receive any ground water runoff, but some ponds are not constructed with this in mind.
#3 is too high of a fish load. Fish load is the amount of fish waste that must be processed by the filters and the natural helpers in your pond. If there are too many fish for the amount of filtration, this causes a huge spike in nutrient on which algae thrives. I’ve see ponds with so many fish in them they couldn’t swim in a straight line or they’re ram into each other! That much fish waste simply could not be processed by the filtration at hand, and resulted in many algae blooms throughout the season. If you have more than one koi per hundred gallons of water in a well designed pond, you may need to get rid of some fish. The easiest way to do this is to list free pond fish on craigslist or facebook market, and they will usually all be gone in a day!
#4 is simply a dirty pond. Even a highly effective ecosystem pond needs to be cleaned out once in a while to remove any muck and detritus that have collected on the bottom. Filters need to be cleaned as well to ensure optimal efficiency.
#5 is a lack of copper ions in the water. Copper is the mortal enemy of string algae, and having a copper Ionizer in your pond can greatly reduce or sometimes completely eliminate string algae from your pond. We would not have a pond without one.
#6 is a lack of, or not enough plants. Plants assist in the processing of waste and are a natural part of the Nitrogen Cycle.
This is by no means a complete list of things that can exacerbate algae problems so it goes without saying that there may be many different reasons for algae, and different solutions depending on the root cause. MetroPonds can help with your algae problem. Give me a call to discuss your needs.