It's the scourge of backyard water gardeners everywhere: variously called "green water," "blanket weed" or "pond scum," it's known to scientists as thallophytes and to less-emotional water gardeners as green algae.
Green algae can flourish wherever there is light and fresh water -- in puddles, holes, even in your bathroom. It shouldn't surprise you then that green algae can overwhelm a typical backyard pond. Spores can invade via wind, rain or on the backs of fish and plants you buy. In the worst case scenario, algae can bloom into something called "pea soup," completely hiding everything else, including all your fish and underwater plants.
Green algae can not be completely eradicated from your pond -- and it shouldn't. Algae is a vital part of the natural ecology in all backyard ponds, keeping it in "balance" and helping to maintain a healthy environment for fish and other pond creatures. So a little algae is a good thing. But there's another reason why it's not sensible to to wipe algae out completely - it's simply not possible.
Why? Because, compared to nature, backyard water gardens contain several thousand times the number of fish and plants per gallon of water. Although we like to think that water gardens mimic nature, man-made ponds are very unnatural in just about every biological and chemical aspect, leading to uncontrolled algae growth.
So what's a backyard water gardener to do when it comes to staring down algae?
1. Don't put in too many fish: their excrement produces algae food like phosphates and nitrates.
2. Put a good number of aquatic plants in your pond. Aquatic plants soak up nutrients that otherwise would be eaten by algae. Cover half your pond with floating plants like water lilies, hyacinths and underwater plants like Cabomba.
3. Snails and tadpoles consume pond scum algae. Introduce some Japanese trapdoor snails and tadpoles.
If these "natural" solutions don't seem to work, or you don't have enough time before your big backyard party, you can use an algaecide can be your answer. Bio-filters can also work; they're designed to take out harmful ammonia put out by fish, rotting plants and algae, and excess fish food.
Once again, the ideal way to get rid of excess algae in a natural way is to lower the amount of nitrates and phosphates in your water garden. You can accomplish this by limiting fish, their food and maximizing the number of water plants.
Green algae can flourish wherever there is light and fresh water -- in puddles, holes, even in your bathroom. It shouldn't surprise you then that green algae can overwhelm a typical backyard pond. Spores can invade via wind, rain or on the backs of fish and plants you buy. In the worst case scenario, algae can bloom into something called "pea soup," completely hiding everything else, including all your fish and underwater plants.
Green algae can not be completely eradicated from your pond -- and it shouldn't. Algae is a vital part of the natural ecology in all backyard ponds, keeping it in "balance" and helping to maintain a healthy environment for fish and other pond creatures. So a little algae is a good thing. But there's another reason why it's not sensible to to wipe algae out completely - it's simply not possible.
Why? Because, compared to nature, backyard water gardens contain several thousand times the number of fish and plants per gallon of water. Although we like to think that water gardens mimic nature, man-made ponds are very unnatural in just about every biological and chemical aspect, leading to uncontrolled algae growth.
So what's a backyard water gardener to do when it comes to staring down algae?
1. Don't put in too many fish: their excrement produces algae food like phosphates and nitrates.
2. Put a good number of aquatic plants in your pond. Aquatic plants soak up nutrients that otherwise would be eaten by algae. Cover half your pond with floating plants like water lilies, hyacinths and underwater plants like Cabomba.
3. Snails and tadpoles consume pond scum algae. Introduce some Japanese trapdoor snails and tadpoles.
If these "natural" solutions don't seem to work, or you don't have enough time before your big backyard party, you can use an algaecide can be your answer. Bio-filters can also work; they're designed to take out harmful ammonia put out by fish, rotting plants and algae, and excess fish food.
Once again, the ideal way to get rid of excess algae in a natural way is to lower the amount of nitrates and phosphates in your water garden. You can accomplish this by limiting fish, their food and maximizing the number of water plants.
About the Author:
Looking to find the best deal on water gardens and ponds in St Louis, then visit MPR Supply's website to learn more.
There's only one green algae that I know and it's not a monster but a healthy super food. It is called organic chlorella and I love its detox effect on me.
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