Algae Control

If one has a pond, any kind of pond, it can be a garden pond or a fish pond or a backyard pond one is going to be hit by algae and will need to know how to control it. Algae have been around from before man came around and will be around for a long time to come. Algae range from the simplest to a complex biological kind but here we are not going into that. It is best just to know the basics and how to control it. Algae are that mysterious green slimy looking thing that seems to grow in every nook and corner of a tank or pond in which the water is stagnant and soon the pond will start to stink and in there are fish in it they will start to die. Algae basically live on light and nutrients and both these are found in ponds. One method is to grow nutrient absorbing plants like Anacharia in the pond this will hinder growth of algae. The other is to use a biological filter system. This is basically using one form of bacteria to kill the other. The other is changing the water frequently of the pond. Brown algae is the first to appear in a newly setup pond and the way of controlling brown algae is checking the phosphate and nitrate levels in the pond. Changing the water frequently is one way of getting rid of this algae and the other is reducing the nutrient level of the pond. These algae may also disappear as quickly as it appears.

The green algae are the one that are the worst as they make a pond look dirty. The only way to get rid of algae is to make sure that the water of the pond is well aerated and that the nutrient levels are kept down which means not over feeding the fish and adding more fishes to the pond. Using a biological filter is the best protection against algae growth although there are other methods of controlling algae by using chemicals to reduce the nutrient level in the pond by adding dyes to reduce the light in the pond and also using ultra sound. But there is no sure fire method for controlling algae. String algae control can be done by cleaning these algae with a brush and hair algae control can also be done in the same way. But these are tedious methods. In some ponds copper to control algae is used. That is that a copper dust film is coated on one side of the drip line and the water passing over the copper absorbs it. This is an extremely costly method. Algae control using swans who feed on the algae or there are certain species of fishes that also eat algae but this is again a costly method and some of the species may not adopt or may grow too big for the pond. Barley straw extract has also been used in small pond which has a capacity of less then 3000 gallons. But there are mixed results about its success.

Well the most practical way of controlling algae from growing and spreading in a pond is to clean the pond regularly. Use a good biological filtration system; keep the nutrient level under control and plant as many nutrient absorbing plants in the pond. Most people who have built ponds do get disenchanted once the algae problem starts to occur. So before the algae problem set in and it will as all it needs is light and nutrients and the brown algae does not need too much light either to grow. It is better to take ample preventive methods right from the start by using bacteria growth, the right chemicals and a good filtration and aeration system. Also the water should not be allowed to stagnant in any part of the pond.