How to eradicate string algae?

[BarbAZCA]

I have a small inground water feature (100 gallon pond) and waterfall on a filter system with automatic water level (float). I can't have plants or fish because the raccoons destroy everything. Last summer, the first time in 10 years, the pond developed string algae. It has proliferated over the winter. The good - keeps the water clear (what little I can see). Other than power washing, is there a quick and easy way to clear it out and start with fresh water? I would be open to an eco-friendly chemical then drain the pond and do a spring cleaning of debris in the bottom of the pond. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Lisak1]

If you have no plants or fish you can use any chemical algae remover. You don't need to empty the pond to use it.

However, I would take it one step further and ask yourself why you have string algae now? My guess would be that debris at the bottom of the pond. I'd start there and clear out as much organic waste as you can and see what happens.

 

[BarbAZCA]

If you have no plants or fish you can use any chemical algae remover. You don't need to empty the pond to use it.

However, I would take it one step further and ask yourself why you have string algae now? My guess would be that debris at the bottom of the pond. I'd start there and clear out as much organic waste as you can and see what happens.

Thank you for the tip about cleaning out built-up debris. I'll start with the algae remover so I don't need to power wash, then drain and clear out everything.

 

[addy1]

Peroxide kills off the string real nicely. In AZ I used 1 liter per 1000 gallons.
Pull the dead algae out so you don't add more nutrients to the pond.

 

[BarbAZCA]

Peroxide kills off the string real nicely. In AZ I used 1 liter per 1000 gallons.
Pull the dead algae out so you don't add more nutrients to the pond.

Thank you for the easy fix. I brushed my pond rocks and found one goldfish that the raccoons haven't devoured. I guess all the algae has been a good hiding place. Maybe the fish and I should just be happy with the algae.

 

[kate gusky]

Central CA: I have a rough-sided concrete pond with 3 large koi & mosquito fish, and string algae just came in last month, new development, don't know where it came from. Barley straw extract isn't strong enough to eradicate it and it wreaks havoc with my expensive in-water German pump that has to chop it up. I have a small rubber-lined waterfall that goes from a filtration box above the pond so in addition, string algae attaches and grows from that lining. The fish will eat the algae to some extent but can't eat up in the waterfall. Years spent getting rid of leaks, and I don't want to dismantle things.

 

[msponder]

We use a veggie filter. String algae can't compete with regular plants. Each spring, the string algae takes off first. Then the plants out-compete it. Our filter is 4 x 8 x 1.5 ft and the pond is 4,000 cu ft. The water enters one end, flows through water celery and parrots feather and out the other. It takes about an hour to turn over 1 x. The slow flow allows the roots of the plants to filter the water. Once a year, we suck out the several inches of muck in the bottom of the filter. A baby pool works too. The plants grab the nutrients as well. We have mosquito fish in the filter as we would otherwise have mosquitos!

 

[brokensword]

We use a veggie filter. String algae can't compete with regular plants. Each spring, the string algae takes off first. Then the plants out-compete it. Our filter is 4 x 8 x 1.5 ft and the pond is 4,000 cu ft. The water enters one end, flows through water celery and parrots feather and out the other. It takes about an hour to turn over 1 x. The slow flow allows the roots of the plants to filter the water. Once a year, we suck out the several inches of muck in the bottom of the filter. A baby pool works too. The plants grab the nutrients as well. We have mosquito fish in the filter as we would otherwise have mosquitos!

that's why many of us here use bog filtration, among other benefits!

 

[mgmine]

Sodium percarbonate off of eBay. Cheap and effective.

 

[GBBUDD]

The veggie filter only has one of the three parts of a bog filter. But the veggie growers don't care about max filtration just maximum veggie yield. Those systems are lacking bio surface area for intriguing bacteria to grow as well as trapping sediment within the stones for the bacteria and a host of other micro organisms to thrive in the gravel bed.