Algae Management

[Feddy]

This is my first year with a fully functional pond, and I have a question about algae build up. From reading here, I know you want a healthy algae build up on the surfaces of your pond, but I wanted to see if what I'm experiencing now is normal. Over the past month or so, my algae has started to grow much longer and thicker than it had through all of the warm summer months, which baffles me. It's gotten thick enough that I've had to change the the batting fiber in my DIY filter twice over the past weeks, just to maintain the water flow.

My question is if this is completely normal, or if I should be concerned. All other aspects of the pond, and more importantly my fish, seem to be completely healthy.

Thanks,
Feddy

 

[Big Lou]

How many fish do you have in the pond?

 

[Feddy]

Approximately 250 gallon pond, and I have (4) 4"-5" Shubukins, as well as 3 small feeder goldfish that were in hiding when I added the others. I didn't realize that they were still alive. 7 fish in total.

 

[sissy]

Nutrients feeding algae then .I have no algae build up .I aerate my pond a lot .Water movement is the key and not over feeding or over stocking your pond

 

[Feddy]

Sissy, when you say you aerate your pond a alot, what exactly do you mean. I have a regular flowing waterfall, but no other means of aeration.

 

[teeemkay]

Some algae in a pond is OK. The fish might even nibble on it after you stop feeding them for the winter. My pond tends to get algae blooms in the spring and then again in the fall.

When it gets *really* long and stringy like what you are describing, I use a coarse brush to scrape it off the rocks/waterfall as best I can. The brush I use is actually a birdbath cleaning brush I got from Foster and Smith--works very well and it's easy to pull the clumps of algae off it as you work.

If it's still a concern, you can always buy a water test kit to see if something is off with the water quality in the pond.

 

[Lisak1]

The algae in our pond is very seasonal - we see things in the spring that disappear once the warmer weather comes and vice versa. And we've noted a particular type of algae that we always see coming out of winter as the ice is melting off the pond. That has been an interesting feature of pond keeping that we didn't anticipate.

Your pond is small which can be more difficult to manage. Slight shifts can lead to more dramatic changes than you would see in a larger pond. Not sure if that's helpful but something to keep in mind.

 

[sissy]

I use an aerator and I have a ball valve on one of my outlets from my pump because the water would be to strong for my filter and plus I made a waterfall spitter out of pvc pipe .I have used some kind of extra water movement I could and I really get no algae .muck yes algae no

 

[budgenator]

I've found that the Angel Hair algae (sounds better than string algae) is last algae to go dormant in the fall and the first to wake up in the spring. Just keep up the aeration and physically remove what you can. As the water gets cooler your Biological filtration diminishes and that gives that algae a chance to go wild.
here's what you want to do

1. Clean the pond bottom of as much sludge and mulm as you can.
2. Rinse your filters until they are unclogged but not "clean",each week or as necessary. Filters need bacteria to work completely and if they are too clean they are dead.
3. Increase aeration, at 250 gallons a big aquarium air pump and stone should work fine
4. Make sure you have enough carbonate in the water, put some crushed oyster shell or limestone in a small filter bag and put it in the water filter
5. Change about 10% of the water each week and use a chlorine remover

With patience that should help your problem