Algae Question - I've Read the Algea 101 Article

[jgrakla]

Hello:

I have read the Algae Control 101 article posted on this site, but I still have a few questions.

I am a new pond owner, had my pond for about two months now. It is a small rigid liner type with rock bottom and a fountain/pump. I have 4 small KOI. I have been careful to not overfeed. There is no left over food in the tank.

I have not had any algae problems until just recently. A green film has developed on my rocks at bottom and on the side walls of the rigid liner. The water itself is clear, not green. I am not sure which type of algea this may be nor whether this cause for alarm. I also don't quite understand why this came along all of a sudden. Our weather just started getting colder here and water temperatures have dropped down to around 50-60 degrees regularly. From reading the article, I understand algae is typically more of a warm weather and lots of sunny days type phenomenon, but that is kind of opposite of our weather lately. So not sure of the cause, and not sure if I should take any steps to correct at this point, or if this is just a normal/expected thing.

I read a few things about algecide but I understand that can upset the balance of things. I also read a post about dumping barley malt in the tank??? Not sure what that was about.

If any one could offer some additional insight and/or recommendations I would appreciate it.

It's great to have this site and others to ask questions of!

Thanks
Jason

 

[DrCase]

hay jason....green on the rocks and liner are not a bad thing...your water is clear...the fish will have something to nibble on this winter...the cold water will slow it down...

 

[koiguy1969]

never heard of barley malt, but barley extract,does wonders for alge,but it wont kill existing alge,it produces humic acids wich detere alge growth. you start it early spring before alge starts. the acids basically turn to hydrogen peroxide,slowly, and destroy alges ability to absorb nutrients. or atleast thats the way i understand it. but it is the most effective way to control string algae. barley straw bales work to but you have to wait for the fermentation process to occur,pellets work well but will stain yopur water brown for a while.

 

[KINGART253]

I may be butting in, but I use VIRESCO to stop string algae. Viresco is a group of bacteria that was developed specifically for getting rid of string algae. It is a compound of bacteria that removes the food source of algae. If interested E-mail me and I'll give you the details. I don't sell it, just use it and I find that it works.
KingArt

 

[DrCase]

dont think twice.. but in....we need all the input we can get