Algea during winter

[marsha]

Every winter I get tons of algea on the liner of the pond, ther is actually more during winter than there is in the summer maybe due to the plants going dormant and fish not eating it, not sure. The water stays crystal clear, but each spring I have to drain the pond to remove some of the algea that gets about 3 inches thick on the liner. is there any way of avoiding this? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[addy1]

That is good algae, carpet algae, the critters love it, the fry live in it, it helps keep the water nice.

 

[Lisak1]

I agree with addy - that's good stuff! Your fish will nibble on it until it gets warm enough to start feeding them again. Remember algae is really just another plant in your pond, doing it's part to keep things in balance. It's doing the same thing the "favorable" plants do - helping to keep the water clean for your fish. I would suggest you give your pond some time to get up and running next spring and see what happens - I think you'll save yourself a lot of work!

 

[JohnHuff]

I get that too but it goes away by itself as the weather warms up. Think of it as a natural water purifier.

 

[dieselplower]

Well it seems no-one answered the question... I too got a LOT of algae on the walls this past Winter and it was a problem this Spring as it died off and clogged up my pump half a dozen times, maybe more. I'm not exactly sure how to solve the problem. Ensuring the pond is very clear of debris like leaves before Winter should help. I did not do a good job cleaning mine before last Winter. It would also be a good idea to keep an eye on phosphate levels, as although it isn't harmful to fish, plants to consider it food.

 

[Dave 54]

We have a carpet of algae on the sides and bottom of our pond 24/7 365 days of the year it makes the pond sides and bottom more natural looking especialy in a formal koi pond where aquatic plants are banned .
Think of your algae as a good algae what you dont want to see is string algae thars a pain that alot of folks on this site seem to suffer from each spring ( never had a problem with it as it doesnt afflict our pond which I believe is caused by exessive nutients in the water .
As John says think of it as a natural water purifier and learn to work with it. and keep it on the sides of your pond

Well it seems no-one answered the question... I too got a LOT of algae on the walls this past Winter and it was a problem this Spring as it died off and clogged up my pump half a dozen times, maybe more. I'm not exactly sure how to solve the problem. Ensuring the pond is very clear of debris like leaves before Winter should help. I did not do a good job cleaning mine before last Winter. It would also be a good idea to keep an eye on phosphate levels, as although it isn't harmful to fish, plants to consider it food.

Desilplower make sure both your pond and filters are cleaned prior to the winter the less nutrients in the water the less algae.
If possible do as we do wuth waterchanges throughout the winter months using the trickle method , it may take time but the water trickling into your pond is warmed by the ambient temperature of the pond as I've said before in other threads we never suffer the effects of algae die offs clogged drains nor string algae or green water

Dave

 

[marsha]

I have it on my liner now but it isn't bad, but like dieselpower mine gets really bad in the winter 3 and even sometimes 4 inches long. I don't mind carpet algae but it gets terrible.