Help my pond is horribly green

[Jhignuttsmith]

My small pond stays green. What’s the best deterrent to treat? I used algae fix med every three days but it persists. Plants? UV lights? Also I have metered water from local company, is it safe for my pond and if not can I use charcoal stick to absorb the chemicals in it or leave it in sun to dissipate?

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

Please give us more information about your pond, such as size, what kind of fish, filtration, how long has it been up and running……?

We don’t recommend any chemicals other than those to remove chlorine. Tell us about your pond (as above). We can give you so much more help if we know what your setup is.

No way we can tell you if your water is safe, but assume you mean chlorine and chloramines? You can get a test kit to check for things that are helpful to know for your fish: ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, etc. In general, charcoal isn’t going to remove anything (but it can never hurt).

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum. Plants via a bog garden, best long term low maintenance fix. UV can also work but usually more maintenance.

Green water

I have a small pond of about 100 gallons and no fish, and the last few years i keep getting green water. I deep clean it every spring and put fresh water in it. I’ve tried numerous pond treatments and it still turns green. I’ve had the pond for many years and never had an issue like this. I just...

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[WaterGardener]

@JRS, curious as to why you say that UV is more maintenance. Is it that the bulbs need changing after a couple of years?

Isn't a bog a good bit of maintenance with planting and cleaning out dead plant material?

 

[j.w]

@Jhignuttsmith
Plants suck!

 

[JRS]

@JRS, curious as to why you say that UV is more maintenance. Is it that the bulbs need changing after a couple of years?

Isn't a bog a good bit of maintenance with planting and cleaning out dead plant material?

Good point, perhaps my preference manifesting itself without an extensive explanation.

I was thinking more along the lines of mechanical issues and parts cost, the regular bulb replacements and perhaps quartz sleeves depending on the unit, if they crack. Just answered a recent post, where it was cheaper to get a new unit than replace the quartz sleeve, which was not readily available.

So far my little bog takes a few minutes in the spring to trim the dead stuff and treats the cause of the algae bloom ("plants suck" up all the nutrients @j.w) rather than the symptoms is where I was coming from.

 

[WaterGardener]

Guess I've been lucky with my UV system. It isn't used much though. Over 9 years the bulbs have been replaced maybe twice and the glass tubes cleaned only once.

 

[Bluerooster]

My goldfish pond is doing quite well with almost no maintenance other than pulling out a few plants from the bog. Water is clear, lillies are blooming, fish are happy, it has some floating algae clumps, but that's all part of nature. I have pretty much let nature take it's course, and wow, all the pond type wildlife that have taken up residence. Frogs, salamanders, dragonflies, etc. My goldfish pond has become it's own ecosystem, and is interesting to watch.