Pond Dye?

[dieselplower]

Actually, it is not entirely true that algae comes from too much nutrients in the water, algae will grow in a clean pond that has no fish or waste just as well if not better than a pond with fish!!!! The fish will eat the algae too!

The blue dye will help block out the strongest spectrum of light that causes the algae to grow. The blue dye is very safe and many years ago I did use it, but it does not last too long and the filters will filter it out.

In nature, the water can be dyed naturally as in the case of my pond right now. Caterpillars are here and they are dropping potent little dung pellets that cause my water to turn golden color, and that is helping to block the strongest spectrum of sun naturally. My water is still very clear, but it can go quite golden this time of the year, but the effects only last as long as the caterpillars are there, but soon they will cocoon and be gone.

Also some of the rivers north of the 57th parallel {northern Alberta} have a brown color to them as the hard wood trees that grow along the waters edges cause the river to look brown and dirty, but the river is just that way naturally in some cases. You can get the same effect from large amount of peat extract, the water will turn a rich golden color as well, like in nature, as nature does provide a color for the water too!

A pond with no fish can still be filthy. I maintained a very large pond for a customer of mine that had no fish, but was surrounded by trees. The bottom of the pond was filled with leaves, which break down into the food that algae eat. The pond had a nasty case of some sort of carpet algea all over the top. I would not consider a pond clean just because there are no fish in it.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Take a jar of clean water and place in the sun, watch how fast it turns pea green or gets string algae, I have done that, you do not need dirty water to get algae to grow!

 

[callingcolleen1]

My pond on the other hand has lots of stuff falling right now into the pond, and the water is turning golden brown from the caterpillar dung, and I clean the filters every day, but right now it is hard to keep up, yet the algae is just about all gone now. In the winter, when the fish are not pooping and nothing is falling in pond, and water could not look cleaner, then I have lots of string algae cause there is no leaves on trees to block the sunshine. Now that everything in falling into pond and fish are eating dog food and pooping up a storm, the algae is now almost all gone!

Lots of clean ponds have algae, because the sun can be strong in some ponds and that is all that is required to make the algae grow good.

 

[dieselplower]

Take a jar of clean water and place in the sun, watch how fast it turns pea green or gets string algae, I have done that, you do not need dirty water to get algae to grow!

I have done that with my pond water and tap water a number of times and it does not go green. Maybe your clean water is not as clean as you think!

 

[icsd71]

I use plants to help filter the water also. Duck weed, lilies, floating plants. Gives lots of shade and helps keep the algae at bay. Not 100% effective but helps overall.

 

[callingcolleen1]

All I can tell you is that algae grows in clean water too, see it all the time in nice clean fountains, that is why they sell stuff to get rid of algae in nice clean fountains with just clean water from tap. Most tap water contains phosphate, and that feeds the algae, most people do not know this. If you leave a jar of water open, on the window, it will grow algae sooner or later, as it can take a couple weeks. I know this cause I used to grow hornwort in little glass jars in the window, with nice clean water, and it turns to algae...