string algae and heat

[micaaronfl76]

if water temps get really high can that cause a string algae growth? i used tetra algae clear about 2 months ago and worked great but 2 weeks ago i had to use more as the algae came back and now it seems that i need to dose again very soon.

i live in philly and like most of the country its sweltering here.

 

[Waterbug]

It depends on the species. Some like cool water, some warmer. Many people think warmer water, or even weather, increases string algae growth but I think that has more to do with the algae has been growing for awhile and is only noticed by most people later in the summer, when it's grown to a large enough size, and it just happens to be hot. Also the larger of the plant gets the more its total mass can increase each day. Again, bigger are later in the season. When algae starts dying and floating around in clumps, still green, but basically at the end of its life cycle, many people see it for the first time at that point and think the sudden appearance is fast growth.

 

[sissy]

Yep algae just hangs around hiding until pop there it is .

 

[don't ask]

getting/got lots of that now... just breaks away from the bottom from fish grazing or just swimming past and next thing you know the surface is mostly covered with it

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Since nobody else said it yet, I'll jump in... Using a chemical treatment to control algae growth is always going to have short-term affects. You have to keep treating the pond all through the Summer to control the algae growth. The treatments you buy in the store won't ever completely remove algae, it just makes it appear to go away for awhile.

The only long-term solutions you have available are [1] UV filter, [2] biological filtration (includes skippy-type filters and heavy planting), and [3] bog filters. Methods 2 and 3 take time to get established and may not appear to be working at all the first year. Method 1 can have rapid results, but may be considered an expensive solution because you have to replace the UV bulb about once a year. Personally I believe the best solution is to mix together multiple filtration types.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Had some sting algae last month in the bottom pond, now that hornwort is growing like the weed it is, must have choked it out. I get lots of lush flowing string algae.... in the dead of winter, and early spring, grows quite well under the ice, matter of fact the fish eat it under the ice cause its about the only thing growing! You can grow hornwort quite well in streams too, Baby fish like to hide in it as well. I winter the hornwort under the ice, it sinks to the bottom of the pond when water temp drops, and winters nice there.

 

[addy1]

With no scientific evidence except observation, my bog and the plants in the pond have kept string algae away since we built the pond. The only place I get some string algae in the stream ponds water flow off and on, we might be string algae free in the stream if we ran it all the time. But even there it is minimal.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

addy - for what its worth, I keep my stream running constantly, and that is usually the first place I notice the string algae growing (and by the time I notice it, the strings are 5 to 10 feet long!) I have this feeling it grows more rapidly in running water?

 

[addy1]

Could be, the stream ponds get around 6 hours of running water a day, in two hour blocks of time. The stream ponds and collection areas tend to get some string, but not a ton. The stream ponds are full of plants, which helps keep it under control. i.e. not totally taking over. I get clumps here and there, but they don't get huge, might be because it does dry in between runs the stream bed that is. Don't even bother to remove it, the tads love it.

 

[sissy]

I wonder also if putting in a lot of activated charcoal would keep it at bay .I buy the acurel from pet mountain and I put 1 3 lb bag in each filter and hang another from the in pond hose outlet so the water rushes over it .Since it is so cheap I figure more can't do any harm .I also add a lot of oyster shells to the filters ,could it be the two working together .Then the grasses may help .I know it must be something

 

[brandonsdad02]

I too used the Tetra Algae control and have only had to treat my pond twice. When I got some of my bog plants from a lady that lives close to me, some of her plants had string algae on them. I tried to wash them off as good as I could, but I wasn't able to get all of it. It was starting to take over my creeping jenny in the bog so I treated the pond and it was gone with in a day. The only reason it was growing in that one spot was because there wasn't much shade there in the bog and the water was about 2" deep.

 

[koiguy1969]

i know this threads on string algeas but i just wanted to note on the U.V posting....
replacing the bulb in a U.V every year shouldnt be neccessary ..about 10 days a year is all you should have to use a U.V thats adequately sized and installed correctly, and has the proper flow rate. ive gotten 5 years use on one bulb, still worked. i replaced it because theyre cheap and i needed one (same size) for a filter i was selling... i get 2 - 9 watt bulbs for $15.00 including shipping on ebay..

 

[callingcolleen1]

Why don't you try growing hornwort in your streams? The hornwort does well with flowing water and would block the sun in shallow streams and suck up the extra nutrients and help keep stream clean without blocking the view of water in stream?

 

[leet13]

I had some crazy string algae (i would pull it out daily)... I thought it was from the plant my great aunt gave me from her pond which had string algae on it (her pond is covered with the stuff and the water smells... she says she doesnt do anything to it and that the koi she has likes to eat it? lol)... anyways I ended up using a chemical after much thought. I was scared to do that because I did not want to harm my fish.

It has gone away except for the residue left on the walls from the algae itself when i scrubbed it all off one day (looks like mud smeared on the walls of the pond) and then drained/filled my pond. Now I have what seems to be random floating patches that have perhaps died and are now floating so I skim it out by hand every night. I hope it isnt just another type of algae growing but perhaps the remainder of the string that I was treating/scrubbing off of the walls and floor of the pond. i do have a UV bulb btw...

 

[sissy]

Thats why i use quilt batting in a basket with pond water flowing through it as it picks up all the fine stuff