String algae and sludge on waterfall

studiovette

GS PETE
Joined
Apr 17, 2013
Messages
132
Reaction score
50
Location
NJ ZONE 7A
So for a while now I've had this yucky slime and algae on my falls and haven't really paid much attn to it but now its starting to annoy me. What's the best most natural way to get rid of it?

Thanks
 
Joined
Aug 1, 2012
Messages
473
Reaction score
196
Location
Central Florida
A while back, I read with interest of a guy who added an algae scrubber to his koi pond build. Sadly, I lost track of the thread and haven't been able to check on how it preformed. The cliff notes version is that algae is encouraged to grow in a certain spot as an aide to filtration. The idea that the algae concentrates stuff you want removed from the pond, and periodically you harvest the algae (by pulling it out). I've been trying this on a small scale with the spiral fountain in the center of my pond. It's not really a scientific double bind test, but I'm not disappointed with the results. I add the pulled out algae to my compost bin.
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2012
Messages
2,583
Reaction score
1,293
Location
Cape Cod, MA
If you want to be super lazy about it, shut down the pump on a nice sunny day, wait a few hours, it will dry, and when you turn the pump back on, it washes off the rocks ... note you have added the debris to the pond, but the filter should grab it depending on what you are using ...
 

JohnHuff

I know nothing.
Joined
Apr 17, 2012
Messages
2,257
Reaction score
1,621
Location
At my computer
Hardiness Zone
1a
Country
Kyrgyzstan
studiovette said:
So for a while now I've had this yucky slime and algae on my falls and haven't really paid much attn to it but now its starting to annoy me. What's the best most natural way to get rid of it?

Thanks
Yesterday was my pond maintenance day and I was doing that exact thing. I had algae build up on the edge of my waterfalls and I used this to get rid of the algae:
grabber.jpg

I just picked up the algae with it and used it as compost under my trees.
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
3,214
Reaction score
1,299
Location
Phoenix AZ
studiovette said:
Duh thanks
Uh...seriously...shop vac ---question mark--- meaning is it the type of algae that a shop vac would work on? Or is it the kind a brush would work on?

But if you don't like my questions there's no charge.
 

studiovette

GS PETE
Joined
Apr 17, 2013
Messages
132
Reaction score
50
Location
NJ ZONE 7A
Waterbug said:
Uh...seriously...shop vac ---question mark--- meaning is it the type of algae that a shop vac would work on? Or is it the kind a brush would work on?

But if you don't like my questions there's no charge.

I think u took my response the wrong way lol. I said duh because I should have thought of that myself! Thanks !
 

studiovette

GS PETE
Joined
Apr 17, 2013
Messages
132
Reaction score
50
Location
NJ ZONE 7A
JohnHuff said:
Yesterday was my pond maintenance day and I was doing that exact thing. I had algae build up on the edge of my waterfalls and I used this to get rid of the algae:
grabber.jpg

I just picked up the algae with it and used it as compost under my trees.
What is that thing?
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
3,214
Reaction score
1,299
Location
Phoenix AZ
studiovette said:
I think u took my response the wrong way lol. I said duh because I should have thought of that myself! Thanks !
Text is not a perfect communication tool. I was, still am, interested in what kind of algae you have. There are some jelly like algae that's not too common and in a waterfall even less common. You saying "yucky slime" got me interested. If it feels like hair it's just string algae, pretty common.

How to control macro algae kind of depends on the type. A shop vac generally won't work very well on healthy string algae in a waterfall because it's attached and surprisingly strong. I think just pulling with your hands is easiest and most effective.

Brush and/or vac can work on jelly type.

There are chemicals...but effectiveness, expense and complexity are issues. Once dead you still have to deal with the dead stuff which imo is harder to deal with than just manual removal. Depends on the pond and owner. For sure no magic fixes.

A pretty simple fix for waterfalls is to turn the falls off at night, while you're at work. It puts the hurt on it and over time can eliminate it...in the falls. Depending on your fish load, time of year, and your level of concern, you can add an air stone to the pond and turn that on when the falls is off. Surprisingly cheap. Or just being able to redirect pump output from the falls to just stirring the pond can be enough for good gas exchange (O2, etc).

The good news is that manual removal can change the species of algae that dominates. Certainly not a sure thing, but I found it to be common. So you might get a nice short growing algae at some point.
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,707
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
On a warm sunny day shut of pump spray with peroxide and wait 15 minutes and turn pump back on most of the algae will turn white and then a basket with quilt batting can pic it up .But I find that some on the rocks helps filter the water also
 

koiguy1969

GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
Joined
Dec 15, 2008
Messages
10,587
Reaction score
6,409
Location
Michigan zone 5b
Harbor Freight has "GRABBERS' as well.. a few different ones, starting at under $5.00 for the plastic. they come in handy for many things in ponding.
as far as the alge/gunk blend .. i use a putty knife on my waterfall weir and put my skimmer net under the end to catch the gunk as it washes over the end.
dollar store toilet brushes are pretty good for algae removal and harvesting as well. i have one on the end a 4' length of 1" pvc pipe for pulling string alge from pond. put it to the alge and spin it, it can really gather alot at a time.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads


Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
31,446
Messages
516,989
Members
13,655
Latest member
readingj

Latest Threads

Top