String Algae

[Sally]

UV might be one of the reasons why you have a string algae......

You could well have hit the nail on the head there. My UV clarifier is over rated for the pond size and is left on all the time. As a result the water is crystal clear, well it is until I stir it up trying to pull out the string algae! I've turned it off now. I've ditched the clump of Elodea from the bottom but I can't bring myself to chuck out the Lilly that started the problem and the Iris as they are both starting to bloom!

Very grateful that I am for the link on dosing Peroxide Waterbug:

The dose has to be adjusted for conditions. Using 3% HP would be difficult to overdose, but here are the numbers if you want to compute lethal doses.

But the translation took me to the limit of my mathematical ability! Gallons, pounds, grams, litres, quarts! How do you Americans cope? Seriously though, Thanks for the link, the prospect of dosing with dangerous chemicals and risking my fish had me worried. The link, along with all your advice has been very helpful throughout, once translated! I have a 2000lt pond, when I find a bottle of peroxide I'll do some relatively simple maths with SI units and the % concentration to calculate 40ml/l daily dosing dropping to 20 then 10 when I see a change.

Thanks again

Sally

 

[Sally]

......... but I can't bring myself to chuck out the Lilly that started the problem and the Iris as they are both starting to bloom!

Found these out for the first time this morning:

 

[callingcolleen1]

Why would anyone chuck out plants? If your having algae problems its not the plants fault, its because the pond is not balanced. Plants won't always grow well if your pond water is sterile. UV lights cause more problem than their worth. UV Lights sterilize the water, plants hate sterile water, pond not supposed to be a sterile hole in the ground. Lots of people got sucked into all that stuff here in Canada too. People had really pretty ponds 30 years ago without that high tech stuff, do you ever think that the more you try to fix the pond the worse it gets! Just get rid of UV light and learn to balance your pond the natural way, in the end you will have less trouble. In the beginning you will get pea green water, it will clear in two or three weeks but then your pond will be more balanced and the plants will grow better too and not get strangled by so much algae. I'm beginning to think very few people even know what a balanced pond should look like. A balanced pond won't require a vacumn, a UV light, horrible hydrogen peroxide, just good old fashion sedges and a little knowleged of how nature takes care of ponds. I little string algae is normal, a lot indicates that the pond is not balanced in accordance with nature. What do I know anyway? Only been doing it this way for 20 years now.

 

[addy1]

I have 15 plus or minus pots of lilies, no string algae on any of them. Also iris, 4 leaf clover and others. Don't think it is the plants causing the string algae.

 

[Sally]

Why would anyone chuck out plants? ....

callingcolleen1, do I detect a hint of frustration there? Thanks for your input but you need to calm down and get off your high horse! Since you have been doing this for 20 years you must know that if you put a plant in your pond that has string algae all over it then the balance will be upset and string algae will grow in your pond. If not, give it a go and you’ll see. And if you re-read my thread you will recall the reason why I want to chuck out my plants. Your opinionated post with it’s pointless adjectives is uncharacteristic of the majority of helpful, factual comments posted here. I understand that a pond will reach an equilibrium eventually but my string algae dilemma won’t just disappear after a couple of months, I need to do something about it and I came here to listen to ideas and formulate a strategy. I’ve done that now.

Don't think it is the plants causing the string algae.

addy1, I used the phrase, the Lily that started it all, because the Lily had string algae all over it when I put it in the pond. Obviously, plants don’t cause algae. To be honest I should have known better because I put an Elodea in a fish tank years ago that had string algae on it and had a major problem clearing that infestation up.

Tain’t nobody’s fault but mine! Oh, and I thought you might like the photos of my Iris, I’ll post up the Lily blooms when they flower.

Sally

 

[brandonsdad02]

I had string algae too. I tried kitty litter, pond balance and even turned off my uv lights. I know that uv lights don't do anything for string algae. I got a bottle of Tetra algae control and put in one dose and 2 days later my string algae was dying off..

 

[callingcolleen1]

Sally. Yes I was a wee bit cranky and very sorry if I sounded harsh, its been raining non stop here for days and I must admit I'm so cranky about it I can't stand myself!
I do feel bad for everyone who struggles with string algae, and I think most people get sucked into buying expensive equipment that causes more problems in the end. UV sterilizers sterilize the water. if you give sterlized water to a house plant it will die. In a pond the pond plants tend to not grow as well or as fast and tend to look yellowish instead of green. Sterilizers also kill good bacteria. Bacteria and plants work together. When I used to work selling pond plants and equipment I would tell people the honest truth you will get rid of pea green water with a UV light, but then you may get string algae from hell, and many people that I knew that ran UV lights all had massive string algae. UV lights are like pharmaceutical pills, they may solve one problem, but them you may end up with something much worse.

 

[addy1]

Love the pattern on that petal, it is beautiful, thanks for sharing.

 

[JenH]

String algae sure is a pita! I did the same thing you did, missed some algae on my pots and sure enough it multiplied like crazy, I've been trying to find a solution too, and all the while it's just getting worse. I even pulled out the plants, cleaned them all up, and planted them bare root in th pond. The one lily I have left in a pot, never had algae on it, new plant from Menards, brand new oil pan, etc. It too is beginning to get covered in algae. All of my plants seem to be doing well, growing, speading, flowering. Just lots of alage too. I know exactly how you feel though Sally, and we have family coming from Canada in 2 weeks and I just want the pond to look nice! Ugh! If you figure it out please let us all know what you do ultimately. I tried peroxide, I dosed based on what I read on Waterbug's website, and it totally took care of what was completely covering my waterfall. It has done nothing for what is growing in the pond itself! I'm beginning to think AlgaeFix is looking better and better everyday!

 

[brandonsdad02]

I got my algae stuff from menards. One dose and it was gone.

 

[Waterbug]

Keep in mind AlgaeFix is toxic to fish at levels higher than directed or if fish are already in poor shape. Healthy fish in good water can survive the treatment.

If you really want to remove string algae with peroxide you need a high enough dose. Something like Baquacil. I personally don't think it's a great idea but it can be used. Without a proper filter it can make a bigger mess. Short term fix. Here's a video of a guy using a similar product.

 

[callingcolleen1]

I would be scared to use that stuff, notice how his pond had no plants? Easy fix from a bottle one to many times, may have been too much for his plants.
I have a friend who's like me and I told her about all the chemicals they use these days in their ponds and stuff, and she was horrified like me. She had a pond for many many years and did it without UV lights and chemicals too. She used to get pea greeen water in her pond every year cause she shut the whole thing down restarted it again each spring. She would hate the pea green stage, but she balanced it every year in about two or three weeks, after that the plants would take off and the pea green water would be gone. Her pond too always looked great and she and I never suffered string algae from hell. We both agreed that the pea green water was preferable in the beginning cause at least it would not strangle the plants like string algae.
When you use toxic treatments, something will suffer eventually, and its usually the plants first, which is ironic, cause in the long run, the plants will fix your pond better than any toxic bottle. It just takes time to balance a pond, but once you manage to balance the pond naturally, it will maintain your pond better in the future.

 

[Waterbug]

You should be scared to use an oxidizer. Not only can it damage higher plants it can kill fish. Using chemicals requires an understanding of the entire pond system, the chemicals being used, good math skills and attention to detail. Lots of people have trouble just opening the container.

Some people don't put plants directly in the pond so some chemicals affect these plants much less. Plus they don't have the problem of string algae in the plants in the first place. The pond in the video, for example, is a Koi pond. Since Koi can tear up plants and plants degrade the water quality they aren't generally placed inside Koi ponds.

Unfortunately, not everyone's pond is the same as yours and your friend's. How you guys run a pond may not have the same results in another person's. Because your ponds did something the past 5 years doesn't mean it will do the same for the next 5 years.

When one person says they have a "huge" algae problem another person with the same level of algae may consider it no problem. Lots of people don't consider 2-3 weeks of green water acceptable and can afford a UV so see no reason that for 10% of their ponding season their pond should look crappy.

Imbalance, not balance...
It isn't balance that causes a pond to clear or string algae to die...it is an imbalance. For example a bacteria producing a chemical that kills green water algae can reproduce to a large enough population that the green water algae can't survive. The water becomes toxic to the algae. Norm Meck's experiments showed pouring water from a clear pond into a container of green water killed the algae on contact. From the algae's perspective I don't think it cares what toxic chemical kills it.

Whether a chemical comes from a bottle, box, plant or bacteria the question is always the same. Is it reasonably safe compared to the desired result? Risk vs reward. Effort vs easy.

Almost everything we do to a pond is to create an imbalance in order to achieve a goal we want. So it would be more accurate to say your ponds have achieved an imbalance you wanted. While accurate it isn't new age enough sounding for most people.

 

[HARO]

Waterbug; It must be nice living in a semi-tropical climate! Around here, that "2-3 weeks of green water IS our ponding season!!! :grumble:
John

 

[JohnHuff]

WB, you said somewhere that bio-filters don't get rid of green water, but according to Norm Meck's article it does.