Pond algae

[Steve]

For some reason I seem to be having a lot more issues with algae in the pond this year, much more than last year. Just doing a WC in it right now because it was so green I couldn't even see the fish or bottom Anyone with a pond have any way to fight the algae in your outdoor pond?

[cranialdisturbance]

UV sterilizers are supposed to work. 

[54zamboni]

UV clarifiers will work on the suspended algae, and hydrogen peroxide will work to keep  string algae in check without affecting the fish.  the first couple years my pond had trouble with green water, and I used a UV clarifier.  things seemed to stabilize  after that and I no longer need it. there seems to be a bloom every spring not long after the ice is off, but then no problems the rest of the summer.   I still get string algae, but like I said pouring a little peroxide in will help keep it in check.

[Regalblue]

High phosphates?

[dstuer]

I use foam fractionation (plans for a DIY phoam phractioator can be found @koiphen.com), and as stated above, there is always a bit of cyclical green water event in spring, but the fractionator removes it along with the other dissolved organic carbons that cause it, and general water fouling. The water cascading over lava rock also works as a biological filter

below is a video of the fractionator working on a small pond, click on pic to run video.

[Ron]

I tried a 4" diameter phoam phractionator on my big indoor tank ... don't think I had a strong enough pump for it and never tried an upgrade because I was trying to keep it low-budget, using equipment I already had. Seemed pretty slick for removing DOCs from all the info I found on Koi sites.

[richly2enjoy]

Cat tails (the plants) do wonders for pond filtration.

[eitakppurk]

I don't have a pond but I was thinking maybe if you fertilized your yard more than last year (didn't you just plant a wicked garden?) the runoff may have caused this?

[Steve]

Haven't added anything around the pond that would cause run off. I'm still not sure what is causing it so much this year. I am going to try some peroxide first as someone above suggested. If that doesn't help then I'm going to look into one of the chemicals sold online for pond algae. Gotta do something soon because I want to get the rest of the pond fish out of the house and in the pond before vacation in a few weeks.

[danielratti]

There is a lot you can do.  When I was cleaning ponds we would drain them down power wash them then refill them to help with this issue.  On top of that we would add barley straw rolls and microbe lift to help keep the pond good year round. If it is really bad you can use pond care brand agale fix.  Maybe see if any of the local fish shops are setup to test pond water pH could also be a factor as well.

[Steve]

If it is really bad you can use pond care brand agale fix.

Funny you mentioned that. My sister stopped by yesterday and gave me the bottle of stuff she uses on her pond, and that's exactly what it is. I just treated it yesterday evening so we'll see how it does. She says it works good on her ponds so I'm hoping it clears mine up as well.

[danielratti]

Yeah that was always our goto.  Some people preferred dying the water but that stuff works good.  I forget what the other one was but a lot of people had a lot of die off cause of it

[Steve]

About how long did it take to see a difference when you used it Dan?

[danielratti]

About a week depending on the size.

[Steve]

Just went and looked and I "think" it's already a tad better. I can at least make out the shape of one of the white koi on the bottom moving around which I could not do the other day.