Our 35,000 gal pond keeps getting full of algae. We treat and it keeps coming back. What can we do?

Answer 1

Add a bale of barley straw. It will stop the algae from growing and leave your pond water crystal clear. You can stop at a local cow farm to get one.

Answer 2

First off, is the pond in a place where it gets a lot of sun? You may want to consider planting some small trees (like Japanese Maple) around it to give it some shade.

Secondly, you can buy apple snails to put in the pond. These little guys are small, but 6 or 7 of them in a pond that size can clear that algae up in a week or so. Don't put a pleco in there. They work well for aquariums, but the temperature change over the winter will kill them.

Also, there are special water dyes than you can put in the pond that will block out some of the sun's rays that are causing the algae to grow so excessively. As far as I know, all are fish safe and some are plant safe, but check the bottle to make sure.

Finally, remember that algaecides are temporary fixes. As soon as the chemicals are filtered out of the water, the algae will grow back. Also, being poisons, they are stressful to the fish and can cause them to get sick as well. Try not to use them to often, use them only once per season to get a jump start on the problem before using a more permanent solution.

I hope this helps!

Answer 3

If you have string algae you could try a product called SAB. String Algae Buster. It breaks down the string algae without harming pond plants. If you have Pea Soup algae you should definately invest in a uv sterilizer. If you buy one sized right for your pond it will clear up in 7-10 days and wont come back. They can be fairly expensive but are well worth the investment. You'll save money in the end on products that dont work long and in time invested in cleaning. Just remember that uv will not rid of carpet and string algae. Only free floating algae that causes green water. Do not put snails in your pond, they will take over in only 3 weeks and you will never get rid of them. Also a placostamus will not live in your pond during cold weather and can not eat free floating algae. Just dont try to kill all the algae. Carpet algae(the short green fuzz on the liner and rocks) is benificial to the ecosystem and actually helps the pond. Hope this helps. (Just so you know, I had such bad pea soup algae in my pond that you couldn't see my koi unless they were eating at the top. I added a uv sterilizer to my system on Friday night and my pond is already clear enough to see to the bottom now. UV does work).

Answer 4

You can get some Plecostamuses (or Plecos, for short) if you don't have some already. They are algae eaters that get to be about ten to 12 inches when full grown. They can help out alot. You also may want to find a way to put some shade over your pond (or at least some of it) if possible. The more sunlight algae gets, the better and faster it grows.

Answer 5

If the algae is on the glass, get a long handled scraper designed for aquariums, or use a new, rinsed dish scrubber by 3M. If you have a light on the aquarium, turn to off for a while. Since algae can be caused by dirty water and overfeeding, change out more than the usual 25% per week for a while. If it is on the gravel, stir it up more when you do the siphon cleaning step so that the gravel on the top with the algae gets turned underneath and out of the light. Algae floats in the air. Get a tighter cover for the tank.

Answer 6

Yes and it will keep on coming back again and again !!

What you shud be investing in is a UV Steralizor.

Basically a right sized steralizor will be very beneficial and aid in water clarity. Water is pumped thru and passed thru a UV light which kills algea and various parasites.

It will get rid of your algea problem and improve your water clarity.
At the same time it provides a longer term solution for your problem.

Most commercial ponds use a UV Steralizor of some sort. Well worth the money, readily available and not that expensive either.

Try your outdoor pond supplies or aquarium retailers. Certain hardware outlets have a range aswell.

Answer 7

What kinds of pond algae are do you have is it "green water algae" and "string algae" (also called "blanket weed" or "hair algae").
If your thinking of adding algaecides its not a good idea if you have garden pond or water garden, because they will also harm your aquatic plants. If you don't have aquatic plants you can try Algaefix w/c i use to get rid of the "green water algae" in my tank within a few minutes but beware follow the direction exactly or you have a good chance of suffocating your fish. Also you got to make sure your PH is balance between 6.8 to 7.4. Then add lots of aquatic plants to compete with the algae for nutrients in the pond and hopefully keep the green water algae at bay. In addition, it is important not to clean the pond filter with chlorinated tap water - this will kill the beneficial bacteria. For String algae (or Blanket Weed or Hair Algae) often grows in water with high pH values. The pH must be lowered to 6.8 - 7.4 to slow the growth of this type of algae. Hope this help. Good luck.

Answer 8

Here in Oklahoma when farmers start up a pond they put a couple of grass carp in the water. There is kind of carp that eats algea and keeps the pond clear. I work at a electric plant and the ponds here were built about 25 years ago. They told me that there were two chinese grass carp in each pond and they will grow bigger, up to 35-40 pound depending on how much algea there is.Also it might be good idea to put a bunch of wild guppies in the pond. The babies they have will algea too. Just a couple of ideas. You might be able to find out just what kinda carp to put in by contacting your state fishery. You know the guys who hatch bass and catfish to stock state lakes. I think thats your best bet they would know just the right fish to put in. Good Luck

Answer 9

A Pleco will not be able to survive outdoors, unless you live somewhere that it is always between 65-90 degrees or so all day and night. If you do, please email me so I can move there.

The UV sterilizer is the best thing to get. It runs about 30 bucks for our pond, which is much smaller than yours, but it is relatively inexpensive for the job that it does. You will probably need a few, even of the largest size for your size pond.

Answer 10

Like another one said, algae-eating critters. And try using barley straw periodicly: It seems to work for my grandmother's pond, which is smaller than yours.