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We inherited two lovely fish ponds with are new home, the bottom one (they run into each other like a water fall) has green algae on it and not sure what to do.

2007-04-02 22:53:14 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets Fish

10 answers

Get some snails, and fish. They'll eat it. There's also chemicals you can use. My parents have had a fis pond for about 30 years. Unless you clean it out every week you will always have algae. You will never get rid of it entirely...only short term

2007-04-02 22:56:49 · answer #1 · answered by sharkgirl 7 · 0 0

Firstly you need to clear the algae and sorry it is a lot of hard work. You have to scoop it all out so that it is virtually clear and then I would recommend that you visit the local pet superstore and purchase an electronic weed buster which emits radio frequencies that then stop the algae particles forming. Some people are sceptical about this but it works in my pond for me and my sturgeon and I haven't picked up a brush since. Another important thing with ponds is to keep them as shady as possible (75% shade). Good luck, you'll need it as it is hard work but rewarding. Where there is a will there is a way.

2007-04-06 06:25:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

As other answers have said, sunlight is a prime cause. One solution is to put plants in your pond with big leaves, such as waterlilies; this will reduce the surface area of the water exposed to sunlight and will help keep down the algae. Another method you can use to help control it is to stuff a pair of tights with hay and submerge the tights in the water. You used to be able to buy hay from aquatic suppliers specifically for this purpose but I've heard shops can't sell it any more because the EU haven't approved its use for this purpose; I don't know if this is true. (The fact that it's an organic method of control that pond keepers have used for years seems not to matter). Anyway, ordinary hay from the pet shop will do the job. If it's a very big pond you might need to put a whole bale in.

Overfeeding your fish (if you have any) will make algae worse.

I think it's a problem you can reduce but I don't think you'll ever be rid of it completely.

2007-04-03 03:49:40 · answer #3 · answered by guinnell 2 · 1 0

If you live in a temperate climate like I do, two thing will contribute to the algae in these ponds - light and nutrients.

At this time of year, the water in your pond "overturns". Water that's close to freezing rises, while warmer water sinks in the winter. In the spring, as the top water becomes denser (the ice melts) it sinks, causing the water that's been at the bottom to rise - along with any nutrients from dead leaves that have accumulated from the fall. This becomes instant fertilizer for your algae.

Being photosynthetic, algae also needs light. At this time of year, most of the other plants haven't come out of dormancy, so there's nothing to shade the algae, or compete with it for nutrients.

Some things that you might want to consider doing are to use floating-leaved plants (hardy water lily, water lettuce, water hyacinth, and the like) to shade the bottom and sides to cut off sunlight to the algae. These will also provide shade for your fish and cool the water if the ponds get hot in the summer.

You should try to remove any dead leaves from the bottom of the pond and do a water change if this is feasable (just like a fish tank), changing about 20% of the water volume. This should be done periodically to keep nutrients from building up.

A bit of an odd technique involves using a small bale of barley straw - this should be available in any store that sells pond supplies. Here's a link to a Penn State University bulletin about it's use: http://montgomery.extension.psu.edu/NResources/pond/straw-fs.pdf

You're lucky to get a place with ponds already there - I've made two smaller ones myself and am hoping to put another (large) one in as well.

2007-04-03 09:39:35 · answer #4 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1 2

green algae is natural and is caused by sun light, the only thing you can do is put a shed to prevent sunlight (i dont recommend).

Or put 2 to 3 algea eating fishes, they mind their business and dont interact wth other fishes, they r called the pond cleaners...

2007-04-02 22:57:03 · answer #5 · answered by Jendralus 5 · 0 0

you will need to go to a garden centre or fish/pet place and get some kind of mixture to put in the water - i have no idea what its called but i know they do that kind of stuff.

also it might be that the pond needs cleaning or the filter changing - over time the filter will get clogged up and hence the algae build up.

2007-04-02 22:56:40 · answer #6 · answered by ejb199 6 · 0 1

Get some aquatic plants, especially oxygenators - they will use up the excess nutrients that the algae is growing on.

2007-04-02 23:31:23 · answer #7 · answered by Brian B 2 · 1 0

We put a sand filter on ours plus a uv light. It works very well

2007-04-02 22:55:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

get a bottom feeder fish, like a placostomus (spelling is wrong on that)..you know...those sucker fishes....ask a local pet store or aquarium about it...they'll know some good secrets...

2007-04-02 22:57:21 · answer #9 · answered by JaneDoe 6 · 0 1

caustic soda if it fails concrete

2007-04-04 08:26:43 · answer #10 · answered by MILL 3 · 0 0

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