Why is the shallow end of my pond mossy?

Question

I'm in Florida, the pond is about 18 inches deep at the shallow end and about 3' deep at the other end with a waterfall. The entire pond gets lots of sun even though there is a large avacado tree over the shallow end. I purchased an upgraded filtration system when the pond was installed. The rocks on the floor of the shallow end are covered with a fuzzy green moss. I do have some plants in the water. What can I do to eliminate this?

Answer 1

Its algae, not moss. Algae needs nutrients and sun to grow and it doesn't like moving water so the waterfall is protecting the deep end. Try adding floating plants with large leaves to shade the water. There are also underwater "oxygenating" plants you can add that will shade the rocks and use up some the nutrients. Limit nutrients in the water by limiting the use of fish food and preventing fertilizer and soil runoff into the pond from nearby gardens or lawns. Finally barley straw, available at pond supply centres, produces a chemical as it decomposes that kills algae. It takes a bit of time to work.

There are also algae killing chemicals you can add to the water, the dead algae can create a problems so chemicals should be a last resort.

Answer 2

You can buy some water barley and weigh it down just below the water. The breakdown will cause a natural elimination of the algae.