If you have a pond as part of your landscape, you know how much it adds to the overall appeal of your yard. However, if you’ve owned your garden pond for very long, you know how much that murky green water can detract from that beauty. All this green water is caused by millions of single celled plants commonly referred to as algae. The algae use sunlight and oxygen from the water to live. An algae bloom can even deprive your fish of oxygen if the pond is not properly aerated. There are many ways to get rid of the algae, but some are more effective than others.
The most natural pond water treatment method is to add surface plants like Water Lilies, Water Lettuce, or other floating plants. This method is actually a two-fold approach. The plants block much of the sunlight that the algae use for photosynthesis. They also use up key nutrients that are vital to the survival of the algae. The ideal surface plant coverage would be about 75% of the water surface. You don’t want to block all of the light into your pond, but you can block most of it with amazing results.
If adding more plants to your pond is not what you had in mind, then a UV Sterilizer may be the next best pond water treatment. An appropriately sized UV Sterilizer will kill all the algae that passes through it. In fact, a UV Sterilizer will also kill other harmful bacteria and parasites that could be detrimental to your fish and plants. Because it operates continuously, the quality of the water in your pond will be much more stable than it would normally be. A UV Sterilizer is highly recommended for this very reason.
If neither of the previous methods have gotten rid of the annoying green water, then maybe a chemical treatment is in order. There are several general chemical pond treatments on the market, but the safest to use is a floculant. This is basically a binding chemical that causes the algae to clump together and sink to the bottom. This works well with a generous water change which will aid in removing the nutrients in the water and the clumped algae from the bottom of the pond.
All of these methods will certainly get rid of an algae bloom, the non-chemical pond treatments are the most highly recommended since they don’t add anything to the water. However, if you need a quick fix, chemical solutions can be the answer you seek. As with all chemicals, carefully read the u
Related posts: