Pond Algae Control

Farm, Fish, and Garden Pond Algae Mitigation Parameters

Most pond owners really begin to notice algae when it "blooms". An algae bloom is a rapid increase in algae growth. You might look out on your pond one summer day and notice a pea-soup look or blobs of green, slimy material floating in many areas on the pond. By the time you see this amount of growth, it is usually too late to do anything preventative, but you have several options for removing the algae from the pond. However, the best strategy for pond owners is to act preventatively to keep excess algae from growing in the first place.

The most common reason why ponds have excessive algae is nutrient pollution, which is similar to surplus plant food. Nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, and potassium are the four nutrients that tend to give pond owners the most trouble. They are the chemicals pond plants use, combined with carbon dioxide and water, to grow and make new leaves. In a pond, these nutrients are invisible, dissolved in the water. Combined with bright sunlight on the pond surface and warm temperatures, algae can easily grow out of control.

Since algae thrive for the same reason the plants in your garden thrive, in order to control algae in your pond, you will need to control one or all of these factors. We will obviously ignore the water factor, since we do not have a pond at all if we do not have water. That leaves us with light and nutrients as elements we can control.

Pond algae control is very important for a healthy pond. There are a few reasons why your algae has increased, causing you to need pond algae control products: too many fish and therefore too much fish waste, decaying organic matter, weather and temperature changes, etc.

Before buying pond algae control products, make sure that you understand some of the main causes of excess algae. Once you understand why you have so much algae, it is much easier to treat.

New ponds - it can take some time for your pond to balance itself out. When you first put in a pond, it is likely to have an excess of algae because there may be an excess of nutrients. Wait until the situation is a bit more under control before adding fish - fish will only add to the excess of nutrients.