[admin]

Question: Please advise on how to control algae since pond is in full sun most of the day.


Answer: Remove the fish? Just kidding, however the more fish, the more problems with algae. It isn't only sunlight that will produce algae. There needs to be nitrates and phosphates in the water, carbon dioxide producers, or something else that is going to "feed" it. Without food, it won't grow. Algae are the weeds in your nice water garden. Just like in your other garden, or your carefully tended vegetable garden, weeds are natural and will grow. A few things that will help CONTROL these weeds is good husbandry, keeping the pond clean, good filtration, a clean and properly sized filter, plenty of water changes to reduce nutrient levels, very prudent feeding of fish, and careful stocking of fish.

If you can limit the amount of light entering the pond, that will help. One way is to use broad leaf plants, like lilies. Or to plant tall plants around the pond, or branching trees that will offer shade. Another way is with safe pond dyes, like Microbe-Lift/Bio-Blue. You didn't actually say what type of pond you have, just that you have a problem with algae. Fixing the problem is never that simple and cookie-cutter approaches seldom work.

You ought to be using Microbe-Lift/PL to balance nutrient levels and reduce the amount of organic waste (pollution-level) in the pond. The higher the pollution, the more algae. In this case, algae are your salvation, rather than the scourge it seems. Algae have kept many a pond from crashing. In addition to PL, I would recommend using either ML/Barley Straw Pellets (if the pond is sizeable) or ML/Barley Straw Concentrated Extract (if the pond is small). Both will work to sequester these nutrients by their breakdown process, but in a smaller pond, it just looks neater to use the liquid extract instead of the pellets. In a large pond, it may be more cost effective to use the pellets. If you have high pH (you ARE testing the water, right?) then you may want to use the Barley Extract Plus, with Peat, to lower alkalinity a bit. Algae love high pH. Now, if I didn’t answer your question, let me know. We have chemical algaecides too, but I try to let people know WHY they have algae before recommending this type of intervention. Chemicals aren’t a cure, just a quick fix.