Is your pond starting to develop some of that mean green algae? Never fear I’ve got the expert Rolf Nelson aka Dad to give us the skinny on his favorite products to use in the ponds to get rid of that nasty looking algae. Pharaoh of the Ponds
We at Nelson’s use the following products to help maintain clear ponds, some are used on a regularly timed basis like Zip, MuckOff, and Phos-x while the Algaway 5.4 is utilized on a per need basis.
Zip helps keep the population of good nitrifying bacteria and manyfaculative ones efficiently breaking down organics and running the nitrogen cycle to keep the water quality high for the health of the fish and other pond organisms. We use it weekly for the first couple of months and then every 3-4 weeks depending on the fish population-the more fish the more frequent the dosages. It’s all natural and totally safe.
MuckOff is another bacterial based product with enzymes and catalysts that function well in the lower oxygenated areas of a pond (the bottom) and helps digest the organics that settle down there. In water gardens we recommend netting out large leaves and twigs as it takes bacteria a very long time to break these down. (the manufacturer originally developed this product for large earthen pond environments where it’s impractical to net these items out and you need to rely on bacteria to take care of it over time)
Phos-X is an activated clay particle that absorbs phosphates very efficiently. String algae thrive on phosphate(remember the ads for detergents claiming “phosphate free”?-it was to keep string algaes from thriving in waste water going into rivers). Use it and you will not have to use:
Algaway 5.4 very often. In general the more mature the pond that is well supplemented with good bacteria the less algae. That being said there will be some very desirable algaes that will still grow on the hard surfaces in the pond. These are GOOD for the pond environment and it’s health.
Even a well maintained and balanced pond can experience some string algae outbreaks, most commonly in the spring when there is heavy pollen drop from trees(these trees do not have to be in your backyard to cause this-think of our yellow windshields many days in the spring.) Use Algaway as needed according to label directions. The string algae will shortly look like it has been bleached and then start breaking down. Prior to treating if some large mats of string algae have snuck up on you net them out, then treat and let all the good bacteria do the rest of the work for you in breaking things down.
Mostly, sit back, let nature do the work and enjoy your pond!