Clearing Up a Pond

YES! A new product has hit our shelves that actually works against string algae and blanket weed! AlgaeFix™, a brand new product manufactured by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, will clear up those nasty strands of algae safely and with little fuss. When used in conjunction with barley bales you end up with a total string algae and blanket weed solution!

This is the time of year when algae blooms and string algae appears on the rocks of your waterfall. We answer the same question over and over again. How do I get rid of algae? All algae is not the same. We do not get rid of the different kinds of algae the same way.

The one question that is asked of me most often is How do I get rid of this green algae? Algae tends to show its ugly face in early spring when the water temperature starts rising. Left over leaves, mulm, fish poop, etc. from Winter triggers Mother Nature to start her nitrifying cycle of converting ammonia to nitrites and finally to nitrates.

If it’s spring and the water has just warmed up the first thing that comes to my mind is that your fish have been doing the “wild thing” in your pond. They’ve been spawning. Fish usually prefer to rendezvous at daybreak or at dusk so if the foam sighting is just after these hours that’s a good sign that all is well. Another indicator is if the fish have been wallowing in the plants or if several fish seem to be chasing one. If this is the case the foam you see is actually fish sperm. Lovely mental picture — isn’t it?

"How can I clear up my water?" We get that question every day in one form or another. The first question we ask then is "What color is your water?". Brown indicates dirt and green indicates algae. The method of clearing the water varies greatly with whether you are dealing with silt or an algae bloom.