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Algae Busters
Water Treatments and Other Methods for the Control
and Elimination of Algae in Koi Ponds and Water Gardens
Algae can turn a beautiful,
clear koi pond or water garden into a dirty-looking eye sore in a matter of
days. Algae Bloom (Green Water Algae) can be so thick it looks like
pea soup and you can't see your hand a foot down in the water - not to
mention your goldfish or koi! String Algae can wrap itself around your
water plants literally choking them out. It can hang from the rocks in
the water fall like green noodles or attach itself to the sides of the pond
and wave at you with the current like it's doing in the picture to the left.
We do not treat the same way for
green water algae and string or blanket algae because they really are two
different forms and what works for one form will not work for the other.
For algae bloom (green water
algae) we recommend a UV (ultraviolet water clarifier) in almost all
situations because it is a permanent fix. If you have fish or plants
you cannot use a strong algaecide for either type of algae because it will
damage the plants and kill the fish. There are no sure-fire chemical
cures for algae bloom that are safe. You can add types of chemicals
and enzymes such as MicrobeLift or PondZyme to help the pond reach a balance
and, if and when it finally reaches that balance, the green is liable to
come right back, especially after a water change. A UV sterilizes the
algae that flows through it so it is a great way to get rid of green water.
String and blanket algae cannot
flow through the UV light so the UV is useless when you are trying to treat
for string algae. Barley is known to inhibit the growth of string
algae so we can use either barley bales or extract to control new growth.
We can use AlgaeFix to kill whatever string algae is present.
We have several fine articles
that you can read that go into detail on how to control string algae and
algae bloom.
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Read Up!
These articles contain information about
algae blooms and how to clear up your pond
water.
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