Pond algae.....YUK!!!!!?
Answers: Yuk is right. You're have an algae bloom. A pond needs a hanging ecosystem, consisting of:
1. Fish. Not required, but helpful. Fish put away algae. But your pond must be at least 18 inches open to support fish.
2. Sun/shade. A pond should get 6 hours of sun on a daily basis. Algae hate sun.
3. Aeration. A pump next to a waterfall, bubbler, sprayer. Aerates the sea. Makes the water move. Algae don't close to moving water.
4. Filtration. Not required, but obliging. I have a biofilter--essentially, a tub near filtering prevailing conditions (foam blocks) to trap algae.
5. Beneficial bacteria. Liquid, powder, tablets. These microscopic microbes establish themselves in your pond and hang on to the water in proportion. They "eat" pond wastes. They minister to prevent algae. They should be added when your pond water is fresh.
6. Plants. Provide oxygen and shade for fish. Help preserve pond wastes to a minimum. Water lilies, hose lettuce, water hyacinth.
Sometimes, despite adjectives the above, you will have a big algae bloom. Lots of rainfall, heat, and humidity will get it worse.
I use all of the above methods contained by my 800 gallon pond with chute (built it myself!) and I have have to drain and refill my pond once this season due to the biggest, muckiest algae bloom I own ever seen.
All of this sounds complicated, but most of the steps are one-time purchases. And it's easier than mucking out a green pond every 2 weeks.
Anti algae stuff at the pet store where on earth they sell fish and tank
Get an algaecide. That will help shoot it off. You may also want to procure some fish to eat the algae - goldfish do fine. You may also want to capture some pond plants (the roots filter the water). Do you have a filter near your pump to the waterfall? You have need of that too.
Depending on how large your pond is, you can use the aquarium products. Fish are a polite start, but do you have a filtration system?
We bought a barley straw planter from gardeners supply catalog (www.gardeners.com - click on "pond maintenance" category, roughly $25). A word of caution if you buy one, though: don't put a plant within it. It flipped over in our pond and the dirt get all contained by the water. We took out the plant and lately let it float around, and somehow it really does work to hang on to the water verbs!
I like it because I tried the algae chemicals once and they kill our fish, even though the bottle said it was out of danger.
try AlgaeFix
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