Pond Alage

[badfish]

Hey all, My dad wants me to help him with his outdoor pond. He has had it for years and it just gets chock full o alage in no time. It is pretty much in direct sunlight which is probably most of the problem. Its one of those hard plastic ponds you get at home depot, probably around 50-100 gallons, if that. All he has is a small pump that pumps water out and then down a small rocks to create a waterfall effect. He has no type of filtartation or anything. I have seen him do things to this pond that will make your stomach turn (which is why he's never allowed to watch my fish). Once the alage takes over he just overflows it with fresh water until it clears up. What sort of things can he do to decrease the alage, what kind of plants and snails can he get, how many? I cant imagine him fitting that many plants in it since the surface area is so small. Is there any equipment he can get that might help out? Any thought will be helpful.

Jeff

 

[Nels22]

There are quite a few things your dad (you) can try/do. First off if there is only fish in there and no plants I would basically start over.

1. Take a 5 gallon bucket on put the fish in it. Then drain the pond completely, using the pump and a shop vac if you have one.
2. Get a pressure washer and start at the top all the way down, this will get rid of all the algae, suck it up with the shop vac and repeat until it is clean.
3. Next take a wire brush or scotch pad and scrub the side walls and bottom of pond, use the pressure washer one more time and vacuum it up.
4. Now that the pond liner is clean refill it and put just the fish back in (not the nasty water from the pond before.)
5. Now you will have a clean pond but no (beneficial) bacteria to help fight the algae, the best way to help with the is buy some algaecide. Follow directions on bottle.
6. You can also try a filter with a uv light built in, I have that for my pond and it keeps the water crystal clear. The filter will also be a holding bed for the beneficial bacteria if it has bioballs. (Laguna makes a couple nice ones.) A skimmer may also be beneficial, depends on how much money he wants to spend.
7. As for plants get some to float on top and some that sink, the plants help with algae growth as well taking nutrients to grow and all.
8. You can also try water dye that is safe for plants and fish as long as the pond is in full sun, It's a nice visual effect as well. (I also use this as my pond gets a lot of sun.)
9. You will still need to do partial water changes during the summer months to keep the water clean.

Hope that helps. Nick