The \’Green Monster\’: Green Algae in Your Backyard Pond

Just the thought of it makes backyard water gardeners shudder: \”green water,\” \”blanket weed,\” or \”pond scum,\” it\’s known to scientists as thallophytes and to calmed-down pond-owners as green algae.

Algae live just about anywhere you have light and water: in puddles, soil, even in your bathroom shower. It should come as no surprise that algae can grow like crazy in water gardens. Algae spores can enter your pond by wind, rain, on the sides of fish and on water plants you introduce into the pond. Single-celled green algae may form \”pea soup\” blooms, taking over your pond and overwhelming fish and submerged plants.

Green algae can not be totally wiped out from your pond — nor should it. It\’s a natural part of the ecological food chain in all backyard ponds, maintaining \”balance\” and assisting in providing a vital environment for fish and other pond animals. So some algae is necessary. But here\’s another reason it\’s not a good idea to try to kill all your green algae — it\’s an impossible task.

Why so? All backyard ponds have too many fish and plants for the amount of water they contain. While it\’s common for us to think our water gardens are \”natural,\” they are very artificial when it comes to biological processes and chemical properties. That\’s because of the imbalance of fish and plants to the space they\’re in, which make them a perfect home for algae.

So what\’s a backyard water gardener to do when it comes to staring down algae?

1. Avoid too many fish in your water garden; more fish mean more poop which breaks down and provides nutrients like phosphates and nitrates for algae to eat.

2. Plant a good amount of aquatic plants in your pond; they consume the same nutrients as algae. You should try to cover at least 50% of your pond with floating plants like lilies, hyacinths and submerged plants like Cabomba.

3. Snails and tadpoles eat \”pond scum\” algae. Add a few Japanese trapdoor snails and tadpoles.

Sometimes these \”natural\” tactics aren\’t effective, or you simply run out of time. In that case, you can use an algaecide. Bio-filers can also be tried; they\’re good at removing damaging ammonia, produced by fish, dead plants and too much fish food.

Once again, the ideal way to get rid of excess algae in a natural way is to lower the amount of nitrates and phosphates in your water garden. You can accomplish this by limiting fish, their food and maximizing the number of water plants.

Want to find out more about water gardensin St. Louis? Then visit MPR Supply\’s website to learn more about water gardens.