Can Someone say “String Algae”!!
Wow, we left our pristine pond here in Central Kentucky for a wonderful Florida vacation and in just a week the allusive Green monster had taken over our pond. I have no doubt that many of you are experiencing the same battles in your very own pond. The good news is that String Algae is actually Mother Natures way of keeping your pond clear and healthy even though it is a bit unsightly. There are several factors this year that are playing a role in the increase in String Algae we are all experiencing.
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Increasing Daytime Temperatures - The warmer days and nights raise your pond temperature and the biological activity of your ecosystem is booming. Conversely your plants are just now starting to take hold and cannot keep up with the excessive nutrient loads that are being produced.
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Excessive Rainfall - is another contributing factor that adds excessive nutrients from the fresh Rainwater and turf runoff.
What to Do?
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Daily/Weekly Maintenance - Now don’t Algae panic I’m not talking about spending hours a week here. I’m simply talking about a little piddling around the pond. Use your hands, a plastic rake or purchase an “Algae Witch”. This is a really cool tool that we have been using this year to remove Algae from our maintenance ponds. It works really great and is really easy to use. Call Rachel in the store for details on getting one of these really cool tools.
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Water Treatments - Be careful here, you want to be sure that you are using all organic products and not algaecides. Algaecides are a “Quick Fix” that provide immediate gratification but seldom provide long lasting results. Below are a couple of products that we have available to help you battle String Algae.
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Eco~Clearer S.A.R. - Can be used to remove String Algae from your Streams and Waterfalls. It is completely organic and will not harm your fish or other wildlife.
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Eco~Clearer S.A.P. - Applied directly to Algae in your pond will break the Algae loose from Rocks so you can easily skim it out of the water. Again this product is completely organic and will not harm fish or wildlife.
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My best piece of advice is to just hang in there. With a little patience and dirty hands your pond will balance out in a month or so and be back to normal.
Sincerely
Jeff Duggins