Coiuld this be MOSS on my rocks this quick or is it algae? ......

[tinkster]

I so want to have moss covered rocks on my falls, but where I had to waterproff and seal the cement made rocks, I was told moss probably wouldnd grow on them but I think I see a few spots of moss..  the rock gets a small dribble from the falls. 

The rock is full day sun.  If it is moss what will happen to it when I shut down the waterfall for the winter?

tinkster

[Teresa]

Looks like algae to me, but that can be just as attractive. 

I have both moss and algae on the rocks in my falls.  The algae that grows on them is thick and dark green and looks a lot like moss, but it's on the wettest rocks, so I assume it's algae.  The moss is on all the ones near, but not in the water.  There is moss on rocks in the water, but not below the water line.

Whatever it is, it will most likely die when you shut the falls down.  But if it's moss, it should come back when you start them up again.  Mine is all dead right now because my falls have been shut down for a while.  My piping from the skimmer to the falls needs to be replaced and I cannot do it.  Have a brother coming to visit who promised to help (he owns a watergardening business.)

[Jerry]

I have the same problem.  i must get in the pond and scrub it away.  I suspect that is lile broadcasting seeds.
Hard to see in this photo, but it forms where the water hits the rock.

[Teresa]

Why must you scrub it away?  If it's growing there and removing nutrients, it's doing a good thing and, at least in my pond, it doesn't look that bad on the falls.  I admit that I don't like it growing on the lip rock, but it doesn't look that bad on the rest of the rockery.  I know my pond is different from most, but I haven't found that what grows on the falls spreads much . . . so I just leave it there and let it be part of the filter system.

[Kittyzee]

It grows on my falls rocks too, and when I add water after a few days the fish actually make loud noises like slurping and sucking because they LOVE to eat it when they can reach it again after adding water! 
I tried scrubbing it away, and that only lasted a few days, too much work for too little reward in my book.  I'm just leaving it and let the fish eat it.

[croft]

Tinkster, this pic shows the edge of my waterfall. The upper rock has moss on it and the lower one some algae. The moss is not in the water at all, just growing in the moist air that surrounds it. The algae is growing in the stream of water. The moss has survived 3 or 4 winters in that location and I also shut down my falls for the winter. Sorry I can't help you on growing the moss because it was on the rock when I placed it there.

[louis]

tink, that is algae, don't remove it, it serves a good purpose in life.

lou

[karen J]

Croft, Interesting point! I've often wondered how moss could grow on a rock in full sun (my pond), never thought that it could be the surrounding moisture that's keeping it alive.