Author Topic: String algae (Read 2833 times)

LynneNY · « **on:** August 08, 2009, 08:16:17 PM »

I have posted before about the string algae that was covering the waterfall rocks. About a week and a half ago, I scrubbed it off when my husband turned off the waterfall, and THAT is when the BIG problem began! It is now covering EVERYTHING in the pond! I am constantly removing it from the sides and pots, but it is even on the waterlily pads, and seems to be strangling the stems of the pads? I am afraid it might prevent them from growing, and from buds to grow as well?

This is on a very small Sioux waterlily that I potted up just a couple of weeks ago.

I bought this basket earlier this summer. It reminded me of the kind of baskets that driving ranges keep golf balls in - my parents were obsessed with golf!!! Anywho... I thought that if my husband cut off the handle and I turned it upsidedown, the fish might enjoy swimming in and out of it, and could "hide" in there if a predator came along. They do love swimming through it, and he has seen some sleeping in there early in the morning when he leaves for work at 5a.m. He will cut some of the wrungs out when the fish get bigger so they will still be able to fit through them.

BUT... here it is all covered in that "lovely" string algae!

I went out and bought the kitty litter last Wednesday and put 2 knee high stockings full of it under the waterfall, and a bag at the top where the water first comes out of the fall. I also took out the old barley straw and put in 2 bags of fresh straw. What else can we do - it's really taking over!

joejoe123 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 08, 2009, 09:46:47 PM »

I used peroxide a couple weeks ago for string algea in one of my ponds ( its about 1000 gallons ) I used 3 of the 16 ounce bottles and in about 3 days it was totally dissolved. Didnt hurt my fish plants or my pocket.

Joey

tenuki · « **Reply #2 on:** August 09, 2009, 05:19:37 AM »

I had the same issue this year - and last year. I had so much algae in my pond when the ice was melting this spring that the ice was green. I read everything on here and tried most of it. HP, kitty litter, algae fix, barley straw, barley pellets, barley straw extract and it just kept growing. I finally started using microbe-lift Calcium Montmorillonite Clay along with Pond=zyme with barley (alledgedly eats the dead algae) and I vacuumed frequently. After two weeks my water started clearing and my lilies started growing and blooming again. Last week I could see the bottom of my pond and no more algae. Unfortunately, when I got home Friday night my clear water pond was completely empty so now I get to start all over again. I believe there is not one product that works for all but you need to experiment. I will say, that years ago I was using Koi Clay and did not have a string algae issue so there is something to be said about the clay. Good luck, I know how frustrating it is.

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #3 on:** August 09, 2009, 03:57:25 PM »

Personally, I would not worry about it. String algae contributes to clear water and it causes no harm to plants or fish. I have plenty of it but would never add any chemicals to my pond over it nor stress about it. If some of it really bothers you scoop it out with a toilet brush.

Algae carpeting the liner, pots etc. is not string algae at all and is considered good.

Jerry · « **Reply #4 on:** August 09, 2009, 04:00:27 PM »

i had it on the spillway. I coverd the spillway. SA does not like shade! It worked like a charm.

Esther · « **Reply #5 on:** August 09, 2009, 04:39:47 PM »

String algae can totally take over a pond and fill it. I didn't read this in a book. I didn't overhear somebody talking about it. I didn't learn about it through gossip on an email. About 6 years ago SA began to form in my pond. I didn't know what it was because it had never grown in my pond before. All I knew was that I "shouldn't" use chemicals. Wasn't sure why but kept hearing the warnings so was afraid to use it. I didn't have any idea how to get rid of SA and mostly ignored it for a long time. It got to the point that the fish couldn't be seen unless they surfaced. Sure the water was clear but what good did that do when it totally filled the water? The fish actually had to make tunnels in it to move around. I finally got sick of it and invented the Twirl and Hurl dance. DH and I got in the pond and began to remove the SA by bending down, extending our hands with fingers outstretched, twirled our hands around, and tangling gobs of SA around our fingers. We lifted the SA up, squeezed the water out of it and then hurled it into a 5 gallon bucket sitting on shore. It took DH and I about a hour and a half of this activity and ended up with 2 buckets of SA. Fortunately it was early in the season and the lilies hadn't begun to grow much. After that I bought some sort of algae killer and used it to get rid of the remaining crud. I too have used barley pellets, barley liquid, barley straw, kitty litter and Koi clay. I think that the secret of any of the organic stuff like the barley or Koi clay is to keep using it. My problem is that I get the SA under control one way or another and then forget to treat for it until it is beginning to form again. Butttt, I WILL NOT use fear of chemicals ever again keep me from treating any type of algae, should it get started with a chemical. Now after all these years, I know to use it sparingly and carefully follow the directions when I do. I have also heard stories about PP so know if I ever used it, to find out exactly how to do it as people who were knowlegeable, killed off all their prize fish with PP. If you're going to use chemicals, be very careful and err on the side of slighting it. Be very sure the volumn of water in your pond. Make sure it is oxygenated very well and watch your fish for signs of lacking it.
Remember that what worked for me may not work for you.

mondotomhead · « **Reply #6 on:** August 10, 2009, 12:08:03 PM »

I, too, have string algae but NOTHING like yours. YIKES! I hand pull out the algae from the sides where it tangles in the parrot feather and pull it off the waterfall rocks and for hard to reach areas I found a nice, long stick in the woods and use that to twirl it around and whip it onto the lawn. I'm terrible at math and would be afraid to use peroxide.

tenuki · « **Reply #7 on:** August 10, 2009, 03:54:28 PM »

I have to agree with Esther. I tend to get lazy once things are under control but I think you do have to keep using it. I will continue with the clay and the pond zyme especially to see if I avoid the "new pond" greenies now that I replaced all my water. There are people on here who have never had an algae bloom, maybe I can be one of them.

MadALwx · « **Reply #8 on:** August 10, 2009, 09:34:40 PM »

Before we added Koi (Draco Pond was just 2 wks old) we had a huge algae bloom, soup, along w/ SA. Added 32fl oz of 3% H2O2 to our 1300gal pond and it cleared w/in 1 day. Only had 5 diff lilly plants. Now treat w/ bacteria. The algae comes and goes, but SA under control.

I imagine things will change as the pond ages; < 2mnths old.
x4 Koi - 3"
x2 Shubunkin -3"

Came after the last 2 hard rains
x1 Bull Frog-George
X3 Squirrel Frogs-Bud, Wise, and Er (the slow one)

skarol98 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 06, 2012, 10:05:14 PM »

How you got thos problem under control this is how my pond looks now

Julles · « **Reply #10 on:** March 07, 2012, 05:53:30 AM »

Fish - the right kind of fish - will keep your algae under control.

I have small amounts of string algae in my tubs in the winter, but don't have problems in the summer. This winter was the worst for the algae, but even then, it was not bad, compared to your other stories.

But I have NO algae in the pond. I believe it's because I've taken care to never introduce anything that might even be minutely contaminated with it, so it's never gotten a foothold in the pond. My pond is fairly shaded, as well, but the tub gardens get more sun. Also, I have koi and goldfish, and I believe they eat the algae before it can start. In some floating baskets in the pond, there is some SA growing, where the fish can't get to it. But nywhere where the fish are, no algae survives.

skarol98 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 07, 2012, 07:57:48 PM »

Well my fish were not feed during winter I have koi and goldies so they must not like algae

skarol98 · « **Reply #12 on:** March 25, 2012, 04:20:16 PM »

my pond is beautiful now! I use the toilet brush did water change by using my shopvac put some algae fix, beneficial bacteria and barley and everithing so far is beautiful

! Cant wait for the farmers market to bring water plantsso I can put some

Im posting the before picure in this one . in the next post I have the after

skarol98 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 25, 2012, 04:22:14 PM »

this is the after

not a close up of the water but believe me is nice a clean(with some pollen on it)

Julles · « **Reply #14 on:** March 25, 2012, 07:12:51 PM »

Good job!

Say, what do you mean by using the ShopVac to change the water? Did you use the vac to suck all the water out of the pond? I thought ShopVacs were for vacuuming up, say, a spilled gallon bucket of water. Did you use it for a whole pond? And if so, did you let the canister fill up, then have to dump it over and over again?

skarol98 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 26, 2012, 11:35:28 PM »

I use a wet and dry shop vac! I scrub tge algae and let it seatle to the bottom (like 2 hrs) then vacum! I. Did tgat 2 days and i remove every day like 30% of the water! And yep i empty the canister many times because my is a 10 gals one but it works great!

turtlemike · « **Reply #16 on:** March 31, 2012, 09:09:12 AM »

A phyto-filter stocked with yellow water iris and snails in the pond will eliminate all algae. I take an algae covered waterlily and put it in my phyto-filtered pool and it is algae free in a few days. Yellow water iris is a glutton for fertilizer and will starve algae to death. It gets light green and starts looking thiner then it gets grayish looking and ragged and you can see through it then it starts breaking free in wispy chunks and finally disapears. It helps to manually remove as much algae as you can at first because it contains a lot of fertility.

Algae is the grass of the underwater world and if you get the water fertility very low it can't grow fast enough to keep up with the grazers, snails zooplankton etc, then it will get grazed down and then overgrazed to the point that there is no algae left, like a farmer that doesn't fertilize his field and puts way to many cows on it. the field turns to bare soil and rocks in no time. This is the only way to avoid or get rid of algae. Koi are big underwater cows.

cassiebug · « **Reply #17 on:** April 03, 2012, 06:48:07 AM »

The hydrogen peroxide really works and it seems to benefit the plants, doesn't hurt the fish. It's much easier to pour into the tanks/pond than to stand out there with a brush and better than any chemicals.

Mike S. · « **Reply #18 on:** April 03, 2012, 10:04:41 AM »

Hydrogen Peroxide is just water with an extra oxygen molecule. So, it "shouldn't" harm fish. That extra molecule of oxygen is loosely bound to the compound of water, so just shaking a bottle of it will cause the extra oxygen to break free and bubble up to the surface.

When you pour it into the pond, that is what happens and it can be used as a way in a low-oxygen emergency to quickly raise the oxygen levels in the pond. When doing this, you should NEVER pour the stuff in directly on top of a fish. Remember that the primary use of Hydrogen Peroxide, sold in drug stores, is as a topical disinfectant. While that extra oxygen molecule is still bound to the water, it is a powerful oxidizer. A straight shot of it very definitely damage fish gills.

Pouring it directly on to concentrations of string algae should be pretty safe for the fish. It will not remain “hydrogen peroxide” in the water for very long at all. You might consider adding aeration to the pond to ensure that the oxygen levels are kept up to the temperature dependent oxygen saturation point. String algae prefers water with lower oxygen levels.

String algae lives on nutrients dissolved in the water. To me, it’s presence is a symptom of water that needs a little attention.

As for the various clays, I’d not think of them as a “chemical,” just as I don’t generally regard salt as a “chemical.” Of course, they are just that, chemicals, but when people us the term, they often mean it in a negative context. What the clay does is, it acts primarily as a “chemical sponge.” Just as zeolite can remove ammonia from the water column, the clays also “take up” quite a few chemicals that are not desirable in the pond. The right clays also add some beneficial minerals that can be missing from your supply water.

Just some thoughts,

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

frogman3 · « **Reply #19 on:** April 03, 2012, 08:27:00 PM »

Very wise thoughts IMO Mike. I keep my ponds highly oxyninated in the winter cold water months with airators and have never had to deal with string algae problems ever since.

Been a while since I have seen you post...how goes it Mike?

Mike S. · « **Reply #20 on:** April 04, 2012, 08:44:39 AM »

For me, things are going fairly well. Then again, my point of view is a bit skewed, or so I've been told. It looked like most everything went completely off the rails for a while, but I've learned to scrape it off my boot and drive on. Every time a door seems to close on me, another one opens up. I just go thru and see where it leads.

Much of what I know about water gardening was picked up from my mentor, John Davis of Bushnell, FL. Back when I met him, he'd been raising and hybridizing waterlilies for about 50 years. Most of his production ponds were burial vaults that he got a deal on because they were "flawed" in some way. Only real problem with them was their weight. Where ever you first put them is where they tend to stay!

In those, he grew out water lilies in one gallon pots. Nothing else in those ponds except for some elodea, a single air stone, and usually just one goldfish of some sort. The fish was for mosquito control. Not all the tanks had them, as John sort of saw them as high maintenance. He was really focused on the plants. Ponds without fish always had a BT doughnut in them. Koi to John, was just a "swimming rat." The less time I spent arguing with him on that, the more time I spent learning from him.

The thing is, John made no real effort to keep the ponds from going green. His minimalistic approach kept the clear for him.

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL