algae problem

I have a spring fed pond that is approximately 120,000 gallons and is
stocked with trout. The water is very green with lots of algae plants
on the bottom. I did use aquazyme and it did nothing to help. After
reading many of the posts here I'm still not sure where to start. I
have been told that potassium permanganate will solve this problem.
Also that bentonite clay might help. I've also read some posts that
talk of good algae? Can anyone help me?

Pete
Macungie, PA

Ridge Roofing, Inc. wrote:

I have a spring fed pond that is approximately 120,000 gallons and is
stocked with trout. The water is very green with lots of algae plants
on the bottom. I did use aquazyme and it did nothing to help. After
reading many of the posts here I'm still not sure where to start. I
have been told that potassium permanganate will solve this problem.
Also that bentonite clay might help. I've also read some posts that
talk of good algae? Can anyone help me?

Pete
Macungie, PA


120,000 gallons is a LOT of water to attempt to treat with chemicals.
You may want to let nature take is course and help it out a bit by
adding bales of barley straw around the pond and especially near the
spring inlet. The barley is cheap compared to the requisite amount of
aquazyme.
W. Dale

"Ridge Roofing, Inc." wrote:

I have a spring fed pond that is approximately 120,000 gallons and is
stocked with trout. The water is very green with lots of algae plants
on the bottom. I did use aquazyme and it did nothing to help. After
reading many of the posts here Im still not sure where to start. I
have been told that potassium permanganate will solve this problem.
Also that bentonite clay might help. I've also read some posts that
talk of good algae? Can anyone help me?

Hi Pete, I have a smaller spring fed pond about 30 miles from you. It
is an 18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden which is spring
fed. I started it up last spring. It starts out with string algae in
the early spring but is clear now. I have lots of plants to control the
nutrients and used two chemical treatments in the spring.

1) Applied one dose of algaecide (AlgaeFix) in early April to get a
start in clearing the spring algae growth.

2) Added bacteria (Microbe-Lift Spring/Summer) in early April to help
eliminate the dead algae and other organic matter.

I don't have trout, just Golden Shiner Minnows, so I have less of a
nutrient load. Also, I never feed the fish. Other things I have done
a

o Floated a bale of barley straw near the spring pipe. (It is available
from Weaver's Hardware on the Fleetwood-Lyons road. Some clerks don't
know they have it, but they do.) It eliminates algae but only works
when the water warms up in the spring.

o Introduced trap-door snails into the pond. They eat the dead algae.

o Sunk oxygenator plants on the bottom (anacharis). They help the
general health of the pond by keeping the oxygen level up.

o Planted about 64 marginal filter plants in baskets with clay soil and
no fertilizer about 5" deep around the edge. They consume the nutrients
the algae live on.

o No filter and no pump.

I noticed a slight methane smell on the bottom so I am in the process of
installing an oxygenator pump. It is 40 watts so it won't cost an arm
and a leg to run it. I got it from Riverview Park Nursery on Pricetown
Road near Reading. It is a Pondmaster AP-40 and is described at:

http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.....asp?E+scstore

http://www.dannermfg.com/Instruction...rPumpInst.html

The marginal plants I have and planting depth a

Forget Me Not Myosotis scorpioides (6"-8")
Swamp Iris
Blue Water Iris Iris versicolor (2"-4")
Arum
Water Clover
Yellow Flag Iris psuedacorus (2"-4')
Pickerel Rush Pontederia cordata (2"-2.5")
Water Pennywort
Dwarf Papyrus
Blue Rush Juncus inflexus (2"-3")
Marsh Marigold Caltha palustrus? (1"- 1.5")
Chinese Lizard's Tail Saururus chinensus (l"-3")
Sweet Flag Acorus calamus (8")
Monkey Flower New Mimulus ringes
Blue Lobelia Lobelia siphilitica (2"-2.5")
Golden Monkey Flower yellow-Mimulus luteus (1"-3")

The floaters a

Water Hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes

The oxygenator plants I have a

Anacharis Egeria densa
Hornwortt Ceratophyllum demersum


Riverview is good for plants. But from April 1 to July 1, Black Creek
Greenhouse off route 625 in Lancaster County is the best place for water
plants. It is about a couple miles north of Shady Maple (rt. 23). If
you go to Riverview Nursery, ask to speak to Seth. He is a pond expert.

Good Luck!
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

All good answers. I'm going to add my algae primer
so you can get a basic understanding of the beast.

Algae is normal and natural and needed by the lower
end species in your pond. One of the bulding blocks
of life. Our problem is when things get out of balance,
very easy in backyard ponds, and algae goes gonzo...

Green Water is caused by single cell free floating suspended in the
water column algae. String algae is long, flowing, likes moving water
and has some body to it. Substrate algae is like a fuzzy green sweater
and grows on rocks, liners, plant baskets, and is considered a good
algae as it keeps the suspended and string algae at bay. It also hosts
lots of tiny zoo plankton, insect larvae, worms and other tasties that
are good for fish to consume
along with their veggies (the algae).

All algae thrives on sun, fresh water, fish waste, fertilized run off,
rotting plants and blown in dirt. In new ponds and spring ponds algae
is always the first thing to start growing.

The best defense against algae is to have lots of plants to compete for
the nutrients, few fish, not overfeeding those fish, some shade,
blocking run off and cleaning up debris.

Do not use algaecides, they only make lots of suddenly dead algae to
feed the next algae bloom. Gently remove string algae. Don't worry
about fuzzy algae that grows on the sides of things.

Most algae blooms will pass within a couple of weeks.
Time and patience is key.
Remember patience...

kathy :-) www.blogfromthebog.com
this week ~ bladderwort

Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html