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WHAT'S WRONG ?
Blanket weed, thread algae, string algae
and filament algae, are common names for a variety of different species of
filamentous algae. Blanket weed is very often seen clogging pond filters and
entangled with pond plants. It grows in dense green masses and quickly becomes
an unsightly nuisance if steps are not taken to control its growth.
WHAT CAUSES IT ?
When setting up
a new pond it is normal to have excess algae growing pending the establishment
of an ecological balance. Established pond can also become over grown with algae
due to a build up of nutrients or other factors upsetting the established
ecology. An ecological balance is achieved through the growth of a balanced
proportion of floating, marginal and submerged plants, fish, and scavengers
(snails and tadpoles). Most plants provide oxygen and all plants consume
nutrients from the water. Submerged (also called oxygenating) plants are
beneficial because they produce quantities of oxygen and provide supplemental
food for fish as well as a place to spawn. Floating plants are most beneficial
for providing shade to keep the water cool as cooler water holds more oxygen and
is healthier for your fish, reduce water evaporation, and provide hiding places
for fish.
Fish convert
oxygen to carbon dioxide and consume insect pests and a little algae too !.
Scavengers consume algae, decaying plant material, and fish waste. Fish
droppings, once broken down, provide nutrients for the plants which absorb the
carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. It is a complete cycle with each element
depending upon the others to provide what they need to survive.
Algae are a
normal part of the ecology of ponds, will always occur, and are to some extent
necessary for a healthy pond. An excessive growth of algae however can be very
detrimental and very unsightly. The quantity of algae in your pond will depend
on the weather, the amount of sunlight penetrating the water, the temperature of
the water, the concentration of oxygen in the water, the amount of nutrients
present and the number and variety of plants present. Algal growth is likely to
be at its worst in the spring when water temperatures and sunlight are on the
increase and the plants are still struggling to recover from winter. In time
the plants may flourish again and the situation may improve.
If the pond
ecosystem doesn’t reach a satisfactory balance of its own volition, something is
out of balance. As the algae and water plants in your pond compete for the same
sunlight and nutrients, adding some extra plants may be beneficial. This will
reduce the nutrients available to the algae and the increase in surface shade
afforded by additional water-lilies and floating plants will decrease the
sunlight available to the algae. This is of particular importance if your pond
is small and shallow. Having only a few plants in such an open expanse of water
exposed to direct sunlight, will result in warmer water and increased algae
production.
Little or no
plant life can be sustained in Koi ponds as these fish are voracious eaters of
plant life and prefer to live in open water. It is not possible to attain a
‘natural’ ecological balance in a pond where Koi are in residence, and heavy
filtration and high water circulation rates are required to keep the water clear
and in good condition. Blanket weed is very much at home in clear water with
lots of available sunlight and can be a major problem to Koi keepers.
On the other hand care must be
taken to ensure that excessive vegetation does not cover too much of the surface
of the pond thereby reducing oxygen absorption and causing oxygen depletion
of the pond water. Lack of oxygen in the water encourages algal growth as algae,
like plants, need carbon dioxide to survive. At higher oxygen levels, carbon
dioxide levels will be lower and the probability of excessive algal growth will
be reduced.
Oxygen is also
needed in the water to support aquatic life like fish, tadpoles, and aquatic
snails, all of which eat algae and help to keep the ponds ecosystem in balance.
If you have a
good growth of plants and still have too much algae then perhaps there are
excessive nutrients in the water. This could be caused by a single factor or a
by a combination of several different factors. A common problem is run-off from
adjacent lawns and gardens. Check to make sure that fertilizers are not washing
into the pond when it rains or when irrigation systems are operating. Perhaps
you are over-fertilizing your water-lilies and other water plants or maybe you
are doing it incorrectly. You may have too many fish so that their droppings
are causing an increase in nutrient levels. Maybe you are overfeeding your fish
?.
These factors
must be carefully considered and corrected if necessary before attempting
remedial action to combat the algae itself.
HOW TO
FIX IT !.
Having
corrected the obvious external sources of contamination affecting your pond it
is time to apply some more direct corrective measures. Start by physically
removing as much Blanket weed as possible by winding it onto a suitable stick (
a split bamboo works well . Leave the algae at the side of the pond for a while
so that the creatures living in it can return to the pond.
It is advisable
to test your pond water so that any obvious deficiencies can be corrected and
the effectiveness of subsequent treatments can be gauged. Look in our section on
Water treatments & Pond chemicals for test kits from various
manufacturers.
Having tested
your pond water, apply the simple corrective measures such as adjusting acidity
(pH) and adding some fresh water to the pond, (no more than 10% at a time) to
dilute the nutrient levels.
The second step
would be to dose the pond with an appropriate treatment from our range of pond
safe products. Both
INTERPET ‘ Pond Balance’
and Interpet Blanket weed buster are suitable treatments specially
formulated to be compatible with all aquatic life including plants. These
treatments will cause the algae to die and fall to the bottom of the pond where
they will form a sludge. The use of an additive treatment to control algae is no
more than a short-term solution as algae will develop resistance to these
materials relatively quickly.
Excessive
sludge may be removed by treating the pond with a ‘sludge buster’ such as
‘Interpet Sludge Control’
or Sludge Buster, or
‘Oase Silt Remover,
refer to our section on ‘Water treatments & Pond
chemicals’.
An alternative
to treatment with a biological sludge buster is mechanical sludge removal with a
pond vacuum cleaner (we offer both
Electric and manual models)
Dosing your
pond with additives does nothing to correct the basic imbalance responsible for
the uncontrolled growth of algae. Longer term strategies are required to ensure
to that outbreaks of excessive algal growth do not reoccur. It is good practice to
test your pond water regularly to ensure that pH and nutrient ( Nitrate ) levels
are at optimum levels. Adequate filtration is essential to maintain the stable
balance of good oxygenation and controlled nutrient levels essential for a
healthy pond. Excellent biological filtration is provided by the range of
pressure and gravity fed filters listed in our filters section. See
OASE
Filtoclear , OASE
Biotec , Fishmate , and in
our
pressure filter chart or
Gravity filter chart
The use of an
electromagnetic blanket weed controller will provide long-term control of
filamentous algae. These devices rely on the disruption of the calcium cycle in
the algal cells causing an unsustainable increase in their metabolism. See the
‘Blagdon
Blanket Weed Controller’
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