Good video. I agree. Algae is not bad. Just annoying. It also shades the fish from the sun in a sunny country. And its slippery. Jig! And make the floor creepy.
This is a fantastic video. Concise, clear & informative! My little ( ~250gal ) pond is over 10 years old and I have cycled thru with the string algae. I am tired of it but just always pull it out. I will be adding more plants and might try the barley extract (barley bales are ugly) & Beneficial bacteria/diatomes. ( I know that diatomes are also good for fleas in the yard. I wonder if these are the same?) I have harvested plants for our pond from a clear lake in the past, cleaned them with a VERY MILD bleach solution before putting them in my pond...(not sure if this is bad or good but seemed to be the thing to do to kill any strange bugs etc) I love my pond! and my fish~~~ YAY! They were tiny (10 for $1 feeder fish) and have grown so much over the years...they even had babies ! WOOHOO! SOOOO...not a concise comment, but my question is because we live in the HOT New Orleans climate we often add water to the pond because of evaporation...any thoughts on this? THANKS!!! Tiki
Good job! I too have a small pond and used feeder fish. One is pregnant, yay! Everyone thought I was crazy to do feeders, but, as it is my first pond w fish, I wasn't about to add some expensive ones. Come to find out, I love them.
Thank you for this very helpfull video. I have learnt a lot about the causes of algae and the things I have been doing wrong so far. I will be making some changes.
Great video, very informative, so I am understanding that the last algae you commented about is good for the pond. My pond is very small and I did like being able to see the bottom, now it has a murky color, no fish, not possible, night visitors, but I do plan on adding additional plants. Would I be able to cover the area and let it die off and then start afresh or do I need to clean and then treat water with barley extract at that time. Thanks for any comments. tj
Don't clean the pond, you will ruin the beneficial elements and cause a new algae bloom. Simply add plants and don't feed or overfeed fish and the pond quickly comes into balance
Great video James. I just subscribed to your channel. I love it. There are lots of important clues to know about ponds. I'm from São Paulo, Brazil. I'm organic. I have a Brazilian RU-vid channel too. I getting ready to install an aquaponic system at my land. But that all new to me. I want to run it on natured powerful resources such as solar pumps and air pump motion. I think I will learn a lot listening to you. Hugs.
I'm a new pond owner and I was misled thinking I was just going to add fish and enjoy a beautiful pond. I have had issues with algae. From what I learned the wall algae is OK. Ive been googling a lot and now have confused the hell out of myself. There are so many products out there to get "a crystal clear pond" . I've currently been adding algaecide weekly and sludge remover weekly and not sure after seeing your video if I'm just throwing money out the window. My pond is very sunlit. I don't have 50-60% plant coverage. I will add more. Wondering about the beneficial bacteria. Is that something that should be added regularly and what would you recommend?
I don't have algae I have broun muck how do you get that to clear? My pond is on the small scale with 5 small gold fish and two just starting to grow water lilies. Oh and two small pumps that run all day and night.
Hi Arthur, are you feeding the fish and or using any chemical algacide? Could you email us a photo of the pond with the brown muck for a better look? That may help. PondMegastore@yahoo.com thank you
I bought a house with a pond, 2000-3000 gal. in Los angels area, the pond has 3 bottom drains, so should I connect all the 3 bottom drains to the bead filter? and that's it? let the bacteria in the filter do their job?
Hey ...from India....my pond only has string algae and the water is really clear...but the algae appears throughout the year (it's always sunny here)...is it normal? btw I manually remove it ...no chemicals used
Another question..is it really necessary to fertilize my lilies?... they seem to do pretty well without it( never fertilized them till date)...they are tropical lilies (Dauben)and bloom almost everyday...but still some people suggest me to fertilize them..so is it really necessary?
To my surprise this is not just another how-to-fix-my-algae-problem video but rather one of the best and most comprehensive video on the topic I’ve seen yet. Great job young man.
Really impressed that you didn't try to sell algicides or UV sterilizers. Quality and comprehensive guide to a clean and balanced pond ecosystem. great video, and thanks for sharing.
Very good information! Thanks for concise and timely advice. Remember those of us in colder climates who have to winter over our plants and keep our fish alive.
The best solution (and ecological) is to add plants, submerged or rooted in the water. They absorb nutrients and reduce drastically the algae, and they are very beautiful!!
Very nice video, informative, without "the usual" sales pitches! Good, solid information. I do use a 36 W UV inline with a 2-stage filter system, and don't currently have algae issues. And, yes, we love to see the fish swirling around during a feeding session, so I'm almost sure that we over feed ;-) the big problem with having water Lilly pond cover: we cain't never see no fish! So, I'm going to put in a DIY remote underwater camera system!
My pond has a bunch of “pea soup algae” I searched up this video because I want to be able to see my goldfish i’m going to try out some of these techniques. Thanks!
Thank you for this video. Very straight forward and easy to understand. I recently started a small koi pond. I noticed the film algae. I freaked out and started googling trying to find how to remove it. I couldn't find a straight answer. I was completely confused until I found this video. Thank you again.
excess nutrients = algae... so plant water plants, as many as you can whether in your pond or aquarium to consume excess nutrients...also, don't overfeed your fish... LOTUSES AND LILLIES are the best answer to common pond algae problem...
Thanks for this video seems to have a different message than most . New to the pond life and I have such a small pond with a lot of algae . I was trying to get rid of it because it looked awful. I have the film algae .... but I have a lot of sunlight
So many sexist, objectifying comments here. Women need to be taught how to be more respectful of men. This a video about pond maintenance, not pornhub.
First off, how unfair to start this video with no shirt on. How's a girl supposed to pay attention to what is being said? 😊 Secondly, about three years ago I stopped "fussing" with my pond. Before that I was struggling to keep it clean it was always green, there was string algae everywhere. I purchased some feeder gold fish, and lots of plants from all three tiers. Two years ago my babies had babies!! I replenished the floaters. As I'm in northern Michigan we have some harsh Winters and everything dies off. I leave a small pump running for water flow and have two large rocks that are half submerged. My fish are healthy, and the majority of my algae is gone. Next year I will have to pull my Lilly and separate it, not many flowers this year. Thanks Pond Megastore, got all my plants from you guys.
Hi Kat, thank you so much for the compliments! It is wonderful to know folks are having good experiences with the plants and the ponds overall. Stay warm up there in Michigan. Summers just are not long enough! 🙌 🙂
Koi and other larger fish eat duckweed - if you are not feeding them with other food they should take care of issues like that. Again like with algae starving out the duckweed with various other plants to get rid of excess nutrients would help.
Wow I sooooo learned alot..am new to the whole koi pond but my fish are doing great. I sooo learned that absence of plants is the problem for my green water also was trying to use barley bales to fix it...didn't know was a preventative..also glad I refrained from chemicals...especially since I hate chemicals. Gonna keep these guys in mind when I have questions
Hi from Australia...great video ! I had water Hyacinths for a while in my pond....wow..they took over and had an enormous root system. Great shade for my fish, but a huge amount of work. I removed them and replaced them with other plants...much better and the pond really happy now.
I used Algeaflex which said it was safe for fish and plants and killed about 100 of my Comet Goldfish. I had been growing the fish for 4-5years. Then I saw on a bag of baking soda it would cause particles in a pool to sink to the bottom. I used a 13.5 pound bag of baking soda in my pond which was a swimming pool turned into a fish pond. It’s about 30,000 gallons of water. I have the floating green algae. How can I neutralize the baking soda or should I completely empty the pond and start over? At this point I have only 1fish I rescued before it died. Should I get more fish to see if they survive? Right now I only have an aeration system for a 2000 gallon pond and no circulation. I do have a 1.5 hp pump but have been hesitant about installing it. Can y’all help? Great video!! Thanks
Hello, I have a small koi pond , approximately 350 gallons . I have 8 koi , no longer than 8 inches as they are young. Once the temps rose the algie came on . We have a strong filter system and a water fall for movement . The pond is lined with heavy duty rubber and then that’s covered with round rock. Please help! Thank you.
Koi should not be in any pond less than 2000 gallons mote than temporary (weeks, not months or years). These are big fish that grow to 28 to 36 inches. Without an amazing filtration system like an equal size bog pond these wont survive or require a massive expensive mechanical filter. The fish you chose for that pond are just wrong. Consider a bigger proper size home for them or different fish like goldfish. It is like having two camels in your home and wondering why it is a mess. Those are very improper choices for such a pond unfortunately. Please reconsider for your sake and theirs.
Thank you very much for this! We are about to build a turtle pond for our sliders. Having watched many videos & reading so much just to get such different ways of doing things. This is a great help on how to get things started right! My mother has two koi ponds and struggles to keep the algae in check, I will be passing this info along to her aswel :) Now to figure out the bog setup for them...any suggestions?
Help not sure what's going on I have algae on the sides, rocks, everywhere...the water was clearish yesterday but today its totally green. We have a 500gal pump filtering a 150gal with a small bog area waterfall.
New pond owner: do I need to repot the submerged plants into something mesh-ier? They are still in their plastic growing containers. And can you make a video on film algae? I have that, but it seems to be clogging my water spitter tube and slowing the flow.
Hello! Most all plants should be repotted into proper size containers. Nothing should stay in the net pots you often purchase plants from a nursery in those are just to get the plant started. We have many more videos we hope to shoot July 18th and 19th here and will upload soon there after. The way you would take care of other algae would be no different, you still must be suffering from too much biomass (nutrient rich debris) or not having the proper bacteria / diatoms / or other plant life to consume those so the answer on another form of algae would not be different. You need something to consume the excess nutrients or suffer a never ending costly cycle with chemicals.
Hi Skyler, why would the size of the pond make a difference in any of the reasoning behind this video? Did you actually watch this video? It is not about pond size at all.
Thanks for good and clear information. We have a 104 gallon pond. A filtration system with UV light (likely a failed lamp) and a waterfall for aeration. The past few weeks we noticed the fish were all congregating directly under the fall. When we looked up that behavior we learned that our pond was in distress. I changed about 1/3 of the water and the fish appeared to do a little better for a day or so, but continued to hang out under the fall. I planned on doing a deep cleaning of the pond. We have been having blooms of hair algae. Upon the start of doing so I discovered two dead fish that were just the previous day seen under the fall. This precipitated a drastic cleaning of the pond - to remove the fish to a holding tank while I drained and cleaned the entire pond. The ENTIRE pond. Took the liner out and pressure washed it to remove the algae and bought a new pump/filtration system with UV. Filled the pond and returned the fish. We added an air bubbler and air pump to put more oxygen into the water. Also, the potted plants - we took them out of their soil, believing the soil was full of fertilizers. The plants are doing OK with the new water and the fish are now seemingly more at ease in the environment. But now I'm concerned because of your comments about changing the water because I changed 100% of the water from city water. Again, the fish are doing better than before - something I believe was needed to save their lives. We've removed the soil from the potted plants, and plan on a few more plants as well. This, we believe, will give greater chances for fry to survive birth. Formerly there was nowhere for them to hide and the other fish were eating them as soon as they were laid. We've purchased "Beneficial Bacteria" in the hopes to bring our pond into a better balance. Aside from having subjected the fish to 100% water with no nutrients in it, other than the hard water we have here, we're not sure what to expect. We've been adding rocks (P-gravel) as a bed along with flat stones to provide overhangs for them to shelter under. We plan on getting at least one more plant, something with red leaves, as this is what we've heard from others on RU-vid. Do you have any other advice? Thanks. Pete C. [edit] I have a sun shade over the pond. It gets direct sunlight in the morning then all day it gets about 90% sunlight. This was also purchased in an effort to cut down on hair algae. I've never had Pea Soup algae, nor have I ever noticed the short algae you spoke about as the third sort. But upon retrospect my UV lamp must have failed. From now on I will start with new lamps. I may have to find a good source of replacement lamps because the filtration system I am currently using (from the big box store) does not sell replacement lamps. "( [end edit]
Did the pond recover? It sounds like the waterfall wasn't enough aeration. Fish, algae and other aerobic organisms all add to oxygen consumption. If your pond was was heavily stocked, may not have been enough available oxygen which would drive fish to the surface or to congregate around the waterfall. Also gives algae a chance to take over if there isn't enough healthy bacteria to fight it back
Saw this dude trying to be "showy" for the lady gardeners... But quickly realised he still has excellent points and covers everything well. Great job. I have the film type and realised it was just me not liking the look more than any actual issue.
I have drinking water pond which get its water from the government pipe and from the rain. There are no fish or plant. The pond is covered. Very little sunlight. What is the best way to clean?
Well it does not sound clean. That does not tell us enough information. We dont know anything about the source or contaminants or chemicals. Filtering with aquatic plants would be beneficial for sure. Multiple species for different uptake of nutrients and heavy metals or chemicals. I am sorry without knowing what is in your water that is quite difficult and not an algae question but a water quality question. Lookup potable water.
Im in Northern California, almost full sun, I have all the types of algae, just added a lily plant and 10 floating plants, lettuce and hyacinth. Im planting medium sz trees near pond to create more shade. Every spring I have to add an algaecide and koi dont like. 10 yrs and still trying to fix algae problems. Should I plant more plants in pond?
Yes plant more plants and reconsider the tree. The tree may drop lots of debris into the pond over the year causing more issues. Lilies and other aquatic plants provide shade. Aim for 45 to 60% plant cover. Water hawthorn and hornwort are good for nutrient uptake. Feed fish less!
That is their natural diet in Nature, all carp dig up and eat plants. They were never supposed to be with plants, in Japan the ponds are minimalist form. 8 carp (koi) can keep one acre devoid of plant life. In the USA and the west they attempt to keep two things that do not belong together in the same ecosystem. There is a reason you don't keep lions and tigers in your house. Same thing. You can have upper shallow water plants at the surface where koi cannot dog but nothing lower level. The attempt to shove rocks around plants ends up killing tender ones. Just because some survive or make it before koi are large isn't a remedy.
That smile made me click here first. He knows what he’s doin. 😂 on a different note, I’m trying desperately to clear the koi pond at my job. New products, new filter. Nothing will get it out. Help!
Well. We answered .... Don't change all the water. Stop feeding fish if you are. Get 40-60% of the pond covered with proper plants. = no algae. **large Koi can be an issue with plants. Like goats in a veggie garden. Do goldfish not koi.
@@pondmegastore thanks a bunch for responding! I’m going to do my best to put more shade plants around this week. The pond has been neglected for a long time until I got there. Maybe I made mistakes too? But , If all goes well this will make a LOT of special people extremely happy! I thank you sincerely.
Kurt why don't you email me some photos of the pond in question. If there are plants in there, must be an issue with the biomass in the pond which leads to algae. 250 gal is a very small pond , is there one grass or diverse plant life? Are you feeding fish or any other debris falling into this water?
This video heavily helped me understand that I was worrying too much about my water garden. I recently built one on my patio stating with a kiddie pool. We used some river rock around the property and added plants as well. My water is clear! But I do have some string algae and that stuff that grows on the side and rocks. I find some days when it gets very hot that the water tends to become a bit brownish and I live in the country so I deal with constantly cleaning out debris from trees and cotton. Can particles cause browning?
I have the pea soup algae. I live on the Oregon Coast, where it rains a lot. The algae plugs up my filter in no time flat. What should I use to kill it off?
Well you probably have a "prefilter" on the pump and not any kind of true filter at all. Did you watch the video and figure out your issue? Where excess nutrients are coming from that cause the algae? The video very much tells you why chemicals are no long term solution so I am not sure you watched the video and understand how to stop the algae or you would be asking a different question.
Hes not got much of a clue. Don't use chemicals. Get an algae brush and just keep pulling it out . And invest in a pond vac to keep sludge off thr bottom. Qt thr minute I'm having to oull my pump everyday to unclog it. My pump is huge
Do you have any ideas that would pertain to duck ponds? I am loath to add barley extract to my pond as I am not sure what effect this could have on my ducks health. Also, certain plants are toxic and information on this is tough to come by. Lastly, do plants require containers? My ducks like to swim and dive, so I’d rather not fill their pond with large containers. Any thoughts on getting rid of algae in a duck pond would be appreciated. Ours seems to be the strong variety.
Thanks for the informative video! I'm having trouble classifying the type of algae I have in my pond. It's not stringy at all and it doesn't look like pea soup. The water is actually very clear underneath but there is a ton of floating green clumps of algae that is thick, creamy and sometimes foamy. Like you mentioned in your video, I had a major water change that may have caused it but it was present even before, just not as bad. My filter clogged and ended up pumping out most of the pond water before I caught it. I took the opportunity to clean the pond while partially empty and refilled it half way. I have lots of plants (Lilies, floating plants, Taro and various others) and have been using barley straw for a couple of weeks but the green muck on top is still there. I scoop out a lot of it daily with a net but it returns the next day. The pond does have a lot of direct sunlight so I covered parts as much as I could. Any ideas of the type of algae and/or tips on how to remove it for good? Thanks again
Filamentous algae .... barley straw when overly broken down no longer releases enzymes and can cause this which is why we prefer exract rather than rotting floating barley in water. Other leaf litter often causes it too. Try nualgi, hornwort, and beneficial bacteria like microbe lift HC and be sure no biomass like fishfood or debris like leaf litter is falling in to decay.
I have string algae in my “cauldron” pond. My big pond is a dammed up stream. I have baby koi and shabunkins in it. Only slight algae in little puffs attached to a log floating in it. There are three patches of lilies. Maybe a fourth of the surface. The water continuously flows through. It’s cold since I live at 3500’ in the Smoky Mountains of Western NC. Water is crystal clear...???
Just want us to look or need real help 🙂. Email us some photos and we are technically available to help! Go to our website and use the contact us button.
Hello I have a new pond since spring But now it’s fall and a lot of leafs fell in the water turning the color to reddish or brownish oh no How do I get rid of the color, Would enzymes help?
Near trees you should cover ponds before leaf drop with a tent shaped net. Now you will likely have to deal with algae from that biomass breakdown. First scoop out the leaves with a net and then do three 20% water changes over a week's time.
I have pea soup algae and also the slim on the rocks. First time ever this bad Happened in early July. Still going on now. Used algae fix for that time Last four weeks every third day Got the pond shock from pond guys. Did that two days ago with very little results. Wanted to know when I could use the agaecide again
Hi Elsie, this whole video is on why algaecides get you stuck in the "chemical cycle" and how treating a water garden like a natural ecosystem gets the pond back into balance without micromanagement of the water. Chemicals like algaefix do temporarily kill algae for 5 to 7 days but also retard the plants and upset the balance. This leads to either string algae or return to pea soup. We dont honestly suggest algaecides at all as the quick fix is very temporary and leads to long term issues.
Yea that is odd. I tried using chlorine tabs in my pond. It cleared up the algae. But for some reason I lost all my fish/plants. Next year I'll try a chlorine dispenser
And the chemicals will kill fish and plants... It's pretty much what they're for, killing off anything in the water. PLEASE DON'T USE CHLORINE IN YOUR POND
I have a water garden with a waterfall filter. It is set up for 80 gal / hr flow and the garden is a 50 gal pool. When I used barley straw, my water got brown. I think it was bad barley from the store - how can you ensure it is good quality? I also have a lot of algae in the winter here in mid-Carolina because winters are warm. I added good bacteria and plants after a few weeks, then snails. There are still cattails and water lilies, but the cold water at the top killed the water hyacinth. I rarely feed the one Koi and one bottom feeder. The koi feeds off the water lettuce. The chem tests always come out optimal levels, but the string algae keeps coming back. Some is bright green, but some is a brownish color. Is the brown safe??
We recommend barley extract rather than straw itself. Barley straw will add more than just the beneficial enzyme to the water and doesn't break down properly below 55 degrees F. Barely extract is a preventative (not a cure remember) at any temperature and wont discolor the water. I hope that is some help. Note testing the water wont tell you anything about algae. As we state early in the video without adding chemicals to a pool simply dust and sunlight added to a pool will cause algae you have plenty of nutrients in the pond for algae and other plants are not so active in winter. Best results would come from Water Hawthorn and hornwort in winter months as both stay active. Hawthorn will help add a little shade while lilies and floating plants are not growing (yes they need planted) and hornwort is a super filter which also releases a hormone which retards algae if your koi wont eat the hornwort. Note 50 Gallons is very small for any size koi, koi are large fish which grow to 30 inches in size no matter the size of the pond. It would not be comfortable in a 50 gallon pool.
We get string algae in the spring through the heat of the summer. The blooms are rooted and hard to get out. I think the algicide is harsh on the few water lilies we do have. Definitely need more plants. Thank you for you tips!
great video... know I know what I've been doing wrong and am on the path to fixing it - thanks. Do you have a 'list' of appropriate plants? You named a few (did you say Canna would work in a pond?) Keen to know which plants are best so I can be better prepared when I go to the store. Thanks again. M
@@maureenthurston-chartraw7354 oh no. We don't do any international shipping but I know for certain Australia is the most difficult as I have heard not only do they have the standard import and export permits required but you must prove to the Aussie govt you have a six months quarantine area for the plants set up I guess?!?! Sounds so extreme. Anyway importing and exporting is terrible in most western countries and so much does in the holds in transit because of the bureaucratic red tape. You have some great growers in Australia though please seek them out there is good stock there if you look for those grower. Kind regards.
Hello. This is the very best video I have seen to date explaining about algae. I will be sharing it on our local pond club FB page. I have a 16' x 30' x 2.5'-4' pond. First time I've ever heard anyone speak to the algae on the liner and say "its good. leave it alone". I find a string algae bloom in such a large pond is not that difficult to deal with. 5-10 minutes a day when I get home from work with a pool net easily keeps up with the algae. It is difficult getting it off the plants though. The only problem is where to put that muck. A week later, after all the water has dried out of it, its like paper maché, has no weight at all, and is easily tossed in either the compost pile or the trash. Again, great video, nice presentation. Thank you.
I have to open the waterway path from the spring to the pond. Will that kill the fish stirring up all that dirt? I dont want to kill the kids fish. Over the last 30yrs it has filled back in.
@@pondmegastore my spring feeds the pond and is about 15ft away from the pond. It gets clogged with grass. When I clean it out, the water flos faster into the pond. And adds to the water level. That's what I meant. Thanks for the vid.
No really none of the algae is bad for ponds, it is normally a response to high nitrites , phosphorous, and eventually ammonia which are bad for fish and other life in the pond. It uptakes those and cleans the water of the excess however there are prettier plants you could and should consider along with limiting the biomass you are adding that cause algae.
Yes as long as you haven't forced nitrites up. Koi and fish don't mind algae as it is found in nature all the time.however if you are polluting the pond with no filtering plants and lots of fishfood then the water can become full of ammonia and toxic but it isn't algae that will harm them. Algae removes ammonia when you don't have sufficient plant life. It is natures Fix for harmful water but other plants are better to look at.
Don’t all these plants such as lily, water lettuce, hyacinths need full sunlight to thrive? My pond gets about 2 hours at most of sun. What plants would do well under this condition? Mahalo!
