String Algae in Summer
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String Algae Treatment and Prevention
String algae can be a real pest. We often see it start to thrive in late winter/early spring before aquatic plants begin to emerge or when it really starts to heat up in the summer. We refer to string algae as any type of "hairy" algae that's growing in your pond and becoming unsightly. Sometimes it might grow on the bottom of your pond then dislodge and float to the pond surface during the day.
It's not harmful to your pond or fish, but when left to grow, it becomes a real nuisance very quickly.
As a side note: Don't kill algae in a pond with algaecide. This is very common and you could cause yourself a lot of heartache. When you use an algaecide it kills algae fast. As the algae is quickly dying, it's pulling oxygen out of the water. Your fish need that oxygen, especially when it's hot. Using an algaecide could rob enough oxygen from the water to cause a fish kill. The other issue you will have with an algaecide -- what happens to that dying algae? It becomes food in the water for... another algae bloom! Read on to find out the best way to remove string algae.
Prevention
The key to string algae prevention is to keep it from having any nutrients to sustain it.
The aquatic plants you choose to put in your pond are higher up on the food chain than string algae. Marginal plants that grow in the shallow areas and floating plants like water hyacinth and water lettuce are great at eating up all the nutrients in the water. Fewer nutrients means the string algae has no food and it starves! We have lots of cool aquatic plants at our store late April through October.
Remove Away
Use Remove Away every week. The natural enzymes in Remove Away bind up the nutrients. It's an easy-to-use powder that slowly starves and inhibits new growth of string algae.
Limit Waste in the Pond
Keeping algae "food" to a minimum is key as well. Fish waste, excess fish food, dead plant leaves, anything organic that's breaking down in your pond (i.e. "muck") is prime algae food. Keep an eye on your fish populations, how much (and WHAT) you feed your fish, and trim aquatic plants as you see leaves die. If you feed your fish, feed them a high protein fish food like our Cool Ponds Premium Fish Food.
Treatment
Remove Away
Again, Remove Away will bind up the nutrients in the pond. If you haven't used it as a preventer it will work to on any of the stringy debris that's there as well. If you can, remove long strands of string algae by hand to prevent massive muck accumulation. Be ready to clean your filters more often as that dead debris begins to break apart! Rather than quickly killing the algae, it starves it so it dies slowly. Plus there are added strains of enzyme in Remove Away to begin breaking down the dying string algae and consuming it.
BioClear and Clean
Be sure to use BioClear and Clean weekly also to aid in the break down of the the algae as it's dislodged from your pond. We want the beneficial bacteria in BioClear to break down the dying algae efficiently so it doesn't end up as floating debris in your pond water. BioClear and Clean comes in little water soluble packages that you simply toss into the pond.
Supplemental Aeration
Although you most likely have a waterfall or fountain on your pond, supplementing that aeration with an aerator is key! So that Remove Away Plus and BioClear and Clean can work effectively and efficiently, it needs lots of oxygen and a waterfall even if its large or a fountain just can't do it.
Remember this: it's important to starve the algae. By providing less nutrients (fish waste, uneaten fish food, leaves, decaying plant materials, etc.) for algae, algae will grow less. You can also starve algae by adding more aquatic plants to compete with algae.
Cool Ponds Treatment Regimen
How to Use Remove Away
Remove Away is a powder that is applied directly to the pond water. You will want to apply it to an area with a lot of circulation. Every pond is different -- some function better if it is applied in the skimmer, some if it is applied to the waterfall, and for some ponds it needs to be mixed in a bucket of pond water and poured around the edges of the pond.
The goal is for the water to turn a milky color after it is applied. It should stay cloudy for a few hours to a day. This is how you will know if it is getting circulated effectively.
To know that it is working, you should observe the algae turning from a bright or dark green to a more olive color. It will slowly stop growing and begin to break down. If you don't feel like it is working, try calculating your water volume again to make sure you have the correct dosage (use the handy dosage calculator on our Treatment Regimen above). You can also increase the dosage. Use Remove Away for problem issues at a double dose, twice a week until you see the results you would like.
It might take a few days or weeks for it to be completely gone, but this is how a natural product works -- slowly but surely. The good news is that if you keep using it weekly (while the water temp is 50 degrees or above), the algae shouldn't come back.
We're here to help if you have other questions about algae or other pond issues!
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