The String Algae Blues...
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Article by: Brett Fogle Now that Spring , Tiffany table lamps - It's all about the lampshade! is upon us and things are coming back to life in your pond , Tiffany table lamps - It's all about the lampshade! with the warmer weather, , Here's Why Interior Decorating Makes A Statement About Yo many of us are battling with string algae. String algae is caused primarily by a combination of the buildup of organic , Glass Sinks - 4 Unbreakable Rules of Buying a Glass Vessel S nutrients in the water, , Getting Your Hands on a Good Pair of Gardening Gloves and sunlight. What happens is that during winter, , Heating an old House! when things slow down and many of us turn off our filters, decaying leaves and other organic , Tulip Divisions - Garden tulips and their identities. matter (including fish , Getting Your Hands on a Good Pair of Gardening Gloves waste) begin to break down in the pond. , Glass Sinks - 4 Unbreakable Rules of Buying a Glass Vessel S The result is an excess of organic , Sky Pencil Hollies Are Used in Quakertown Pa. nutrients in the water, , Embellish Your Garden Trees with Movement, Music, and Light which is essentially food , Family Meal Planning for algae growth. Add sunlight and some warmer weather , Gardening - Using Bulbs in Your Landscaping to these conditions, and you have an ideal environment , Tulip Divisions - Garden tulips and their identities. for algae growth, both the green water , Bathroom Remodeling Made Easy and string algae varieties. The green water, , Add Color To Your Garden With Blue Perennial Flowers or 'pea soup' algae is easily eradicated with a properly sized UV sterilizer, which we highly recommend. String algae, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated and difficult to get rid of. Because it is usually attached to the walls , Bathroom Remodeling Made Easy and rocks of the pond, , Decorating a Bedroom using Color Psycology it becomes more difficult to get rid of and unfortunately, there aren't and easy solutions. But we are going to outline a few remedies here that will help. First, we recommend a pond , How to Grow Other Flowers Among Roses cleaning - if possible. For those of you who don't clean your pond , How to Grow Sweet Corn at least once annually, there are many good reasons to do this. By cleaning out your pond, , How To Take Care Of Weeds and removing as much of the decaying organic , Laminate Flooring - Cleaning & Maintenance material from the bottom, you are also removing much of the 'food' for the algae. Another good thing to do is to cut back on feeding your fish, , Decorating a Bedroom using Color Psycology until you get your string algae under control. The fish food, , Keep Your Home Happier both eaten and digested, and the uneaten food, , Security in Todays World will both also contribute to this algae growth - so don't worry about the fish, , Caveman Jack's Self-cleaning Oven just stop feeding for awhile. There are several products , Garden Fencing available which can and will 'help' with the string algae problem, like barley bales and/or barley pellets. The idea is that by adding these to the pond, , How to design a Child bedroom? they will also start to decay in the water, , Tiffany table lamps - It's all about the lampshade! and the resulting natural , Japanese Garden Styles - Which One Is The Best For You? 'humic acids' will actually oxidize the algae, and help keep it under control. Farmers in the 13th century noticed that lakes with bales of barley straw , What Are Light Fixtures Used For? in them, had much less muck and string algae in them. So, now we use them in fish ponds. , Choosing Fireplace Mantel Shelves Barley pellets are a newer version of the same idea, but will generally start working faster. Barley straw , Getting Your Hands on a Good Pair of Gardening Gloves needs several weeks before it starts working, and only after it starts to 'rot' in the water. , 5 Most Popular Flowers for Your Garden Another way to help with string algae is to raise your salt level in the pond. , The Orchid Plant: Important Aspects Anything over .3% will help control the algae, but is best for KOI ponds, , The Futon Essence as the salt may also negatively affect water garden , Tips For Building A Song Bird Bird House plants. We also really like the Microbe Lift line of products. , Bathroom Remodeling Made Easy They also seem to help control string algae, by adding millions of beneficial microbes and beneficial bacteria that will feed off of this algae and also help to decompose any other organic , Outdoor Ceiling Fans Complement the House waste in the pond. , Garden Fencing An alternate method that many pond , Gardening - Using Bulbs in Your Landscaping owner prefer is to add a chemical algaecide like PondCare's Algae Fix. This is safe , Hostas - Plantain Lily for fish , Sky Pencil Hollies Are Used in Quakertown Pa. and plants, , Embellish Your Garden Trees with Movement, Music, and Light and does seem to temporarily knock out suspended and filamenous algae, but does need to be added periodically for long term control. One new method that we've been hearing more and more about is adding a certain type of clay to the pond water. , Five Tips to Cut Your Heating Bills Calcium Montmorillonite Clay is gaining popularity among KOI pond , Hostas - Plantain Lily owners and water , Conservation in the Yard gardeners as an effective, natural , The Orchid Plant: Important Aspects method of algae control. It is also noted as having many beneficial qualities for the fish , Laminate Flooring - Cleaning & Maintenance in the pond. , Bathroom Remodeling Made Easy Hope this helps! Happy pondkeeping. Publishing Guidelines You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens , Caveman Jack's Self-cleaning Oven and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com and pond-filters-online.com. He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 6,000 pond , Embellish Your Garden Trees with Movement, Music, and Light owners. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary 'New Pond , Wall Oven - A Necessity For The Disabled Owners Guide' for joining, just visit MacArthur Water , Glass Sinks - 4 Unbreakable Rules of Buying a Glass Vessel S Gardens> |
  
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