Algae is probably the most-often concern voiced by Phoenix homeowners with backyard ponds. Most people do not understand the important role that algae plays in an ecosystem pond. Not only do your pond fish happily graze on this plant for sustenance, but it also acts as part of the filtration system to keep your water crystal clear. So, let’s explore a bit about algae.
WHAT IS ALGAE?
Algae (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Biology): unicellular or multi-cellular organisms formerly classified as plants, occurring in fresh or salt water or moist ground, that have chlorophyll and other pigments but lack true stems, roots, and leaves. Algae, which are now regarded as protoctists, include the seaweeds, diatoms, and spirogyra. [from Latin, plural of alga seaweed, of uncertain origin].
For us pond people, it’s pretty much just the first weed in the garden.
WHY IS THERE ALGAE IN MY PHOENIX POND?
Well, okay, but not all Phoenix homeowners are excited about its presence in their backyard pond. If you have a living pond, with plants and fish, algae is going to insist on being a part of your ecosystem, especially in the “winter” months when the aquatic plants are dormant. The fact of the matter is, when the growth rate of algae is controlled, algae is a beneficial part of your ecosystem and helps maintain healthy water quality through several functions:
- It consumes nitrates from the water
- It acts as a forage for your Koi and goldfish
- It softens the look of the rocks in the pond
- It acts as a condominium for a healthy zooplankton culture which ironically competes with the algae for nutrients in the water column.
That is just a list of pond benefits. Have you heard about our universities making biological jet fuel using algae grown in test tubes? Maybe soon we can power our cars with it.
WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THE ALGAE IN MY POND?
In all seriousness, we know it can grow out of control and make our backyard ponds and streams unsightly. Once it starts growing beyond just fuzzy rocks (we call that pond patina) and becomes more of a filamentatious algae that exceeds a few inches in length (string algae), many people prefer to take action to inhibit its growth. Of course, once your aquatic plants start growing aggressively, they’ll take up much of the nutrients in the water and effectively starve the algae into submission.
However, there are a couple of more aggressive methods of ridding yourself of this aquatic weed. The cheapest method is to simply hand-weed it out and use it. That’s right, it has uses: you can compost it or even use it directly as a natural mulch around plants such as roses. It’s very nutrient-rich. If you don’t want to hand-weed it, you can use a water treatment product to break it up, or starve it out — just make sure you clean your skimmer basket often during this process!
CAN I USE ALGAECIDE IN MY PHOENIX POND?
PLEASE don’t run out to the pet store or pool supply and buy an algaecide to use in an ecosystem pond! This chemical will kill the algae, which seems like a good idea at the time, but what happens is that it dies and sinks to the bottom of your pond. Now, what do you suppose happens to dead plant material on the bottom of your pond? It becomes food for more algae and other, less desirable anaerobic processes that foul your pond water. Once you resort to chemistry to control your algae problem, chemistry will become the hobby to a larger extent than water gardening, and you’ve created a chemically dependent pond. So you must ask yourself: Did I get into this hobby for love of aquatic plants, amphibians, dragonflies, and fish… or for the love of water chemistry?
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