All About Crystal Clear Koi and Goldfish Ponds

The most common problem that ponds experience surprisingly does not relate the to fish, but to plants, - and unwanted ones at that, such as green water and blanketweed.
If you take early action, you can reduce the impact that unwanted algae, particularly green water, will have on your pond.
Under these conditions, algae growth is retarded, and any algae that survived through last year is no longer able to thrive.
The accumulation of nutrients in the water over winter (particularly nitrates and phosphates) fuels the growth of these remarkable, opportunistic plants.
Because of their size and mode of reproduction, algae can soon multiply out of control, blooming from a few dormant cells or cysts into a pond of green soup, being the first plants to capitalise on these favourable conditions, dominating the pond's biology and appearance.
There are a multitude of different approaches for solving green water problems, each with their own benefits (and costs) and with the added complication of whatever comes into contact with the algae, can also affect other pond life, including our desirable pond plants and fish.
Shading: A significant number of pond keepers who have tried many different methods of controlling green water (and blanket weed) have found that shading the pond is very effective.
A second natural method of controlling green water is to add barley straw to the pond.
This method can take several months to work as its effectiveness relies on the bacterial breakdown of the straw.
A more recent solution to the green water problem is to add a supply of beneficial bacteria that breakdown the nutrients on which the algae thrive.
The unit is called a Uvc (Ultra-Violet clarifier), and uses ultra violet light to control green water.

pond water "green water" algae plants control fish nutrients growth Uvc bacteria "barley straw" effectiveness shading "desirable pond plants" click the link for full article information

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