When my parents bought their new house one of the big selling points was the pond they had in their backyard. This pond is in the neighborhood, but only two houses sit on the pond as the rest of the pond goes along the road.
The only downside to the pond is that it is completely filled with algae all over the surface of the pond. For a few weeks my parents and the neighborhood have been discussing ways to get rid of the algae and then prevent it from coming back as much as possible.
The pond is circular and has a diameter of probably about 100 feet and almost every square inch is covered in algae. After doing some research I came to find out that there are few things you put in the water in order to kill and/or prevent the algae from growing. Two of the more interesting things that help with algae are hydrogen peroxide and barley straw. If anyone has any other things that have successfully used to kill and/or prevent algae from taking over I am all ears.
Anyways, in order to get the algae out of the pond it had to be by hand. We had a kayak already, but no paddle or net. My first stop was to pick up one of each of these. The paddle I purchased was perfect, but I should have gotten a smaller net that was sturdier than the large net I purchased.
Both the neighbors and my parents were out there to send me off in the kayak. As I was kayaking around, they stood around the edge of the pond scooping up the algae as I pushed it to the edges. It did seem to work pretty well, but after nearly an hour and a half I started to get worn out. It was some good exercise though as I can already feel my shoulders and arms getting sore.
Hopefully, we can get some more of it cleaned up soon!
That's a cool-looking pond I'd like to have one of those near my house. Maybe not at night when the mosquito come out, but during the day it would be fun to paddle in. Well, once the algae is gone. ;)
It looks like you need to get garden rakes to get that stuff out. They're strong, so you could pull a lot in with one movement. Once it's close to shore, you could use a pitchfork to pull out a pile of it. It's going to look great once you're done! Are there fish in it?
Yeah once the algae is gone it’ll be nice to paddle around! There currently aren’t fish in there from what we can tell. They plan on stocking it once t gets cleaned up.
The rakes did work pretty well, but it was tough to get the algae off the rake with the one they had!
That will be cool to have some fish in there. Who knows, maybe there's a variety that eats algae and can help you keep the levels down. :)
Ha ha, yeah, rakes can hold onto stuff that you wish they'd let go of. It's how things go sometimes.
One way to maintain the pond algae free is to introduce fish that will eat the algae, like Tilapia. Not only will they eat surface moss, but they are also edible. You'll have to check with your local 3 letter environment agency as to what they recommend to introduce.
Apart from that, there are lots of chemical solutions.
I think getting some fish in there to eat the algae would be smart! I’m always nervous to put some chemicals into the water, but if there is something that isn’t bad for the environment i would use it!
Your best option is fish that like to eat algae. That will ensure that it stays clean. I am also not a fan of using chemicals as the water WILL leach to the surrounding areas and vegetation.
I have a pond stocked with Tilapia and have never had Algae issues.
Okay! I think that sounds like the best plan of action!! I will look into getting some after we clear out of the algae!
It took me a minute to see the difference between grass and algae. It's a nice start, got a ways to go! Keep at it and it will be done in no time! You'll have a beautiful and useful pond. @ironshield
Hopefully i can knock some more out this week! It is coming along though!!
Holy cow! I don't envy the amount of work it's going to take you - but it'll be worth it in the end. Be sure share the "after" shot.
Yeah! Hopefully i can knock some out every few days!
excellent blog
What was the most excellent thing about it?
Greenny place...just mind blowing photography..
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Interesting ideas about peroxide and barley straw. I have seen a flier called the pond guy and he sells things to clean out ponds. Not here on steemit. Maybe he has a website. 🐓🐓
I will look it up and see what I can find! Thanks for this pointer!
Hello. I liked your post, keep it up. Good luck to you and have a nice day :)