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Nelson Water Gardens
1502 Katy Fort Bend Co. Rd.
Katy, Texas 77493
Office: (281) 391-4769
Fax: (281) 391-8626
HOURS:
Sunday Hours: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Monday-Saturday: 9:00am - 6:00pm |
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Anita Says... |
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Understanding Algae
Posted on: Friday, November 10, 2006
It has always frustrated me that no one has ever been able to sum up algae control in one succinct sentence. Well actually there is one sentence but it is highly unsatisfactory: "Just be patient." Doesn’t work for me, does it work for you?
It would be nice to solve the problem immediately with a magic water treatment of some sort. Treating algae in the water garden environment is more complex than treating it in a swimming pool. Basically you just kill everything in swimming pool water. Water Gardens are alive with fish and plants, often a treatment that eliminates algae will eliminate the plants or the fish or both. Let’s use some metaphors and analogies to help communicate without a lot of scientific terms the dynamics of a pond ecosystem.
Herd of Cows
"Most people stock their ponds as if they were trying to maintain a herd of cows in their backyard." Pretty dramatic huh? But it’s true! For the most part water gardeners grossly overstock their ponds with fish. Is this OK? Can this be done? Absolutely! But you’ve got to give Mother Nature a hand and that’s where Filters, UV Clarifiers and/or Aeration systems come in.
Dustbuster
"Underfiltering your pond is like trying to vacuum your house with a dustbuster." True, you can clean your house with a dustbuster but you’ll have to work harder and longer to get the job done. Same thing will happen if you under filter your pond. Furthermore, it has been our experience over the past 20 years that most filter manufacturers grossly overstate the filtering capacity of their product. If your budget allows; spend the extra money for a larger system.
Humpback Whale
"If you think a fish will eat the algae in your pond then you’ll need a humpback whale in the backyard" Newsflash! Fish do not eat algae in any significant amounts. In fact, fish are little fertilizer factories---and you are the one supplying the fertilizer! (in the form of fish food.)
Swamp Thing
"Most people react to green water as though swamp thing had invaded their pond." There is no need to panic, drain the pond and start all over when the pond goes green. As I stated last summer it is the equivalent of stopping in the middle of a marathon and starting over. What have you accomplished? Expending a lot of energy and frustration that’s all. Remember when the pond is at the green water point you are halfway to clear water.
Algae on Your Face
If you wear glasses all the time and work outside often, take off your glasses and look closely. Is there algae growing on the nose pieces? "If algae can grow on eyeglasses on your face what makes you think it won’t grow in your pond?" Algae is a very opportunistic plant and will grow anywhere it finds a ready source of sun, water and nutrients. But algae cannot compete with plants. Wherever there are high populations of plants, algae can’t grow.
Ponds = Children?
"Ponds are like children, each is unique and special and just as children grow and change so do ponds." This is why we don’t have a magic pill to take the problem away. You’ve just got to be patient and try the strategies!
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