Keep Unsightly Pond Algae Under Control

Any time you have a relatively stagnant body of water in your front or back yard, you are placing yourself at risk for growing pond algae or mold. No matter whether you built the pond of pool yourself or if it came with your home or property, there are certain tasks which you should undertake in an effort to combat this slimy pest. While most of the different varieties of pond algae are not a threat to health, ridding your pond of algae provides better water aeration for pond fish and makes the water view more attractive.

All algae can be killed with the same general methods. However, there are differences between the methods used to kill regular pond algae and string algae, so keep that in mind when trying to clean your pond.

You need to begin by lowering the pH levels (acidity) to something neutral around 7.0. There are lots of cheap test kits to help you monitor the pH in your pond, so price is not really a problem here. Next, either introduce some good bacteria into your pond to kill off the existing algae or you can add some antimicrobial agents.

If you have fish in your pond, stick to adding good bacteria, as certain pond algae-killing chemicals can harm your fish as well. When dealing with string algae, adding good bacteria or antimicrobials is not an effective option, so you will need specialized anti-sting algae chemicals. In order to kill only the string algae and not any existing plants in your pond, make sure that the product is rated as safe to use in the presence of aquatic plants.