Routine Pond Cleaning Should Be Part of Your Maintenance Process
Nothing is worse for pond owners than seeing their water turn green. When pond water gets out of hand it takes a slow and steady process to return the water back to clear. The secret to keeping your water clear is to take a green water prevention approach. Here are a few tips to help you clean your pond and maintain your beautiful, healthy water.
Shade
Offering shade to your pond is one way to help prevent green water. Green water is a product caused by algae, a single-cell plant. Like most plants, it requires sunlight to grow to the point where it is large enough to be seen. Shade could help stunt its growth and help maintain it at a microscopic level. The location of your pond and the plant life and structures may already provide a certain amount of shade.
Take note if there times when your pond has a long period of time in direct sunlight. Maybe adding additional plants could provide the shade you need. If you are unable to or wouldn’t like the appearance these would give you, then consider adding floating or emergent plants or a pond tint. Plants provide shade right on the surface of the water and it adds character to the pond. Pond tint can darken the pond to a deeper blue to prevent some sunlight from entering the water. Tint in ponds goes a long way so add small amounts at a time until the desired color is reached.
Reduced Nutrients
Nutrients not only help plants but algae too. If you limit the number of nutrients, it receives then it will reduce its growth. As part of your pond maintenance process check if there are any decaying leaves in your pond. If there is a tree close by then you may need to scoop them out to avoid decay. Algae used this decay as a source of nutrients. Rainwater can be another culprit that adds nutrients. It runs across your lawn and into your pond. When it rains, look at your pond. Is the water flowing from surrounding areas to your pond? If there is, then you need to create a barrier around your pond or channel the water away.
You can add beneficial bacteria as part of your pond maintenance and cleaning. Beneficial bacteria compete for the same nutrients’ algae needs to grow. As it consumes the nutrients then there is none for the algae to feed from.
UV Technology
As part of your routine pond cleaning there is an excellent way to reduce green water is with the use of UV Technology. Exposing algae to a UV bulb can actually eliminate algae at the microscopic level. UP Pond clarifiers can be connected to a pond pump or found in several filter types. It is an excellent option when your pond water has turned green. You should know you can’t use both UV Technology and beneficial bacteria. The UV light will kill the bacteria. To use them together, we suggest turning off your UV clarifier for a few days after adding beneficial bacteria. This will allow beneficial bacteria the time to settle in filter pads or other locations in the pond to work effectively before turning the UV clarifier on again.
Regardless, if you have a small pond or a large pond, it only takes a few steps, and you can enjoy a pond that is clear and free of green water. Providing shade will help stunt algae growth. The use of beneficial bacteria will help ensure that algae don’t get the nutrients it wants to thrive, and the use of UV Technology will help eliminate green water at the source. Simple pond maintenance measures are all it takes to have a beautiful pond. If you need help call us at Eco Pond Service. Ponds are our specialty, and we have the knowledge to keep them looking great.
