Pond owners now how much of a pest blanket weed can be. These filamentous algae are also known as string algae. There are three main factors that enable this unwanted algae to thrive in ponds; nutrients, high temperatures, and clear water. When a pond has all three of these factors, this algae really takes over in a short period of time. Below, we’re going to learn about blanket weed control.
Nutrients:
Algae absolutely love phosphates and nitrates. Tap water usually contains both of these nutrients and a fish’s metabolism also indirectly makes them available to the algae.
High Temperatures:
Ponds are virtually free from anything green during the winter months; this is because algae needs very warm temperatures to thrive. The more sun water gets, the warmer it becomes. This increase in temperature is just what the algae want.
Clear Water:
String algae enjoy basking in the sunlight. The more sunshine they get, the more they multiply. For example, Koi are often farmed in ponds that are murky, known as mud ponds. The water in these ponds is also shaded, which combines to the turbid conditions within the water itself. This algae aren’t able to get the large amount of sunlight they need when residing in murky ponds. However, a clean and clear pond is not only more desired by humans, but also by the algae.
Ponds that have never had so much as a trace of string algae can still end up harbouring it. Koi ponds are kept in such a way that the fish are comfortable, but this also means that the algae are equally at home. Even though people try and try to keep the algae from growing, Koi fish actually like it. They find it to be a perfect location for their nursery and they enjoy nibbling on it too. The algae will only grow when the conditions are perfect. Sometimes this perfection takes a while to achieve, thus the delay in the formation of string algae.
Shallow, sunny locations are the parts of a pond affected the most by these persistent algae. The water doesn’t have to be completely still either. Fast-flowing water that is also shallow encourages string algae to grow into longer strands than when the water is still.
If any of the three factors can be altered, then string algae have a very difficult time ever getting established. Nutrients levels can be lowered through the addition of barley straw, algaecides, or electric controllers that use calcium ions. The temperature can be lowered by shading the pond area with new trees, building some type of structure to supply shade, or adding a dye to the water. The dye can also distort the clarity of the water, which inhibits algae growth.
Once at least one of these three factors is altered, blanket weed will be a distant memory. There’s nothing more satisfying than have a beautiful pond with healthy fish and gorgeous water lilies in bloom. Keeping this algae out of the loop is easy to do, thanks to all the different methods to inhibit the growth of it.