Random thoughts on algae.
Algae is essential to life.
Mother Nature has designed things so you can not have a pond without it.
There is algae in the artic, this is tough stuff.
So you have to work with nature not against it.
(Just like with hurricanes, thunder storms and tornadoes - we can't control
them... though algae can mess with the ponder at almost the same scale ;-)
Mother Nature designs her ponds to be full of water and plants but she never
stocks them as highly as ponders do. She encourages predators and never feeds
her fish. She lets algae come and go at its own pace.
Our lined and ornamental ponds are can never be natural but we can try. Most
pond problems are caused by way too many nutrients in the water and way too
many fish making way too many nutrients....
Big plants help a lot in managing those nutrients.
And so does getting rid of too many fish.
A veggie filter full of water hyacinths does the trick for me.
Those things will get about three feet tall over the summer!


k30a