Green-water in a preformed pond?

Buy some fish that eat algae. I don’t know what kind, but I’m sure they’re out there! XP

@Draconess25 algae eaters are typically tropical fish, and can’t live in a freshwater pond. I thought about getting more goldfish.. but I don’t think they eat the greenwater algae, because it’s tiny tiny tiny.

There are algae eating fish that are compatable with any climate, some species are just harder to find.

Check with a local university with a wildlife biology program. But if the reception is this weekend, you may have to drain the pool and clean it in order to clean up the pond in time.

@TheOnlyNeffie Oh, okay! I tried….

I have a 1600 gallon pond, and to control algae the best thing to use is an ultraviolet light,. I don’t know if you have a filter but if you can invest in one with an ultraviolet light once the algae blooms pass through that light it will kill it and make water crystal clear. Also carbon in some filter bags will reduce the nutrients in the water. Algae is grown by two things, light and excess nutrients in the water eliminate one of those which nutrients would be easier. I have a waterfall with my pond so I have carbon located at the top in my fall bucket its best to put the carbon where there is flowing water. Also do some frequent water changes to try and eliminate some of the nutrients (protiens, silicates, etc) (Algae loves silicates and if you are using tap water it is loaded with them) There are also some pond chemicals that are completely safe and non toxic that you can use in conjunction with all this Algaefix is a good one and a hot product on the market for making water crystal clear. If you want to go fully organic some bags of barley in the pond I hear from pond and water garden enthusiasts work although I have not tried it myself. IMy pond is in full sunlight and has 8 koi, tadpoles, and minnows in it and I have crystal clear water and I use all the three things above that I mentioned. Hope it helps.

@WestRiverrat I really don’t want to drain the pond, because I’ve heard that you’re supposed to let the pond “age”, and starting over will only make the same problems come back. But thank you for the advice about finding algae eaters for my pond… I will definitely do that for the long term!
@Draconess25 it’s more than okay, fish were my first guess, too. Seems simple enough, you know?
@earthduzt excellent, thank you! I will check into getting a light. We do have a filter, but as I said, the toad eggs have a tendency to get sucked in and clog it all up. So I’m not certain it’s doing a very good job half the time. Light would be difficult to really eliminate, as our pond is also in full sun (which I recognize to be a big part of our problem)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, all very helpful!

Algae thrives in sunlight, if your pond is in full sun hello algae.

I don’t have a pond, but, I have pools for my waterfowl, I cannot use anything in them so I have to scrub them at least 2x a week in the hot weather to keep the algae down.

I think you just have to accept that it’s part of nature.

Short of chlorine treatments I think you’re out of luck.

Nature isn’t concerned with aesthetics! lol

@Coloma yes algae thrives in sunlight but it also needs nutrients to grow and like I said eliminate one of them and you have no algae, of course you can’t eliminate the Sun, so the easiest is to eliminate the nutrients in the water and they can be cause by all sorts of bio degradable stuff that enters the water (leaves, dirt, waste, rain water nowadays can even carry chemicals) you can definitely cut down those nutrients to lessen the algae blooms. There will be algae no matter what, but there is good algae (hair algae is good for fish to eat) and then there is not so good algae (fuzz and slime). Also algae is not too fond of water movement so if she has a filter system then she has water movement. UV filters are the best source for ridding pond of alot of the algae and obtaining crystal clear water. I live in south Texas and my pond is in full sun at 90 degree plus weather with fish and plants in it and I can see straight to the bottom and see the vibrant colors of my fish without the green haze. I do 25% water changes maybe once every 2 months or so, but I also use the UV filter system which kills spores as soon as they pass through it, carbon at the top of my falls which take out ammonia, nitrates, silicates (which algae love) and then use algaefix and declorinator, because I use city water and although chlorine will settle down in a few days, chloromide won’t. No you wont be able to completely kill algae but you can definitely control it and not have to have your pond, pool or watergarden looking like pea soup.

Barley straw. Works every time in our pond

@partyparty we use the barley straw… it hasn’t really made any difference so far, unfortunately. I’ve heard great things about it, though. I wonder why it is that it seems to work so well for some people, and we haven’t had any luck with it. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

We have also used a barley straw liquid. Sorry I can’t remember the name of it. We do have filters and a UV light, to help things along, but I know the liquid was very good.

Is the water in your pond moving? beyond being pushed through a filter Sometimes that can help as well. I agree the UV light is the method that has worked the best in my experience, along with the barley straw liquid. I would also up the filter when you upgrade to the UV system, especially since you have some goldfish as well.

@gemiwing yes, we have the hose from the filter wrapped up around some rocks so that it creates a “waterfall” that comes back into the pond. That helps to keep the water in constant motion. I’m sure you’re right, I think since we have tried just about everything else.. it’s time to upgrade our filter.