THE POND ALGAE TRILOGY Pt. 1

It grows almost everywhere on the planet. It provides food and shelter. It can live in peaceful symbiosis or quickly kill its host. It can reproduce at stunningly fast rates turning the surrounding environment red, blue, brown, and green. It can glow at night. It can float freely and sporadically or attach itself to a surface; overwhelming every square inch of it. It can stand taller than a building or be microscopic in stature. It can appear as a primitive animal type or as a plant. It has numerous genus and species that have been around 400 million years. It is in our oceans and our freshwater systems. It is in our drinking water, swimming pools, and our backyard ponds and water gardens. All pond owners have to deal with it at some time or another, in some way or another. “It”, is algae.

There are hundreds of types of pond algae that can occur in koi ponds and water gardens. Even though many pond algae types can actually be beneficial to have, not ONE of them is ever a very welcomed sight. So when the perennial question is asked, ‘How do I get rid of pond algae?” The quickest answer may not be the right answer. The pond pro trying to help you answer this question may have a few questions to ask of you, before accurately dispensing advice. So, a pond owner needs to know some basic info on algae if they want the quickest resolution to the problem.

A pond owner should be able to give at least a very basic description of the type of pond algae they are trying to deal with. The different types of pond algae can typically be described in 3 categories as: “green water”, “string/hair algae”, or “floating algae”. These key basic descriptions can help formulate a realistic plan to control algae issues in your koi pond, natural pond, farm pond, or water garden when consulting your local pond professional. Note the term ‘control’, not eliminate; a little algae is good, natural, normal, and inevitable. The 3 types of pond algae can occur on their own or in any combination of the 3 types.

Let’s go deeper…in Part 2 of THE ALGAE TRILOGY.

All copyrights to this material is solely owned by Mike Gannon.