How do I kill String Algae?

[bettagurl]

It took over my pond last year, and I want it gone.
It's out there, waiting... For the first warm front. lol

My fish love it, the babies hide in it, but it is choking out my plants. How can I kill it without damaging my plants and hurting the fish?

[toddnbecka]

Toss in some nutrient sponges (aka water hyacinths) when the weather/water warm up enough.

[bettagurl]

It killed my hyacinths last summer..

[toddnbecka]

How many hyacinths did you have/lose? If you get enough to cover a significant surface area to start with they should outgrow the algae. That can be expensive if you have a large pond, but you may get lucky on an e-bay auction.

[McLendon]

You can buy stuff that will poison it .
Think long and hard befor using it and Read The Lable it is bad stuff if not done right

[toddnbecka]

I once asked a friend who owns an lfs about chemicals to kill algae. He told me they usually kill fish too...

[bettagurl]

I had it covering about half of my pond, nearly 60 hyacinths.

What brands would you suggest to use?

[jpappy789]

I once asked a friend who owns an lfs about chemicals to kill algae. He told me they usually kill fish too...

and/or they hurt plants.

[Jennie Beth]

I bought some hydrogen peroxide from the pond store..I think it is 35%, which is much stronger than the stuff you use to clean cuts. If you put it in the pond, it kills all the algae, but doesn't hurt the fish or other plants. It will make the water look like soda pop for awhile as it makes it all bubbly, and you do need to break the surface tension with a splash of water a few times. If I remember right, the instructions give an "ounces per hundred gallons" dosing, and recommend that if you have fish you dose half the amount one day and the rest the next. The string algae turns all brown and dissolves. I did have to clean the filter almost everyday after I nuked the algae until it was cleared out, but I only did it twice a season, once in the spring before the other water plants got going, and sometimes late in summer.

I dug around for the instructions and can't find them, naturally, but I will keep looking...sorry for the longwinded answer...can't seem to say anything in under a hundred words!!

[bettagurl]

I bought some hydrogen peroxide from the pond store..I think it is 35%, which is much stronger than the stuff you use to clean cuts. If you put it in the pond, it kills all the algae, but doesn't hurt the fish or other plants. It will make the water look like soda pop for awhile as it makes it all bubbly, and you do need to break the surface tension with a splash of water a few times. If I remember right, the instructions give an "ounces per hundred gallons" dosing, and recommend that if you have fish you dose half the amount one day and the rest the next. The string algae turns all brown and dissolves. I did have to clean the filter almost everyday after I nuked the algae until it was cleared out, but I only did it twice a season, once in the spring before the other water plants got going, and sometimes late in summer.

I dug around for the instructions and can't find them, naturally, but I will keep looking...sorry for the longwinded answer...can't seem to say anything in under a hundred words!!
How will this affect the beneficial bacteria, do you know?
I will probably end up removing the fish (I need to rehome a few of last year's babies anyway) and all of the plants I want and just nuke the pond with algae killer.

No problem, I prefer longer, more detailed writing anyway.

[Jennie Beth]

I have to confess, I never had anything but a foam filter in my pond, and never added any beneficial bacteria, so I don't know. I sent off for another copy of the peroxide info, but as it is the weekend, they probably won't check mail til Monday...

[Jennie Beth]

Found this online in another forum...

Some people add one pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide per 1000 gallons. This is said to not have any significant impact on plants or fish and is reported to work well on both suspended and string algae. The only potential problem is that if you have massive amounts of string algae you may create a very large oxygen demand so physically remove as much as possible before trying this method - this caution cannot be over emphasized. It may be necessary to have an aerator ready to put in the water or, for small ponds, it might be better to remove some of the water and the fish to a temporary holding tank until the dissolved oxygen returns to safe levels. Adding hydrogen peroxide, while effective in removing algae, will essentially result in re-dissolving the nutrients which contributed to the algae growth in the first place.

Jen

[daisyday]

Hi! I have had two deck ponds for six years with goldfish, which I've had since I put the ponds up. They reproduce every year. For string algae I use a new toilet brush to remove as much as possible, place water hyacinths in the ponds and pags of barley straw. I use either barley staw pellets or the straw itself. It can be bought at pond and some pet stores. Place it in nylon sockings and float near water flow. After the algae is gone leave it in the pond. My ponds stay algae free all summer.