Algae Control in Pond

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fishboy7

Amazonian Specialist
Jun 12, 2010
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How can I stop the algae growth in my grandma's 250 gallon pond? The dimensions are 10 ft. long, 5 ft. wide, and 8 in. deep. We plan on planting the pond and getting a new filter (that should help a bit), and she currently uses a tetra anti-algae thing, but that doesn't seem to do much. The stocking is five 2-3 in. comet goldfish. Should we add algae eaters, a LOT of plants, what will help?
 

rainbowcharmer

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Jul 30, 2007
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What kind of algae?

I had an algae bloom shortly after having my pond up and running initially, but I left it alone and it's since cleared very nicely. It was murky for perhaps 2 weeks I'd guess, and then started to clear up, and it's about as clear as possible now. We do have plants, which help, but they are minimal at this point.
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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Patio umbrella and plants
 

garyfla

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Apr 23, 2010
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Hi
IMO the only real long term answer for algae is plants . There are all kinds of mechanical, chemical solutions that do work up to a point.
But plants actually remove the nutrients from the water and even though algea is VERY hardy it must have nutients lol.
That's rather shallow for an outdoor pond won't you have a heat/ freeze problem??
For that shallow of a pond I'd suggest floating type plants not only remove nutrients from the water but provide a place for the fish to hide.
And last but most important they can be removed without disturbing the setup.
Be patient as it takes time for a suitable cycle to establish. good luck gary
 

fishboy7

Amazonian Specialist
Jun 12, 2010
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Thanks for all the help so far guys (and gals)! Well, all of the fish have survived last summers heat and last winters freeze, so they must have found a way around that problem. Anyway, we have a lot of pine trees in her yard so the pond isn't ever in constant sunlight (no need for a patio umbrella, but good idea), just different parts of the pond get different lighting times during the day, but overall the pond gets about 8 hours of sunlight a day. Its been setup for 14 months now, so I don't think cycling is a problem. I'm not sure about the type of algae, but will take pics and post them on this thread for identification so I can figure out exactly how to kill it. In the mean time, we will heavily plant it (like you guys said) and get a new filter. And is barley straw needed with plants or are we fine without it when we have plants? Also, how do you use it?
 

rainbowcharmer

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Jul 30, 2007
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I'm not sure I'm a big believer in the barley straw. It's a mini-bale of straw that you just put in the filter or in the pond itself. It lasts typically 6 months or so, and then you put a new one in (removing the old one). If it works for people, great! But for now I'm sticking with adding more plants when I can and letting the pond sort itself out. So far working well. :) I definitely recommend the floating plants for your setup to help shade the pond and give the fish places to hide. Floaters like water hyacinth, lettuce, and celery all have big root systems that take in a lot of nutrients. They can also spready really quickly, so you may have to thin on occasion. They also aren't hardy through the winter so you'd need to take a few in or just buy new in the spring. Home Depot sells them here for cheap.
 

fishboy7

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Jun 12, 2010
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Okay, we plan to just buy new ones in the spring because they are cheap. plus, in the winter, they could provide some food for the goldfish. I guess we won't buy barley straw then. Also, can anyone tell me which of these pond filters (THAT IS UNDER $100) would be the best for our pond: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/cat/info/23485/category.web All help will be greatly appreciated!
 

fishboy7

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Jun 12, 2010
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Also, how many comet goldfish can we keep in our pond?
 

rainbowcharmer

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Jul 30, 2007
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I'm completely unfamiliar with any of those filters. Our filter on the pond is a DIY, and very simple. I'm sure others on here have commercial filters though and can chime in there. As for the # of comets, I'd suggest 4 or 5 to start. You'll end up with babies and probably have to find homes for the fry at some point because they don't tend to self-regulate their population like guppies do. 250 gallons can probably support 15 or so full-grown goldies if the filtration is sufficient. But I'm guessing you're starting with young goldies, so as they grow up and multiply, you'll have to reduce your population. Too bad you can't neuter fish huh? :)
 
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