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  • Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
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    Thread: String Algae-Trying to avoid a pond empty to treat it. Ideas?

    1. #21
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      Quote Originally Posted by rbarn View Post
      Have you thought about doing an outdoor algae turf scrubber ? I am definitely building one for my pond this summer. The basic principal is to give the algae somewhere to grow besides in your pond and provide it supplemental lighting to accelerate the process.

      They can be hidden much better than this, and need to be scraped clean about once a week in the summer. You also have to design them with proper size and flow to work right. The reef aquarium community has lots of success with this system in controlling algae.

      you gan give it a place to grow and it will, but it still going to follow the nutrients and grow where you do't want it to as well i have not had to bad in a long time and my pond gets a lot of sun. Figure I am lucky for now but 10 min a day it is pretty easy to keep up with.

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    2. #22
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      I think a lot of it has to do with the water supply. I used to live in a bigger city, still had really hard water, the ph was usually around 8.2. Now I live in a little town that is nothing but fields as far as the eye can see (thinking excess phosphates in the water supply from runoff) with a ph that sometimes is close to 9, usually 8.8. Never ever had string algae in my old ponds in the city we used to live in, now it is a constant battle non stop in the pond, it does let up some in the summer when the veggie filter plants are going full strength, but is always present, I even battle it in my fish tanks now, which is a real pain in the butt.

    3. #23
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      Quote Originally Posted by gatorkoi View Post
      you gan give it a place to grow and it will, but it still going to follow the nutrients and grow where you do't want it to as well i have not had to bad in a long time and my pond gets a lot of sun. Figure I am lucky for now but 10 min a day it is pretty easy to keep up with.
      The trick is in sizing it properly and providing enough flow and extra light so that it out competes the algae in the pond. You would think algae would still grow everywhere in the system, but it doesn't ...... IF the scrubber is done right.


      Quote Originally Posted by mark622 View Post
      I think a lot of it has to do with the water supply. I used to live in a bigger city, still had really hard water, the ph was usually around 8.2. Now I live in a little town that is nothing but fields as far as the eye can see (thinking excess phosphates in the water supply from runoff) with a ph that sometimes is close to 9, usually 8.8. Never ever had string algae in my old ponds in the city we used to live in, now it is a constant battle non stop in the pond, it does let up some in the summer when the veggie filter plants are going full strength, but is always present, I even battle it in my fish tanks now, which is a real pain in the butt.
      Many city water supplies are loaded with nitrates, phosphates and even ammonia.
      Last edited by rbarn; 04-07-2014 at 05:14 PM.
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    4. #24
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      Had fun running around town to either find Algaefix in a big amount or Baquacil..Struck out on both. We have a pond supply place about 45 minutes from here but they are closed on Monday.
      I had some clay so I have used that rite now. Letting down the water for the day and scrubbing has it all stirred up. Feel bad for the fish. It should get better soon.
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    5. #25
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      Rick it is definitely string. It is very long and stringy.
      Quote Originally Posted by RickF View Post
      If you cannot remove a lot of it with a brush, I am wondering whether it is string algae or carpet algae. String algae is bad, but carpet algae is good. String algae is long enough that you can put a brush in it, and twirl the algae onto the brush like you would with spaghetti on a fork, and then pull the algae out. Carpet algae is only an inch or two long, and I would just leave it in place.
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    6. #26
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      Not sure where I would put such a thing. There is no way of hiding it @ my pond. I am pretty handy but not sure I want to attempt this. Thanks for the idea though.
      Quote Originally Posted by gatorkoi View Post
      you gan give it a place to grow and it will, but it still going to follow the nutrients and grow where you do't want it to as well i have not had to bad in a long time and my pond gets a lot of sun. Figure I am lucky for now but 10 min a day it is pretty easy to keep up with.
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    7. #27
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      Try increasing your aeration. Algae comes from 2 things. excess dissolved Co2 and excess nutrients. If you de-gas the Co2 fast enough with some extra agitation this should help as well.
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    8. #28
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      Glad I went out to check on t he pond because my biggest fish was on the ground gasping. Looks like he didn't like all the changes Looks like it happened within the last half hour. Had to go get my son @ school. Tail is red like he was flopping and he was barley breathing. Netted him and held him over the aerator. Why did I take down the kiddie pool?? Oh well. Got the trough ready for him but I know he really is better off in the big pond where all the extra air is. I can provide air in the trough but its not as good in the pond. He's slowly swimming after sitting at the top for a bit. he is the king of the pond. I will be upset if he dies.
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    9. #29
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      Quote Originally Posted by RaiderWife View Post
      Glad I went out to check on t he pond because my biggest fish was on the ground gasping. Looks like he didn't like all the changes Looks like it happened within the last half hour. Had to go get my son @ school. Tail is red like he was flopping and he was barley breathing. Netted him and held him over the aerator. Why did I take down the kiddie pool?? Oh well. Got the trough ready for him but I know he really is better off in the big pond where all the extra air is. I can provide air in the trough but its not as good in the pond. He's slowly swimming after sitting at the top for a bit. he is the king of the pond. I will be upset if he dies.
      I am sorry to hear that, best wishes on a speedy recovery.

    10. #30
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      Rbarn: Have you seen a pond on which algae scrubber concept has been successfully used? I'm aware of the concept and familiar with their use with reef aquaria. I have not seen it succesfully adapted to a pond.

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    11. #31
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      Quote Originally Posted by MikeM View Post
      Rbarn: Have you seen a pond on which algae scrubber concept has been successfully used? I'm aware of the concept and familiar with their use with reef aquaria. I have not seen it succesfully adapted to a pond.
      I am very intrigued by the algae scrubber concept and have been watching this thread with interest.

      For my own small pond, I attempted to utilize a horizontal algae scrubber -- using several sections of vinyl rain gutter along which the water flowed through the circuit. My rationale was that the shallow water depth within the channels and direct sunlight hitting the planar surface of the rain-gutter channels might be an ideal place for algae to grow. I must point out that I used no supplemental light source other than direct sunlight -- this is significantly different than the aquariums designs I have seen which typically used high-intensity artificial light 24 hours. In my limited attempt, I was unable to *convince* the algae that those rain-gutter sections were a good place to grow. I have plenty of green water, but whatever algae growth I may have does not seem to favor the rain gutters as I hoped -- despite shallow, gently-flowing water and direct sunlight.

      Still, I think the idea has a lot of merit, and I will be very interested to see if the concept can be adapted to the much-higher nutrient load of a Koi pond, while remaining feasible in terms of space and energy utilization.

    12. #32
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      The big fish "Otto" is doing well and is swimming and eating today. Looks like there is no more red in his tail just some missing scales. Makes me very happy. Who knew you could get so attached to a fish?
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    13. #33
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      Quote Originally Posted by Paultergeist View Post
      I am very intrigued by the algae scrubber concept and have been watching this thread with interest.

      For my own small pond, I attempted to utilize a horizontal algae scrubber -- using several sections of vinyl rain gutter along which the water flowed through the circuit. My rationale was that the shallow water depth within the channels and direct sunlight hitting the planar surface of the rain-gutter channels might be an ideal place for algae to grow. I must point out that I used no supplemental light source other than direct sunlight -- this is significantly different than the aquariums designs I have seen which typically used high-intensity artificial light 24 hours. In my limited attempt, I was unable to *convince* the algae that those rain-gutter sections were a good place to grow. I have plenty of green water, but whatever algae growth I may have does not seem to favor the rain gutters as I hoped -- despite shallow, gently-flowing water and direct sunlight.

      Still, I think the idea has a lot of merit, and I will be very interested to see if the concept can be adapted to the much-higher nutrient load of a Koi pond, while remaining feasible in terms of space and energy utilization.
      I'm going to experiment with it this summer for sure, since string algae has always been an on/off problem for me as well. from the research I have done, it should be possible.
      There's a good bit of highly technical info on the web regarding their use in high bio load aquaculture/fish farm systems that I'm still deciphering

      Size, flow rate and lighting seem to be critical

      old documentary on large ATS systems
      Last edited by rbarn; 04-09-2014 at 09:37 AM.
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    14. #34
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      Very cool, rbarn. Thanks for sharing that.

      I first encountered the concept of an "Algal Turf Scrubber" (ATS) in the book "Dynamic Aquaria" by Adey and Loveland. As I recall, Adey became a proponent of ATS while he was a curator at a large public aquarium. The book was expensive, but you may be able to locate a copy through a library system.

      This is probably deviating from the intent of the OP's thread. I hope you will consider starting a fresh thread as you begin to implement / experiment with algae scrubbing on your pond. I would be delighted to see what you come up with.

    15. #35
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      I had great success last year with Koi Clay.

    16. #36
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      Ordered more clay and its on the way. Scared to try anything too aggressive since my jumper. Used Clay last year for a bit but then stopped so I used what I had left.
      Algae looks a lot less and I can see a lot more brown on its edges now as it is dying off...want it gone asap.
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