Thread algae occur naturally in he althy and intact waters. When they spread to a large extent, water conditions become unbalanced. Excessive vegetation can also indicate incorrect planting.
How can you remove string algae in your garden pond?
Thread algae in garden ponds can be removed by fishing with algae brushes or landing nets, vacuuming up excess nutrients with pond sludge vacuum cleaners, applying bark mulch to reduce the pH value and sunlight reflection or using algae blockers for acute algae blooms.
How to remove thread algae:
- Fishing: is an ecological but time-consuming method
- Suction: as an indirect variant to combat algae
- Bark mulch: worsens the growth conditions of filamentous algae
- Algae blockers: help with acute algae blooms
Fishing
Thread algae are considered valuable aquatic plants because they provide a habitat for microorganisms. Tadpoles, newts, beetle and dragonfly larvae or aquatic insects use the plants as a hiding place. You should carefully pass the algae cushions with a stick before fishing so that the animals can escape.
Users needed
There are special algae brushes that you can use to easily remove growth from the garden pond. Landing nets are cheaper alternatives. You can also tie a toilet brush to a long stick and use it to collect the algae. Strip the mass off the bank and leave the material near the water for a few hours. This is how animals find their way back into the water. Then add the algae residue to the compost.
Suction
The cause of excessive thread algae in the pond is too many nutrients in the water. Pond sludge vacuum cleaners cannot remove the algae themselves. They remove fertilizing substances from the pond and thus destroy the growth basis of the plants. The devices work like classic wet vacuum cleaners.
Vacuum with collection container
This variant is suitable for smaller ponds with a capacity of 1,000 liters. The vacuum cleaner collects the extracted sludge in a collecting container, which must be emptied regularly. Depending on the model, the containers can hold between 20 and 40 liters of material.
Vacuum with drain hose
Models with a two-chamber system offer more comfort. After the first chamber has been filled with digested sludge, the device automatically directs the flow into the second cavity. Meanwhile, the material that has already been collected is pumped directly into the bed via a hose. The purified water flows back into the pond.
Bark mulch
By introducing natural tannic and humic acids into the water, you can lower the pH value and at the same time increase the solar reflection of the pond water. This means that filamentous algae receive less sunlight, which has a negative effect on growth. Put untreated peat, oak bark or leaves in a jute bag and hang it in the water like a tea bag so that the substances slowly dissolve.
Algae blocker
There are various chemical agents that can be used to combat thread algae in garden ponds. Only use such products in acute emergencies, as they have a massive impact on the communities in the water and harm the environment. So-called algae blockers combat unwanted plant growth by changing the growth conditions. For example, you can reduce an excess of phosphate.