Algae Control & The Best Algaecide For Ponds

While floral blooms can inspire feelings of joy, algal blooms don’t tend to evoke happy emotions. If your pond is covered with algae or perhaps has turned a less-than-charming shade of green, it might be time to find the best algaecide for ponds, and we can help.

Algae Control – The First Step: Identifying Your Algae

There are several types of algae commonly seen in ponds and identifying what you have is the first step as this will help you find the best possible pond algae control products to deal with your specific algae issues.

For instance, you might have filamentous algae in your pond, a green, hair-like string algae that often forms thick mats on the top of a pond surface. Some fish will nibble on this type of algae, and, in small amounts, it may not be a problem. However, it can grow quickly and affect the water quality in your pond.

Planktonic algae are microscopic and can alter the color of your pond. If you notice a change from healthy-looking water to murky pea soup green water, planktonic algae are likely the culprit.

Muskgrass, also known as Chara, is another possibility. This is a type of algae that resembles a plant, and it often has a foul, skunky odor. Additionally, you might have blue-green algae, which is actually a cyanobacterium, and very toxic, especially if you have livestock or pets that come into contact with the pond water.

With filamentous algae and muskgrass, you have the option to use algaecide and/or to remove algae mechanically using a skimmer or pond rake. If you cannot remove all of the algae mechanically, you can kill the remaining algae with your algaecide.

What’s The Best Algaecide For Ponds?

While there are different types of algaecides available, one of the best algaecides is our fast-acting, all-purpose product, Captain. This is a chelated copper algaecide that can mitigate issues with filamentous algae, planktonic algae, muskgrass and blue-green algae.

There are many brands of copper algaecide on the market, but we recommend that you opt for a chelated copper algaecide as this generally provides the best results. Typically, copper algaecide products are either chelated copper or copper sulfate, and chelated copper will remain suspended in your pond water longer than copper sulfate, which provides the algaecide with more time to work and, thus, more algae can be targeted and killed.

What About Pond Weeds?

Sometimes your pond is covered with floating green organic matter that isn’t algae, but one of many types of pond weeds. For instance, duckweed and watermeal are aggressive, fast-growing weeds that can cover the surface of your pond.

With floating pond weeds, you can skim them out or use a combination of skimming and herbicide. For floating weeds such as duckweed, watermeal, American pondweed and many others, we recommend our Sonar AS or Sonar Q products, as these are easy-to-use and provide long-term pond weed control.

With submersed and shoreline weeds, removal is a bit more complicated as these plants need to have the roots removed to ensure weed control. Using an herbicide first to kill the weeds and then carefully removing the entire plant is your best option. Sonar AS can work well as an herbicide for many common types of submersed and emergent weeds.

Use Algaecides & Herbicides Carefully

While algaecides and herbicides can be highly effective for algae control, it is crucial that you follow the directions for each product carefully. While the products come with application information, we also have labels and fact sheets on our websites to ensure that all of our customers have easy access to this information.

For instance, with Captain, it is recommended that you spray this algaecide on 1/3 to ½ of the pond surface at a time as treating the entire surface area at one time can cause oxygen depletion and result in harm to the fish in your pond.

If the algae issue is severe, it is recommended that you treat only 1/3 of the surface area at a time, especially if the water temperature is between 65 degrees and 85 degrees. You can treat the remaining two 1/3 fractions of the body of water at 7-day intervals.

General Pond Maintenance Tips

While algae control products sometimes are needed, there are other preventative measures that you can take to keep your pond water as healthy as possible throughout the year.

For instance, your pond should have a source of aeration to keep the water constantly circulating. Stagnant water is a breeding ground for algae as well as pond weeds and even pests such as mosquitoes and aerating the water can go a long way toward preventing stagnant water and can even reduce water temperatures during the hottest months of the year.

It also can be smart to provide mechanical filtration in your pond. Mechanical filters can remove excess fish waste, dead leaves and other debris.

Combing aeration and mechanical filtration as well as skimming leaves and debris off the surface of your pond can prevent many common pond issues and make pond maintenance much easier for pond owners.

At Healthy Ponds, we offer an assortment of pond care products, including algae control products to help pond owners improve water quality and clarity. If you have any questions about our pond care products, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team. We also offer free personalized treatment plans for any size water feature at https://healthyponds.com/free-pond-plan/.