Wednesday, May 12, 2010
When Your Pond Awakens in the Spring
You may have just spent your weekend cleaning your pond – or having your pond contractor do it for you. A couple of days … weeks pass, and you notice an incredible growth of string algae. “Not again,” you screech to yourself. “I thought my pond was clean!” Well, my friend, cleanliness does not necessarily mean algae-free, especially in the cool water of the early spring.
Some simple, important steps can be the difference between a balanced pond with minimal maintenance and a pond that requires unnecessary maintenance. Although bacteria and plants don't start growing properly until water temperature reaches 55°F, there are still some simple steps you can take to maintain a crystal clear, trouble-free pond.
Aquascape SAB™ Stream and Pond Clean contains bacteria along with a powerful phosphate binder that will help prevent unsightly water conditions. This is extremely important when plants are not growing and utilizing phosphate. Excess phosphate is one of the leading causes of unsightly water conditions.
Fertilizing pond plants is also an important step toward balancing your pond. Strong healthy plants quickly utilize excess nutrients. Aquascape has two fertilizers, one short-term and one long-term. For optimal results use both fertilizers. The short-term fertilizer will jumpstart your plants in the spring and the long-term fertilizer will continue to feed your plants for one full year. Not only will you have beautiful vibrant lush plants, you will also have crystal clear water quality without the need to use potentially harmful algaecides that will not only disrupt the balance of your pond, but can also have harmful effects on fish, plants, and invertebrates. This short-term gain certainly comes with long-term pain.
Algae don’t mind cool water, but for the rest of your pond’s ecosystem, 55 ° F is kind of the magic number. The plants and bacteria don’t jump into action, in the battle of the green monster, until the water temperature reaches, and consistently stays, around 50° to 55° F. At this time they start growing and are then able to use up the excess nutrients that the algae would otherwise be feasting on. This is the reason for the feared spring algae bloom.
Bacteria also need warmer water to begin growing and colonizing, helping to provide crystal clear water quality as well as reducing maintenance. You can help jumpstart the pond in the spring by adding supplemental bacteria such as Aquascape Beneficial Bacteria for Ponds, and providing it with a place to colonize. Since bacteria like lots of nooks and crannies, having rocks and gravel in the bottom of your pond will help provide surface area for bacteria to grow. If you can’t, or don’t want to add rocks and gravel to the bottom of your pond, you’ll have less surface area for bacteria to colonize. A biological filter containing a filtration media like Aquascape BioBalls®, with lots of surface area provides optimum conditions for biological filtration in the smallest space possible. The more surface area available for bacteria to grow, the more efficient your biological filter. Providing crystal clear water quality creates less problems, thereby lessening maintenance, which leaves more time to enjoy the pond and less time spent maintaining it.
You gotta have patience. If you’ve stocked your pond with plenty of plants, the temperature’s just right, and you’ve started supplementing with Aquascape Beneficial Bacteria for Ponds, your pond will quickly balance. Beneficial bacteria need to be added to a consistent maintenance routine to obtain optimal results. Resist the urge to add traditional algaecides as your pond will never become truly balanced, and often ponds become dependent on their use. Help support Mother Nature with use of natural products from Aquascape, your pond and the environment will thank you!
Posted by Aquascape Your Landscape at 9:48 AM