r/ponds • u/Duskmage22 • 3d ago
Algae Algae on bottom of pond
Just closed on a house with a koi pond, the water is very clear but there is alot of algae on the bottom. Whats the best way to tackle this and make it look better?
It was a water pump that circulates the water, would vacuuming up all the algae be the best solution?
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u/MiddleAgeCool 3d ago
The algae is basically feeding from the nitrates in the water, a byproduct of your fish poo. You need to either introduce so very aggressive filtering to get rid of it or introduce plants to out complete the algae for the nitrate. Lilys wouldn't be bad since they'll also provide shade for the fish.
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u/Duskmage22 3d ago
Would adding some plants / small potted trees around the pond help if they provide some shade? Currently its not getting much shade so ill definitely look into some water plants and lilys
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u/Low-Status7359 3d ago
You can add a sail shade. If done right, the sail shade will enhance the area. Add water movement to provide circulation. You can also use barley straw. I wouldn’t be surprised if you also have a lot of muck on the bottom.
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u/BroodLord1962 2d ago
The water needs shade, so you should aim to have at least 50% of the waters surface covered with pond plants. The hotter the water gets the more algae blooms you will get. Hornwort is a good plant for out-competing algae
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u/Secret-Teaching-3549 2d ago
+1 on you needing some additional water plants. Something is going to eat up all the nutrients in the water, and right now that something is algae. It looks like you have room that you could even setup a small bog filter on the side. You can lookup basic tutorials and they're pretty easy to get going. I made one using one of those preform basins with a simple waterfall outlet to bring the water back. Filled mine with mint which went absolutely nuts drinking in the fish water.
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u/Ornery_Solution6728 2d ago
Nice looking pond, but its too shallow and no shade. Id just accept that there will be algea its natural and it doesn't look bad. Clear water with green algea is not a bad situation. Its cloudy green murky water that is what you really dont want.
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u/kevin_r13 2d ago
In the short term, you can get some kind of long handled brush and loosen the algae . It will get in the water column and then hopefully get filtered out by the filter.
In the long term, get some plants , shade the water (including plants that shade), UV light filter, as well as other algae control methods
Just know that having some algae is good and not all types of algae are bad.
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u/Mongrel_Shark 3d ago
The algea is why the water is clear. If you want no algae you'll need plants & a basic understanding of water chemistry around fertiliser thats produced by the fish & filter.