Pond /fountain algae issue


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Old 06-10-16, 05:52 PM
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Pond /fountain algae issue

I have a small pond/waterfall I built in the front yard a few years ago. It’s only 50-80 gallons with a small pump and surrounded by ornamental rocks which also build the rise for the waterfall. I have a constant problem with algae. I’m doing my annual cleaning now and I’m looking for advice. In the past I have tried many algaecide type products with little effect and have used a bit of bleach each week with some success on the algae but it tends to bleach the ornamental rocks a powdery white – kinda defeats the purpose. One guy online said he used a 1 inch chlorine tablet once a week in his small pond and it keeps it clear, but I wonder if I would still have the bleaching problem. The goal is to keep the water clear – no plants, fish, or critters to worry about – and not discolor the rocks. Any advice appreciated. Thx
 
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Old 06-10-16, 06:20 PM
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It will take freqeunt cleaning (much more than the annual cleaning you mention) or you'll have to rely heavily on chemicals to keep algae at bay. But I think your real problem are minerals building up in the water.

In such a small water feature evaporation is a major problem. As the water evaporates away the minerals are left behind. With such a small feature with a fountain you're going to evaporate away a lot of water which leaves behind a lot of minerals. Chlorinating the water will not bleach rocks. The "bleaching" you see on your rocks is likely deposits of minerals which unfortunately are very difficult to remove.

There is no easy solution. You can fill your water feature with distilled water and when it needs topping off use distilled water. In addition you can use chlorine, bromine or other sanitizers to keep algae under control but the minerals are your big problem. If you're not up to using distilled water you'll have to do regular water changes. Over time the water in your feature has more and more minerals and the only way to remove them is to remove the water and replace it with fresh water.
 
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Old 06-10-16, 06:26 PM
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