ASK THE EXPERT
“Help! Algae takes over my water features every spring. I don’t like using chemicals in the water, but what else can I do?”
The springtime reappearance of algae in your ponds and lakes is a result of your water’s high nutrient levels, which algae feeds on. Warmer weather means biological processes in ponds speed up again, including the breakdown of organic material, and this produces nutrients. A sudden spike in nutrients means an abundance of food for algae spores.
While a quick spray of herbicide is a tempting fix for spring algae blooms, it can create rebound pond problems. When you treat algae and weeds with chemicals, you cause an immediate die-off. The dying organic material rapidly increases your nutrient level, which then triggers—you guessed it—an algae bloom.
This vicious cycle creates a dependency on repeated, often expensive, chemical applications and makes your pond a constant concern. However, you can get off the merry-g-round by naturally lowering your pond’s nutrient levels.
Mother Nature’s secret trick? Beneficial bacteria. Bacteria also consumes the same nutrients as algae, and if your population of beneficial bacteria is robust enough, it will outcompete the algae for the same food source. The bacteria will level your nutrients and essentially starve out algae so it can’t develop.
Nurturing bacteria in your water column is an approach known as bioremediation that can reduce or even eliminate the need for chemicals. Optimize your pond for nutrient-hungry bacteria with three bioremediation tools: aeration, microbial inoculation and bacterial habitats.
Implementing bioremediation is a long-lasting, hands-off treatment and maintenance program that effectively treats algae, odors, weeds, murkiness, fish kills and bottom sludge.
Bioremediation is being adopted by more and more golf courses, municipalities and other organizations that are committed to environmental stewardship and preserving ecosystems for the enjoyment of people and wildlife.