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I have an algae that sinks at night and floats to the top during the day in little pieces. I can actually see it release from pots and walls of the pond. It then sticks together on the surfaces of the water and to my floating plants. It is not green water algae as I have a UV light and it is not like the string algae that accumulates in my waterfall. I have been skimming out every day but this is not helping. I did a full up water change, cleaned the pond with the hose sprayer and it still came back. Any ideas?

KoiMama,
Is it possible that you can post a picture? This may provide a better idea of what type of algae your dealing with.

From your description I'm wondering if you have Filamentous Algae (pond scum or pond moss algae). This type of alage appears greenish on the water's surface. This algae usually begins its growth along the edges or bottom of the pond and "rises" to the surface.

Algae requires sun to grow. The deeper the pond the better since deeper ponds provide less penetration of the sun. How much is your pond covered in plants? Having about a 60% coverage could help. Adding plants provides shade and which also fight for the same nutrients that algae desire. You can also try using Koi Clay.

Other ways to to get rid of the nutrients in your pond is by adding beneficial bacteria to your pond. You can enhance the beneficial bacteria's effectiveness by the use of an aerator.
thanks
Steve

I think you are on the right track. As my koi have gotten larger, I have been putting less and less plants into the pond. I currently have 6 waterlilies that are in the early stages of growing and I would say that is only 10% coverage and anacharis that is probably an additional 20% for a total of 30%. I have been fighting to keep the scum off the anacharis and killing it. The water got up to 80 degrees yesterday which is getting too warm. I have a shade cover that I can put over it and will do so today. I'll post some pictures when I can figure out how.

Teresa had the same problem last year and there are photos of it somewhere on the forum

Teresa can you point us to the photos, please?

Bonnie

Not trying to butt in here Bonnie, but I think that post by Teresa was in the "Ask Bonnie about plants" where we all talked about the Koi clay.

Vanessa

I have read "Koi Clay & Algae" If I understand correctly, this course of action is being recommended. I will order some from Bonnie's supply page. What can I expect when I start using the koi clay? How does it work with a bead filter? I am running two filters concurrently to replace my old filter with a bead filter. Will the clay affect the seeding of my new filter?

When I first started using Koi Clay I wanted to get rid of the carpet algae I had growing on the bottom of the pond. Simply adding a tablespoon or two per 1000 gallons for three days in a row got rid of it 100%.

For weekly maintenance I add 1 tablespoon weekly after a water change. During the hot summer months I sometimes increase it to 2 tablespoons. I don't think you can overdose, but you might see some of it settle.

I don't really see much if any build up of Koi Clay in filters (I too have a bead filter) or the pond bottom. I think a good share of it dissolves into the water, it does seem to raise my Gh reading some. It is very likely the Koi eat and digest some of it as well (a good thing). When the Koi are grown in mud ponds they do ingest the clay/mud from the pond bottom.

Koi Clay does add minerals to the water, absorb contaminants (including phosphates that algae crave), and it has the added benefit of acting as a flocculant which attracts dead algae and other fines in the water which are then trapped in the mechanical filter.

Another benefit is the clay adds a trace of minerals that the Koi need that are missing from our water. It also helps with heavy metals that may be present in some peoples water source.
Steve

Teresa,
We managed to avoid the tornados by 15 miles. 3 homes north of us were destroyed, no injuries, so that was a blessing. I had several broken limbs and poured out over 5 inches of rain from the rain guage, but that was about it. The rain was actually over a 3 day period and perfect timing as I had fertilized the lawn. Saved me water........more for water changes. Don't tell Bonnie, I know they are still drought stricken.

The turtles were going nuts and when they act like that I know a big storm is coming. They just circle the yard, round and round, then start burying themselves. I found two quarter size babies last week, will post pics to "other pets" later in the week, I put them in a safe place until the storms were gone.

HOw is your algae problem. Gone I hope.

Vanessa

I have bead filters too and not a problem

I add it in my stream bed once a week, 52 weeks a year. I add it to all the tanks of fish I sell, 52 weeks a year. Or sometimes I dissolve it in a bucket of water and add that way.

There is some one on ebay selling sodium bentonite as koi clay. Sodium bentonite is what kitty litter is! And it will not readily dissolve, will clump and clog up everything in your pond! Do not use kitty litter or sodium bentonite.
What I sell is the real thing, it is calcium bentonite. It is what the Japanese mud ponds are made above

And Steve mentioned all the good things that it does above so I won't repeat it.

Bonnie

I am anxiously waiting for the clay to arrive. Should be today or tomorrow. I have week old koi from the spawn last month. They are loving the algae and all the critters living in it. To kill the algae I see that 10 tbl per 1000 gals will do it. I am concerned that an algae die off and subsequent vacuuming will do harm to the little ones. What if I cut the dosage in half, increase the areation and only vacuum the bottom? Any suggestions? I am almost considering holding off and skimming until they are a month old.