Just killing the algae, letting it sink and decay does nothing for the stimulus that made FA grow - NUTRIENTS aka forms of Fertilizer in the pond basin. Dissolved nutrients NOT being used by any other type of plant allows FA to flourish. FA lives on the available unused excess nutrients.
When you go to a local lake/s you rarely ever see big growths of FA like in your pond. This is because lots of rooted vegetation / plants or various types of algae in the lake are using the dissolved available nutrients. When dissolved nutrients are not being used by submerged /emergent plants and or phytoplankton then FA grows really well like in your current pond situation. Your water appears quite clear which means lower numbers of phytoplankton because FA absorbed the nutrients away from the phytoplankton. Removing as much of the FA as possible removes the bound-up nutrients in the FA, thus lowering the nutrient load in the pond. Removing FA harvests nutrients out of the pond, just as farm crops remove nutrients from the field when the crop is harvested, thus the field needs to be fertilized for the next crop.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 08/26/24 10:42 AM.
