Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help New to ponds, with lots of questions.....

Hey all - I'm new to the forum, and relatively new to ponds in general.

We have a pond in our front yard that is in constant motion. Our domestic water comes from a spring that feeds a collection tank, and once the collection tank is full the overflow runs down the hill and fills our pond. Once the pond reaches a certain level, it flows out of an overflow drain and hits the stream beside our home and keeps moving down the line.

We're having a tough time keeping the algae out of the pond. We've tried various algae inhibitors, but they're short-lived due to the constant movement of the water... Meaning I think that they are mostly washed downstream with the pond overflow - if that makes any sense.

Is there a better way to deal with the algae?

Currently, I just let the point run for a week or two, then drain it completely. I lightly scrub the pond walls, then refill. It's about 10 days to two weeks before it gets just crazy nasty, then I do it all over again.

Should I be doing something differently? Something more effective?

I'd love to get some advice on how to better manage this, as it's a bit of a hassle to drain/scrub/refill every ten days or so.

Maybe there's not a better way - but I wanted to inquire nonetheless.

We're in Western Colorado, where it's relatively hot and dry most of the summer.

I'll try and post a current photo of my setup. You'll see the inlet and overview drain...

Hello, welcome to pond boss.

You say you drain your pond every couple of weeks and scrub the walls? that may be the first time I have ever heard of anybody doing that, at 300 gallons it shouldn't be a lot of scrubbing, is this a pond or a small pool?
Its probably going to be pretty hard to treat the water with anything to reduce the algae with it rotating out so fast.

Hopefully the professionals will be along on this site to suggest a better solution to your issue.

Good Luck!

Is there fish in the pond and if yes do you feed them??. To my knowledge spring seepage water does not have a lot of nutrient fertility in it as in dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus. Those two nutrients are the main stimulus chemicals for algae to grow. Have you ever had the fresh spring water as it enters the pool tested for nitrogen NO3 and phosphorus PO4?