Algae in water feature

[steaknife]

I have a new water feature in my yard and use bleach in it once a week as recommended. It is a rock with water cascading down the sides and it is turning green. Is there anything I should/can do to prevent this? I really hate to use more bleach.

[cmfjr]

You should be using a product like Algae Shield. You can purchase similar products at the Big Box stores like Home Depot or Lowes.

[Uptown Girl]

If your water feature is a one piece design and you know who manufactured it, you might find their website and see a recommended product that would be compatible to the material your waterfall is made of.

Using the wrong product could damage the surface of your feature and/or the pump itself. In the past, we have had waterfall birdbaths, outdoor zen water features and indoor water wall features. For those, we used an organic enzyme product that we purchased inexpensively online from Wild Birds Unlimited. However, it is best suited to small features (10 gallons or less) as the bottles are small and applied by drops each time water is added.
It may also help to adjust the location of the feature, if possible (sun vs shade) to help against algae re-growth, or at least to slow it down.
You may have to shut off and empty the feature, then scrub it down and begin anew. Much better results that way.

We currently have a large water feature in our yard and for this we use the puck-type chlorine made for swimming pools (as you can see in the photo) It has worked well in the year we have had it. We love it. No algae at all.
Good Luck and keep us posted!http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k586/uptowngirlpics1/DSCN1972.jpg (http://s1117.photobucket.com/user/uptowngirlpics1/media/DSCN1972.jpg.html)

[jimbo2012]

It caused by sun lite and mostly phosphates in the water.

Are U using your garden hose to fill it?

If so that is your house water which if unfiltered has phosphates perhaps also the most likely culprit is the rock itself, it has phosphates.

U don't think a landscaper understands this stuff do U when they pop a rock in with a little pump.

I'll deal with this all the time in the aquarium biz.

two things filtered water and barley straw will decompose adding hydrogen peroxide to the water, killing the algae.

Uptown girl your use of chlorine puck will not balance that pond water at all, you may want to think about adding pond plants which will create it's own eco system and naturally eliminate algae

.

[Uptown Girl]

Jimbo,
Our water feature is in full, direct sunlight all day. I add water as needed from the garden hose. I add one puck, which disintegrates slowly over the next 10 days, then wait a week or so before adding another puck.
Been doing that for a year now and truly have had not one bit of algae.

I skim the water surface for floating debris (like dead lovebugs) as needed.
I change out the sleeves on the pond filter twice a year but have found them to remain surprisingly clean. I could probably wait longer than 6 months to change them, but I do it for good measure. They are inexpensive and our pond was designed so that I could access them easily. I am the caretaker, not hubby, so that was a priority for me when we contracted it. (Village Palms designed and installed it)

Because of the full sun layout, depth and additional maintenance factors it would entail, fish/plants will not be introduced. The photo does not show it in it's entirety, but it narrows and steps down to a long babbling brook.
However, frogs love it and have thrived here.... to my surprise!

I will say that moss will grow on the back, ground level of the largest rock, where there is a small pocket of shade. That is normal, as the rock is porous and there is little direct sun there. I spritz that occasionally with vinegar, and it is kept to a minimum with little fuss.

Of all the many indoor/outdoor water features I have had over the years, this one is the easiest I have ever cared for.

I have also been an aquarium nut in the past, and have done all that it entails. When I gave it up, my aquarium store bought all my fish back! Here's a painting I did of one of them!
(veil-tailed goldfish)http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k586/uptowngirlpics1/DSCN0558.jpg (http://s1117.photobucket.com/user/uptowngirlpics1/media/DSCN0558.jpg.html)

[logdog]

We have the same type of pond as Uptown Girl. Ours is in the front of our house where it also gets full sunlight. We also use the puck chlorine tablets. We put the puck in a "duck" swimming pool dispenser and set it for slowest release. A puck usually lasts 3-4 weeks. After two years, water still looks clean. Occasionally, we get real ducks and other birds in the pond and the chlorine doesn't seem to bother them.

[Carla B]

Uptown Girl, what a beautiful painting!