# green algae



## printman (Jul 2, 2008)

just finished my 5,000 gallon pond. the problem am having is the bottom river rocks are turning green and the waterfall rock are green too. is there anything I can use to combat this green algae. I live in florida so the water temp is allways about 77. I have uv sterilizer to keep the water clear and I have bio filters running too. see attached photo of what the pond looked before the green algae came in:fish:


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## Sea-Agg2009 (Aug 2, 2008)

That looks really nice. Are there going to be any fish in the pond? I would consider a small pleco as an option. Avoid the common pleco, because they will get huge in ponds (or anywhere else). Most others, like bristle-nosed pleco's do fine in ponds. They are low maintenance and do a good job on algae. Other options would be an American Flag Fish. They manage algae in ponds and don't get very large.

As for the rocks on the waterfall, I'm not sure what to really do. I'm not a real pond expert. The fish I mentioned can be found for cheap in most petstores. If you aren't looking for "special" fish, they are worth their money as an algae controller.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

If you ask me, the common Pleco would do fine. A bristlenose gets to be maybe 6 inches. You would never see it, and it wouldn't be too effective unless you bought a whole school of them. Common Pleco's get around 18-24 inches at largest. Atleast, that's what I've been told. With 5,000 gallons that shouldn't be a problem at all.


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## Sea-Agg2009 (Aug 2, 2008)

I've seen pleco's get 2 feet long... so don't underestimate them. You also have to consider what the pond will be like after the algae is gone. A 2 foot pleco will have plenty of food right now, but in a week or so you would have to start supplementing with algae wafers. I think 2 or 3 bristles would be self-sustaining.


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## N0z (Jun 3, 2009)

i use my uv filter and my water hyacinth, heres a pic for ya








this plant eats what the algue eats so the algue just dies of


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