little pond with algae
Its been a crazy year for the ponds so far and yes for all of us not knowing when we will actually start warming up.
Winter was rather mild, from what I understand it was the El Niño weather pattern that helped to keep us from falling into the deep freeze as we had the past couple years. Not as much snow fall or rain for that matter as past winters.
It was looking like a nice early spring, until this EL Nino weather pattern lifted and let the cold air back into the area. I thing for sure is that Canada had some warm dry weather with the Fort McMurray Fire raging on. Some of the videos folks posted while getting out was amazing and pretty scary.
Ok back to the weather and the ponds. With the ice melting off earlier than it had in the past couple years it has left the pond in full view of the sun. With the cold temperature hovering around 50 during the day and bouncing close to freezing at night the water has kept cool since the ice off. Normally this should of held the algae back but with the ice off and sunny days pounding on the pond we are seeing algae growing here and there. Then with the lack of rain and snow accumulation the ponds haven’t been flushed as they normally do leaving more nutrients to stay in the pond.
This second week in May we are foretasted for possible snow Saturday and Sunday Night, crazy right? This doesn’t mean that we wait until the weather warms up to start our pond preparations but we can get going on some of the other items for the pond season.
Such as checking the air filter on the aeration system and get it up and running. Trim the dead plant material from last year’s growth, Or simply add our Muck & Sludge Remover to that area to help break down and consume the dead decaying plant material.
If you don’t have an aeration system yet let us help design the right sized system for your unique pond.
Also check the dam and perimeter around the pond for any changes. Sunken area along the bank, depression on the dam or even wet spots that may show up as greener grass clumps or an area of greener grass, could let us know we may have a leak potential.
What about the watershed coming into the pond? Check to see if anything has gotten into the watershed that shouldn’t be there. Maybe a critter that perished during winter or the start of an invasive species of plant that could be working its way to the pond and get it under control.
I just wanted to put up this short post for a couple ideas as to what is going on and a couple things we can be doing until the weather cooperates and we can actually sit by the pond and enjoy it without the winter close on.
We have been busy cleaning ponds, small and large and should put a post up about that in a little while. Between the weather breaks installing aeration systems and helping to get folks ponds up and running for the coming season.
Feel free to contact us if you need help with your pond whether it is designing an aeration system , cleanup or which of our products will be right for your pond.
