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Ponds & Aquatic Plants

Pond water colorant to reduce algae

15 years ago

As per my previous post, we have some type of algae growing in our pond. I am considering using a pond water colorant to reduce the sunlight and therefore the algae. Do any of you use this? Do you like it? What does the black dye look like? Is it natural looking? Do you have a pic? Most of all, does it work? Thank-you!

Anna

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Comments (15)

buyorsell888
15 years ago
I have used the black dye from Microbe Lift in my greenhouse pond and it did work.

I think the black looks much better than the blue. The blue looks like that old toilet bowl cleaner stuff that turned the water really bright blue. The black just makes it look deeper and reflect more.
lefd05
15 years ago
Personally, I wouldn't use it but if you do decide to use it, get the black. The blue will give you a really gross looking blue/green water.
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annafl
Original Author
15 years ago
Buyorsell, you mentioned you DID use it. Do you not use it anymore, and if not, why? How long does it last once you put it in the pond? Thanks you two.

Anna
watershaper
15 years ago
I would suggest trying other treatments or an ultra violet light. Our best performing treatment is Aqua-One, and a UV is guaranteed to work if you get the wattage and flow right.***
Dye will shade out the algae but it will shade out good things too. I've dealt with a lot of dyed ponds and it seems like very few have plants that are performing well. Depending on the type of pond and amount of plants you can always try it and just drain it out if you don't like it.

*** I don't want to start a UVs are good or evil thread, but if you get the wattage and flow correct they have always worked for me at least. Feel free to post all failed attempts...NOW!
jeffken
15 years ago
Dyes are great at limiting sunlight, reducing algae. Some blues dyes on the market have a bit of yellow dye in the mix, giving an un-natural appearance. Black dyes or mixes of blue and black are fairly natural looking. Farms ponds have been using dyes successfully for a long time. They work.
annafl
Original Author
15 years ago
Watershaper, we have a UV light for a year now. The pond water is quite clear, but this is floating algae only on the surface. I think it is blanketweed and it forms from the bottom daily. We have a large pond about 17-19,000 gallons with a biofilter which we seed regularly with beneficial bacteria. We've tried barley. These things did not work. We have about 50% coverage with waterlilies which continue to grow, but our pond is in full, blazing FL sun. Things such as water hyacinths and anacharis are invasive here in FL and we are close to many waterways. We have ducks that visit our pond regularly who could be carriers of pieces of plants. I have some marginals, but plan on getting more. We also plan on having the pond professionally vaccuumed soon. The water colorant is the only other thing I can think of trying. We have lots of tadpoles and snails as scavengers, but apparently this isn't enough. My pond needs to lose this algae!

What are the bad points of the dye? Also, how long does it last?

Jeffken, I'm glad you feel this could work. I only have a little hope left! Yes, I would do the black dye. Thank-you all who responded.

Anna
watergal
15 years ago
I use a powdered black dye that I buy from www.lilypons.com. It works well, and is cheaper to buy through the mail than the liquids because it weighs less.

I find I have to use more than the directions to get the look I want. It lasts from about 3 weeks to a couple of months, maybe more, by then I have so many lily leaves that it's not a big issue.

It will stain your fingers or temporarily stain the rocks if you spill while mixing it. Other than that, the only downside is the cost, especially for a pond as large as yours (mine is only 300 gallons!). And maybe the fact that you can't find the pots on the bottom any more because the water is black.

One big positive is that the black water really sets off the flower colors, they almost "pop" in photos.
dreamtoys
14 years ago
I saw one website who claimed that the dye will last all year. Do you know which one?

I like the black or black and blue (3.1 ratio)color.

Where can I get the dye cheapest? I have a pond of 8 acres and only about 1 acre has the submerged vegetation and stringy algae.

Any recommendation on how to rid of submerged plants?
Tx
Michael
squirelette
14 years ago
Hi,
My sister uses the dye faithfully and has never had an issue with it affecting her plants growth. I personally do not like the look and prefer to add extra filtration. Buying a few bunches of aquarium oxygenators might help you also. The one thing I did notice is that the dye did color the muzzle of her white dog, I do not know if that is normal but it looked silly.
buyorsell888
14 years ago
I am still using the same bottle of black dye from Microbe Lift in my greenhouse pond and in my pond that has three basalt columm bubblers.

I only have to apply it once after I've cleaned out the ponds which I do in the spring. These ponds do not have fish and the bubbler pond does not have any plants and I do not want to add any. The black dye works wonderfully and you can't really tell it is there. Unlike the blue stuff you can see a mile away.

The greenhouse pond has tropical waterlilies, cyperus, papyrus, and azolla and they all grow fine.
goodkarma_
14 years ago
I have used the blue dye in the past and it was very pretty. Recieved a lot of compliments too when people visited the pond. I don't use it anymore because I use floating islands and a 57 watt UV. But I do remember Amquel dechlorinater removed the dye.

Regards,
Lisa
jeffk50
14 years ago
Michael,

How long pond dye lasts depends on your water exchange, rain, sunlight and other factors. In general pond dye lasts in my pond around 6-8 weeks. One caveat, the cheapest dyes are often not the best dyes. Look for acre foot of coverage and amount of active ingredients. The good dyes for large ponds have at least 25% active ingredient. But you will see this vary from 15% to 30% depending on manufacturer.

Here is a link that might be useful: A good link for pond dye
bluelake
14 years ago
I tried the blue once and did not like it. The pond looked like water from Six Flags! I was embarrassed for anyone to see it.
keyplayer
12 years ago
We had a serious algae problem and now have perfectly CLEAR water ALL the time. Lots of algae still grow on the WALLS of our pond and provide food for our pond creatures. UV KILLS all the beneficial bacteria your pond NEEDS to be healthy, and I suspect any artificial stuff like DYES is none to good for life either. What you NEED is a good out-of-pond biological filter. It is ALL you will ever need IF you build and maintain it properly. The home-made ones ar far superior to the commercial units and cost a LOT less. I am happy to share my design (keyplayerATnsDOTsympaticoDOTca) which I developed from several others I found on YouTube. Good Luck!
buyorsell888
12 years ago
I still use the black dye from Microbe Lift. Same bottle. I only use it once or twice a season.

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