About Sunlight and Fish Pond

Sunlight plays an important role in your Carp fish pond. Too much or too little sunlight can both cause their own problems. For a small pond, you will find that while trees that provide a little shade can reduce evaporation and algae growth, not having enough sunlight will discourage many pond plants from thriving. Fish ponds should be exposed to as many sunlight as possible as the natural sources of vitamin D brightens the color of the carp fish. Fish under a roof covered pond without sunlight will typically looses it's brightness eventually. Sunlight makes perfect ecology. It is said that if there is water, light and fish together in the pond it creates a natural food chain. Once the fish excrete wastes, it creates nitrate fertilizer. When there's fertilzer, water and sunlight in the pond, then single and multiple cells algae grows within the walls and the floor of the pond. Or it can float on the surface of the water. While all the algae that grew in the pond will use sunlight to season it's food, so called photosynthesis. The carp fish in the pond will use the algae from both cells as a natural source of food chain as well. Apart from the food tablets that we feed them it is very important that the fish intakes it's natural sources from those algae, which has many nutrients and vitamins that food tablets doesn't have. Direct sunlight in shallow fish ponds that is less than 1 meter deep are not recommended as it could harm the fish.

Algae Problems in Fish Pond

When a ponds ecosystem becomes unbalanced a condition known as ‘Green Water is likely to occur, caused by the growth of a particular type of algae evenly distributed throughout the pond water. ( Not to be confused with ‘ String Algae’ or ‘Blanket Weed’ which tends to grow in thick strands or clumps ).
Green water algae are microscopic single celled organisms that thrive in warm water with high levels of nutrients, and an abundance of sunlight. For that reason algal problems are prevalent during the summer months.
Algae thrive in new ponds where there are no flourishing plants to provide shade and compete for the available nutrients, and no natural algal predators to keep the growth of algae under control. The result is a pond full of water with the appearance of pea soup.
Algae control is usually the largest maintenance problem in a pond. When setting up a new pond it is normal to have excess algae growth anywhere between 30-180 days until an ecological balance has been established. Carp fish ponds are a special case requiring heavy filtration, UVC clarification, and very high levels of water circulation to maintain the pond in good condition and combat the growth of algae. If the filteration is 50% of the size of the pond, then it should take approximately 30-45 days. If the the filteration is at 30% of lower of the size the the pond then it can take up to 6 months or more. This balance is achieved through good water circulation and the right proportion of floating, marginal, and submerged plants, fish, and scavengers such as water-snails and tadpoles. Most plants provide oxygen to the water and all plants absorb nutrients from the water. Submerged plants (also called oxygenating plants) are beneficial because they produce especially large quantities of oxygen and provide supplemental food for fish as well as a place to spawn. Floating plants are most beneficial for providing shade (important to keep the water cooler as cool water holds more oxygen and is healthier for your fish), reducing water evaporation, and providing hiding places for the fish. Eventually your fish

Why does algae occur in the old Fish Pond?

Customers have consulted me about their old fish ponds turning green even though they have water plants all around the pond. The water is not clear and you can't even see the fish. The main reason for this kind of problem is the filteration. If the filter has 20% less than the size of the pond it can cause green water from too much amonia from the wastes of the fish. Also due to the lack of filteration which can cause too much amonia build ups, whic h causes green water. Only single cells can use the amonia as a natural source of food which causes a lot of algae buildups makes the water unclear. The best solution is to change the filteration system as mentioned above. It is recommended that you cover the pond to eliminates sunlight because it can effect the fish in the pond.