How to Remove Algae from your Koi Pond

How to remove algae from your koi pond.  It is a problem every pond owner must deal with.

In this video, I’ll go over in step-by-step how you can set up your pond at the start of the season. And in doing so, remove the amount of thick green colored algae that collects in an outdoor pond. A certain amount of algae is not a bad thing.  Your koi and goldfish will feed off of it, but too much can be very unsightly.

I’m going to show you how to get the pond going. Multiple filters are used to get things  cleaned up including using a UV filter.

Four Stage Filtration

I have set my pond filter up with a four-stage filtration process.

• First step – vortex barrel where heavier sediment settles to the bottom of a 35-gallon barrel.
• Second step – pond water flows through a large bag of bio-balls which allow good bacteria to collect and grow.
• Third filtration process – series of varying density filter pads which grab floating sediment.
• Final and most effective filtering stage is a 37-watt ultraviolet (UV) bulb which burns off and kills the algae.

We need to get the filter going again. We are going to need two 35-gallon barrels which will act as the filter containers for the pond. The 800-gallon pond flows through these.  We have assorted media pads in there that clean it up.

I use a vacuum to get rid of any debris that might have slipped through the cracks and gone to the bottom of the barrels. I take a gallon of water from each of the barrels and get any of the sediment that was at the bottom.

Next I put in the bio balls which allow good bacteria to adhere to them. This helps kill off the bad bacteria. Once I put it in, it’s going to clog up quickly. So when I get this filter going, within a week, I’m going to pull it out again and give it a good rinse.

Ultra Violet Clarifier

Next, I’m going to put back in the 37-watt UV bulb into the pump system. This is the most effective way of burning off the algae as it goes through the pump system. At the end of the video, you will see the fishes are starting to come to the top. They seem to enjoy the fresh bubbling and the fresh oxygen going into the water. Since I’ve set up the pump and the filters, I’m going to let this run for a few days. By then, I should see a marked improvement in the amount of green that you see in this water.

I can almost guarantee that if you set up your filtering process this way algae and green pond water will be a thing of the past. Hope you found this helpful to get your pond going and to keep it clean.