February 19, 2010, Newsletter Issue #154: Mother Nature Helps Clean Garden Fountains

Tip of the Week

Tap the power of Mother Nature to help balance and keep garden fountains clean. If you are interested in growing water garden plants, a garden pond fountain needs to be located where it gets four to six hours of direct sunlight daily. Mother Nature’s sunny days also power solar fountains that inhibit algae bloom through aeration and by cooling water temperatures in summer.



Watch out for excessive direct sunlight, especially in sweltering summer months, as it may lead to increased algae bloom. Best bet: Use water plants to cover up to 2/3 of the garden fountain surface and prevent too much sunlight from reaching the surface while reducing algae build-up. (Note: if plants cover more than 2/3 of the surface they trap excessive carbon dioxide and other gases.) Keeping fountain pumps running continuously also helps Mother Nature.



Fish add interest and pleasure to a garden fountain. Although a garden pond fountain stocked with fish requires more care and cleaning, Mother Nature once again helps out with scavengers. Snails love algae. Tadpoles and goldfish feast on mosquito larvae. Plants help ecologically balance a fish-filled garden fountain by helping remove natural nitrates that are a by-product of the ammonia fish secrete into the water.

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