Most of the work of algae management is actually nutrient management. The logical first step to reducing lake nutrients is to prevent nutrients from entering the water. 

 

Sometimes prevention works. Reducing nutrients from entering the lake reduces algae. Other times prevention doesn’t work because the nutrients feeding the algae are coming from inside the lake. This “nutrient load” is mostly located in the lake bottom sediment. 

 

Years of chemical treatment kill the tiny creatures that normally live on the lake bottom. These creatures clean the water by eating the nutrients. Without them both sediment & nutrients accumulate. When nutrients climb to a certain level, the lake enters a state of repeated algae blooms. Then prevention &/or monthly chemical treatment isn’t enough to stop algae blooms.

 

The Beautiful Ponds solution is to install a home for trillions of tiny microbes that will start cleaning the water again. This home is called a BioFilter. It sits on the lake bottom completely out of sight. In simple terms, it works like this:

• Dirty (high nutrient) water flows through the BioFilter. 

• The hungry little microbes attack the nutrients they like to eat. 

• Each microbial species picks their favorite food, eating the nutrients more & more every day. 

• All this happens in a fresh, clean environment not compromised by past chemical treatments.

 

This filtration process is often supplemented by adding other small organisms that were also killed by repeated chemical applications. These small aquatic worms, mollusks & mussels also break down sediment & eat nutrients.