Can too many fish cause algae problems?

Many pond owners experience two problems with their pond at some point in time. They have green water algae or string alage and they have too many fish. Are these two problems related? The answer is sometimes. The more fish you have in your pond, the more food you feed them, the more waste they produce. This can lead to poor water quality issues including algae. A simple rule of thumb for determining how many fish you should have in your pond is No more than 1 inch of fish per square foot of water surface. So if you have an 8ft by 10 ft pond, that is 80 square feet. So based on the formula you should have no more than 80 inches of fish. That could be 8 fish that are 10 inches long or 10 fish that are 8 inches long, for example. Some pond owners who have a lot of fish do not experience alage problems. Those pond owners most likely have sufficient filtration to handle the fish waste. We recommend a bottom drain to people who know they will have a lot of fish. It really helps clean the pond more effectively. They may have a UV light to kill the algae. They may also have large numbers of aquatic plants. These products can help keep the pond in balance despite a heavy fish load. If you want a lot of fish in your pond, you need the right equipment and plant material to properly filter the pond to prevent algae problems, poor fish health and poor water quality. Please feel free to post any comments regarding your algae problems or solutions.