Your pond has turned a blue-green color and has algae blooms on the surface. What corrective action do you take?

In the context of a pond exhibiting a blue-green color with algae blooms, the situation is indicative of algal overgrowth, often associated with excessive nutrients in the water, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. Algal blooms can lead to water quality issues, reduced oxygen levels, and harm to aquatic life.

Adding sodium nitrate serves to combat the algae by directly supplying nitrogen, which is a nutrient that algae thrive on. In cases of algal blooms, managing nutrient levels is crucial, and sodium nitrate can help dissolve some of the excess nutrients that are contributing to the overgrowth. By addressing the nutrient imbalance, the addition of sodium nitrate can help restore a healthier ecological balance in the pond, effectively contributing to the reduction of algae.

Alternatives like reducing inflow could lead to stagnation and worsen the situation if nutrient concentrations remain high. Chlorination, while it might kill the algae, can lead to harmful byproducts and further disruptions in the pond ecosystem, potentially harming aquatic organisms. Increasing aeration does improve oxygen levels but might not directly address the underlying nutrient problem that caused the bloom in the first place. Therefore, using sodium nitrate directly addresses a primary driver of the algae bloom, making it the most effective corrective action in this situation.