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Lake Scum Or Perhaps The Fungus Which Feeds on The Lake
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“I’m pond scum. Well, lower actually. I’m like the fungus that feeds on pond.”
I’m certain each and every woman knows where that line is from. Julian Potter, played by superstar Julia Roberts, uttered this in My Best Friend’s Wedding. She was remorseful for attempting to stop the wedding of her closest friend, whom she evolved emotions for.
But if women are familiar with the line and may have heard it over and over again after continuously viewing the romantic flick, do they even know what lake scum is?
From the line, it seems apparent that pond scum is among the lowest tiers of the universe. Causes you to not want to be what it is. Well, you don’t strive to be lake scum. It is a form of algae that forms a green blanket on a stagnant lake.
You don’t strive to be lake scum and you surely don’t like lake scum in your pond. So part of knowing how to build a pond is to learn how to stop pond scum from developing.
Lake scum is a common problem in both ponds and lakes and like the cliché, “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure,” it will always be best to prevent the pond scum from developing rather than having to treat it.
Preventing lake scum from developing is rather easy. Just make sure that sunlight doesn’t get to the bottom part of the bed because that is where pond scum starts. Only, you don’t notice pond scum until it is floating on the surface but it actually builds up towards the bottom. You don’t necessarily have to stop sunlight from entering into the pond. Sunlight is still helpful if you’re farming fish and other seafood in the pond. Just don’t make the light reach the bed.
This is one of the things to consider when you study how to build a pond. A partial shade that only permits sunlight in the surface should be included in making ponds.
If the pond scum has already been there, you can take it out with a pool net. But by then, it has already started its population. So you have to place treatment in the water to exterminate the scum.
Among the more popular treatments are copper substance and contact weed killer. Here’s a tip, don’t try to treat the entire pond scum. Just treat about a third because it will have an effect on the available oxygen for the pond inhabitants.
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