Algae removal from pond.
I think that’s mostly mulm, not algae. It’s best to remove it since as it decomposes, it consumes oxygen. If it contains fish excrement, that decomposes to ammonia which is poisonous. Bacteria in the water can further change the ammonia to nitrates and nitrites which are less harmful but should still be removed.
Decomposing organic matter is an important food source for natural aquatic food webs. Ammonium (the form ammonia converts to when dissolved in water) is not poisonous. It’s actually the most bioavailable form of nitrogen. Nitrate (not nitrates….when you add the s it implies the NO3 molecule is bonded to an organic carbon chain) is more of a concern for water quality because it is a lot more mobile and free ammonium is readily concerted to nitrate via nitrification. This facts might be different in a natural environment than an aquarium, but as this video (which is satisfying although not super effective) is from a natural system and not an aquarium (I assume based on the size), I figured sharing these facts might help. Source: I’m an aquatic biogeochemist that has studied nitrogen and carbon cycling for my whole career.
Ammonia is already the primary nitrogenous waste of fish, it doesn’t need to decompose into it. Depending on the state of the pond, the vast majority of this dead mass is algae and Cyanobacteria which often appear like and used to be considered algae so there not really wrong. If this is a man made pond, the nutrient dynamics are most likely already screwed, but removal could help a bit. I also don’t think the term mulm is used outside of aquariums, but I only did an internship on aquatic plants, so I’m not 100% on that. I hadn’t ever heard it before and I can’t find it online in any other context.
vacuuming the gravel was the most satisfying and relaxing part of owning a fish tank. so much gunk comes out, automatically, and you just wave your wand back and forth like painting cleanliness.
probably the same reason games like Power Wash Simulator do so well.
