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Algae are a strange group of organisms. They can range, in form, from one cell to many with the largest and most complex type of algae being the common sea weed. They are called 'simple' plants because they do not have many of the features of regular plants such as leaves or roots. The one-celled species, such as blanket weed rely entirely on energy from external sources.

This kind of algae is especially hard on ponds. It has long string-like fibres that form a dense mat and choke out other plant life. It is a burden to pond owners when it appears because it is so hard to completely eradicate. There are commercial products available, some of which are barley pellets. These pellets decay and produce humic acids which oxidize the algae, thus helping keep it controllable. However, they do take several weeks to start working.

An interesting concept has been advanced that blanket weed be used for biofuel. At the present time scientists have been scrambling to find plant sources to provide energy in order to replace fossil fuels. Researchers are already using corn and various plants for this purpose.

All plants gather energy from the sun and photosynthesis takes place. With the cells changing, this turns into a type of oil which can be processed to produce fuel. It has been found that by a process of fermentation, algae can be turned into ethanol.

The plus side of this idea is the abundance of algae. It can be found in almost every body of water, including the ocean, and reproduces rapidly which are two of the requirements for this project. One problem that people working with biofuel production have found is that the plants currently used, such as corn, are seasonal.

There have been many suggestions regarding producing algae in a manner that would be consistent. These have included setting up special ponds for this purpose or to purposely expose controlled bodies of water to all the conditions which cause it to grow. Because it can be contaminated by other plants it has been found that it grows best in sterile CO2 which is very expensive. At the present time this idea is still in the experimental stage.

With the knowledge that blanket weed, and other kinds of algae grow because there is an excess of organic nutrients in the water plus sunlight and warm weather it would seem the obvious answer to prevent this is keeping the pond clean and with the right balance of acids and other requirements in the pond's water. If the problem becomes too bad the only recourse is to empty the pond, clean it thoroughly and start over. There are certain pond cleaning materials made for this purpose. It should be noted that the standard UV sterilizer will not work on blanket weed.

Decaying matter is food for the algae, as is excess fish food. Keeping this matter cleaned up with filters, skimmers and other things as well as not over feeding the fish will help. Adding beneficial bacteria and microbes are also beneficial as they live off the algae. The chemical algaecide is another means of control but must be added at regular intervals. Calcium clay has also become popular as a natural method of algae control.