The Benefits of Using Dyes in your Pond

Due to uncontrollable geographic properties, a pond’s water may become dull, cloudy, or a dirty brown. A great way to reconcile this and enhance the beauty of your pond is to use special dyes designed for ponds. Not only do the dyes color your pond, but many dyes such as Aquashade also have UV filtering properties which lead to lessened weed growth.

An immense benefit of using pond dyes is that you get to see instant results. Most pond treatments take 2-4 weeks before you see results, but with pond dyes you will have instant satisfaction in a single day. Pond dyes are best used in conjunction with herbicide and algaecide products because neither will interfere with the other while both help to control the weeds and algae in different ways.

Two of the most popular commercially available pond dyes are Aquashade and Blue Lagoon SS. Aquashade is a blend of blue and yellow dyes that work together specifically to screen or shade portions of the sunlight spectrum (red-orange and blue-violet) that are known to promote underwater weed and algae growth. Blue Lagoon SS is a pleasant blue-green color that will leave your pond reminiscent of tropical waters such as those seen in the Caribbean.

Pond dye’s UV filtering properties, particularly Aquashade’s, is beneficial for limiting algae growth. Algae can easily over take a pond and damage the overall health. By using pond dyes, you can help limit the algae’s ability to proliferate throughout your pond.

All dyes are food-grade, which means that they will pose no threat to wildlife (fish or otherwise) if the dyed water is consumed. This means there are no restrictions on swimming, fishing, irrigation, or livestock watering when using a pond dye.

For late season pond dye use, we recommend a black dye called Loch Ness. This dye will darken your pond significantly and is a great way to prepare your pond for the next season. Black dyes are great for ponds in wooded, natural areas because they will give the pond a more pure and reflective quality. By dying a pond black late in the season, you will limit the amount of weed regeneration in the coming season.