Phytoplankton for Irrigation Ponds: Cleaner Water for Golf, Farms & Ranches

Yes, and irrigation ponds are the ideal case because they are high in the nutrients phytoplankton feeds on. On a City and County of Denver effluent-fed irrigation pond, the program reduced ammonia and phosphate to low or undetectable levels through the treatment window and improved water clarity. One golf course superintendent cut his overall water management expenses by about 80 percent from the previous year and invested no labor in the pond this season, and reports it looks and functions healthier than ever, with daphnia blooms along the shoreline, even though the pond is refilled with wastewater effluent every morning after irrigation.

First measurable change in 7-14 days. Phytoplankton populations grow 21-54% per day under typical pond conditions and visibly out-compete toxic algae within two weeks of inoculation. Full stabilization continues across the warm season.

Yes. The phytoplankton acts as a biostimulant when irrigated, returning phosphate and nitrate to plant-available form. Safe for golfers, livestock, fish, and people.

Yes, and that is the condition it is built for. Most bloom treatments struggle in high nutrient water because the nutrients keep feeding the next bloom. Hydralife works the opposite way. The excess phosphate, ammonia and nitrate are the food source for our multi-species phytoplankton, so a heavily loaded irrigation pond is an advantage rather than an obstacle. The phytoplankton grows 21 to 54 percent per day, takes the nutrients before cyanobacteria can, and outcompetes harmful algae blooms at the source. On a farm, ranch or golf course, those captured nutrients then move back through the irrigation system and return to the soil as an organic biostimulant.

Copper destroys algae cells but leaves the phosphate, nitrate, and ammonia that fueled the bloom, guaranteeing the bloom returns. Copper also accumulates in pond sediment, sterilizes the bottom, and re-circulates onto turf or fields when you irrigate. Hydralife removes the nutrient source itself by out-competing the algae, then becomes a soil biostimulant on irrigation. In field results, on a City and County of Denver effluent-fed irrigation pond, the program reduced ammonia and phosphate to low or undetectable levels through the treatment window and improved water clarity, and one golf course superintendent cut his water management expenses by about 80 percent year over year with no labor spent on the pond.

For most ponds we ship 100 gallons of concentrated live phytoplankton in a 5-gallon bucket. Larger or chronically blooming ponds may need a mid-summer follow-up. Contact us with pond size and water source for a specific protocol.

Yes. We conduct free N and P testing on samples customers ship back to us so you can verify the phytoplankton is consuming nutrients as designed. No extra cost.

No. Pour into the pond and continue normal operations. No course closures, no field closures, no livestock exclusion period.