Welcome to Pondforum. Spring is now upon us, and there is much to do. In this week's column I'll cover some basic information on how to avoid algae blooms, divide your lilies, and tell you about some developments at Pondforum.com.

Just last week we cleaned out the company pond, which consisted mostly of removing dead leaves and plant material, and pulling our water lilies for their spring check-ups. Now the waterfall is splashing as usual again and we've even had some local frogs lay eggs (we encouraged this, by the way, by placing a few branches with lots of twigs in the water on the edge of the pond—amphibians need something to attach their eggs to or else they'll go elsewhere).

However, what made me think of algae was not the spring cleaning, but many of your letters. It seems that a lot of you struggle with algae. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet for solving this problem (as some would like you to believe). It's best to get back to basics when dealing with an algae bloom—your pond's ecology.

Algae needs two things to grow: nitrogen in the water and sunlight. Too many fish or too much fertilizer can cause an excess of nitrogen to build up and too few plants will allow your pond to become sun-flooded. Plants also consume nitrogen, so if you have 60-70% surface coverage (I know, it seems like a lot), you'll both be removing nitrogen and stopping sunlight, and this should solve your problem. The bottom line is: don't be conservative with your water lilies.

For those people with an abundance of fish, you may need to do more. Our OASE BioClear Filters are mechanical/biological filtration devices that will pull additional nitrogen from the water with special bacteria-inhabited pads and surfaces. You may also decide to use a UV clarifier—if you do, remember that these are part of the solution, not all of it. You will still need plant coverage and a good filter.

And finally, now is the time to divide and fertilize your water lilies. For everything you need to know about this process, simply click here.

I would also like to remind our visitors of Pondforum's incredible selection of water lilies. We have brought together the water lily collections of some of the biggest and best growers from around the country. Our system allows us to offer you the widest selection (really, we sell more varieties than the biggest grower in the US), and we are able to slash prices by as much as 50% if you purchase three or more water lilies.

Happy water gardening!

All the best,

Rob Sheldon, Principal Manager, Pondforum.com