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thesquirrelhorde t1_jabtjte wrote

Reply to comment by pleasegivemealife in ELI5: Why is it that when fertilizers make their way into waterways, all the oxygen disappears, killing the fish? by Psychological-Dog994

Nope, that just encourages more algal growth. It’s the high nutrient levels that are the problem.

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pleasegivemealife t1_jac0ns8 wrote

It's just a joke, but yes I believe the solution is more complicated than that

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thesquirrelhorde t1_jac18h9 wrote

No worries, I mentioned it as adding bubblers/fountains tends to be the go to solution for the well meaning but uniformed. I get why people do it, it seems logical. But it’s another example of why common sense is not always the right answer.

A much better solution (after reducing the nutrient input that is) is to increase the number of large aquatic plants (macrophytes). These take up the nutrients which suppresses the algae growth.

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