Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Spring algae help!

Hi everyone, we have an unstocked clay pond about 40X60ft in size 8-9ft at the deepest. In the summer we have a fountain aerator and we treat regularly with beneficial bacteria. This year I worked throughout the fall proactively removing leaves and treated the pond all winter with cold water bacteria. Already the algae is starting to form in mats on the surface and I can’t keep up fast enough removing it. Last spring when we put our fountain in, I figured it would help clear things up but it kept clogging with algae and we had to keep pulling it out. I spent weeks going crazy trying to clean the pond by hand using a skimmer. I don’t want to have to go through that again so I’m wondering what my other options are. We live in NY and it doesn’t seem you can use algalcides here (which I would rather not anyway). Would some type of diffuser work and if so, what’s my best option. Or Is there some easier way to manually remove the algae?

Although I'm farther south than Rod, here are my thoughts.

Tilapia are a restricted option in NY, but not having predators big enough to eat them in the fall creates another problem, which is a pond covered with dead tilapia. A rake works, but it is labor intensive. I have a 12' handled driveway rake, and pull algae up on the bank and let it dry out. When dry, it's very light, and easy to remove. We put it in our compost pile.

A possible treatment option might be Greenclear Pro. It's a non-copper algae treatment, and according to a NY state report, "there is no significant threat to
the environment, the populations of organisms residing therein, or public health and safety". This may be an option. Just for clarity, I haven't used Greenclear yet, but I'm using it for algae control in a pond that irrigates an elderberry orchard. I wasn't comfortable using a cooper product for a FDA approved food test.


NY State Report