Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants FA HELP

Hey guys,
Since I kinda got a foot up on this FA (after pumping) I'd like to spray the rest and pretty well completely eliminate it.. What do you guys recommend for spray, my neighbor stopped by while I was pumping and told me he uses copper sulfate, I know it's not good for ponds but he said it completely wipes it out.. What is something that's compatible?? Thanks guys..

I've had great success with Captain algeaicide, and tilapia.

Cutrine plus liquid for FA 1' deep or less. Granules for deeper stuff.

Talapia are out of the question.. Citrine plus I can get right in town both liquid and granule.. What kind of ratio you running on the esshup? I've never heard of captain?

Also will the aeration offset the amount of dying and decaying FA enough to not have to worry about a fishkill? Or am i totally wrong there?, also I'm curious as to why my lake has 6' plus of visibility.. I could see my feet clearly walking in neck deep water?? What's up with that? I might have to start another thread on that..

I just mix some up in a hand held tank sprayer and spot spray. I haven't had to deal with large amounts of it in a pond.

The pond is clear because the FA (or submerged plants) are using the nutrients before the photoplankton bloom can get established.

I think that if you are aerating, treating 1/3 of the pond per week would be O.K. unless the majority of the pond is covered with FA. If it's that bad, I'd drop back to 1/4 of the pond, mostly because of the weather that we are in now.

Well I sprayed quite abit.. Did the whole perimeter but most of it had barely any then on the thick parts that were blown to one side k sprayed as far as I could reach with a hand pump.. Hopefully this stuff works I didn't really break the thick mats up just sprayed it on top of them.. Turned the aerator to 24/7 just to be safe.. Also this is a copper based product supposedly uses chelated copper what does that mean? And why is it better than half the price copper sulfate??

Hopefully the information that I was given is correct:

Copper Sulfate or “blue stone” is probably the most commonly used algal treatments because of its availability and low cost. In very hard water it is difficult to use copper sulfate because it binds with the calcium, precipitates out of solution, and renders the copper ineffective as an algaecide.
All copper compounds can be toxic to fish if used above labeled rates and can be toxic in soft or acidic waters even at label rates. Before using copper is it best to test the pond water’s alkalinity and adjust copper treatments to alkalinity concentrations.

The chelated forms of copper is combined with other compounds to help prevent the loss of active copper from the water. Chelated compounds also work at killing algae for up to 14 days, whereas copper sulfate kills only the day it is applied.

Kelly or someone else who is more versed in chemistry/weed control tell me if I'm full of it or correct?

Essup--After BGK asked the question I was doing a little research on Yahoo in order to give him an answer. I pretty well had the answer formulated in my mind and came back to answer it. You beat me to it, your explanation is spot on, especially for a non-scientist mind like mine to understand.

When I spray Cutrine + I turn my aeration off for a couple of hours so that the spray stays in contact with what I spray it on longer, and the overspray which hopefully settles in the shallow water around the edge. Hopefully this keeps the chemical in shallower water longer.

Bing, it was easy, I just copied/pasted from a quote we did earlier in the year.

Well I like your aeration plan Bing.. Parts of my pond the CP sat for a could hours before I turned on the aeration and some parts sat maybe 15 minutes so i quess I'll see how that plays out.. I'm gonna wait a week or 2 I got another jug of liquid and granules I'm gonna use the granules to spot clear and the liquid to hit a couple coves I've skipped over totally.. Hope it's clear by the end of the month.. Thanks fr the info guys I really hope i didn't over do it I'm starting to worry now..!

before and after pictures would be nice.

No noticeable difference in FA appearance today?? I kicked the aerator on 24/7.. I posted some pics on my other thread about building the pump to remove FA..

I see alot of fish jumping out of the water I hope this is not a sign of DO crash?? Their not piping their jumping completely out of the water? Anyone out there I'm freaking out here :0

Are there bugs flying above the water?

Tons of dragonflys I actually noticed that too when i noticed the fish jumping there seems to be more than normal.. I honestly think the aeration is bringing up more FA I can see it bellowing up around the diffusers and my pond seems to be just covering more and more.. I think I'm losing this battle honestly lol

Starting too see a little action FA starting to bleach and slightly dissolve/breakdown..

If we get the rains (finally) that they are expecting on Sunday that FA will disappear. With the heat we have had the next thing to watch for, after the rain, especially for people who do not have aeration will be fish kills.

Anyone know what the rains effect will be on the cutrine? Or is it once the process starts it's a go. Will it still be decaying and dying if the rains push it underwater ?

This flat out isn't working and I think 24/7 aeration is making things worse.. My pond is now over 50% covered.. And the stuff sprayed with cutrine has been kinda disappointing.. I really dint know what else todo??? This sucks lol I'm about ready to just start dumping the copper sulfate to it.. I wish tree was something like karmax that stuff use to work awesome

I don't think I've ever seen C+ not work on FA... What ratio did you use? Are you sure it's FA? What color is the FA now? Is it turning brown at all?

Personally, I don't aerate when I spot treat with C+. Of course, I usually don't apply it when the weather/temps are what they have been for weeks now, so that gives me a little more leeway.

I would spot treat only, with 6 parts water to 1 part C+. Be patient. Instant gratification doesn't usually belong in a pondmeister's vocabulary. Better not enough product than too much in this weather.

You can always add more, but it's a little hard to cut it back once it's in there.

I did 9:1... Also it seems to be working on the stuff around the edges, however the thick floating mats seem unfased.. I used the granular around my dock and it's working great.. I think the whole problem is I just waited to long and if I do get everything killed on top it's so thick more will replace it almost instantly.. Also my water looks like vodka it's so clear so it just keeps growing.. I'm scared to not aerate just invade I went a little overboard on the "treat on 1/3 to 1/2" at a time might of got a little carried away there lol.. I just need to be patient and see what I got in a week and with the rain coming in see if it helps or nulifies all I've done so far..

It might not have been a strong enough dose. I usually see FA turning white within a day, or later on that day. I'd hit a different area with either the same mixture, just applied heavier, or a stronger concentration. It's hard to regulate when using a hand sprayer, you almost have to do it by the color in the pond/on the FA.

Yeah I think next time I'll mix 3 jugs of C+ in my 25 gallon sprayer.. Some of it is bleaching and decaying I'm hoping for the rain tomorrow to put a hit on it.. Then I might hit it some more with the granular C+.. we'll see what we got in a week.. Not looking promising though..

BGC, just mix a gallon or two in a hand held pump-up sprayer. Hit a few areas, varying the amount sprayed on each area and see how fast the FA reacts. I'd rather see you do a test on a relatively small area than a much larger area. The rain beats the air bubbles out of it, so it sinks. Once it collects enough air for buoyancy, then it'll be back at the surface.