Okay, I've finished clearing the front of the pond, now I need to spray to remove the watershield. I'm still researching through the archives to find the best way, so it may take a little while. The rest of the clearing around the edges will take place this fall or winter when the leaves are gone so I can see better what to remove. Then I can start thinking aeration and hopefully stocking some critters.
If you're not worried about any fish population (due to a DO crash) and you have any other unwanted plants in the pond, look into Fluridone. That will wipe out every plant in the pond if the PPB is high enough and give you a clean slate.
Thanks for the advice ... I'm not worried about the current fish population, all that are present are minnows I believe. How long before game fish could be introduced after spraying?
If you are killing all the weeds in the pond at once, I'd wait 2 to 3 weeks after they die before introducing the forage fish population. That way the weeds have a chance to die, decompose and the O2 level can recover.
The concern is the low O2 levels due to all the organics decomposing, not the herbicide.
Thanks again ... concerned about the O2 levels alredy. this pond has been neglected for years and has, what seems to me, a lot of "compost" in the bottom, leaves, etc. I see alot of fish (I'm guessing minnows) piping like they need more air, so I'm already thinking the O2 levels must be high. This is why I thought some aeration method might be useful. Any thought on this?
I think you mean O2 levels low. Yes, dissolved O2 is consumed by decaying matter. If you have a lot in the bottom, and you have no expensive fish in there that you want to save, you might be better off draining it and digging it deeper. That will get rid of the muck and the excess nutrients that are in it. I think you'd be better off in the long run to do that (renovate) and it'll probably save you a bunch of headaches in the upcoming years. (dealing with the muck, nutrients, etc.)
First of all I want to congratulate you on an excellent job clearing that pond, it looks much better! Does the pond have a drain so that you can empty it? If not digging the pond deeper is going to be significantly more expensive. If you do decide to dig it out be sure to install an aeration system once the pond starts to fill back up.
