Woke up to this today... Looks like someone spilled green paint in the pond...

Or maybe some aliens crash landed in there and are melting?

I'll see your green and raise you some red.....

One of the best ways to fix this, Mabros, is the personal Cannonball.

Collect as much as you can of both colors, and bring it to Nebraska when you visit Bruce. All is good, it's not vegetation or plants.

Kinda looks like Christmas!!!


So how bad is it? Guessing it is a bacterial algae? Blue green?

It is plankton IMO (yes plants). A heavy plankton bloom driven by the wind to the bank. Possibly a red euglena and green phytoplankton. There are thousands of types.

According to Bill Cody, 17,000!

I've seen both colors in my pond at different times. A big hole opens up when the feeders go off from the food slick.

In my case, the photo was taken around 3 in the afternoon, in full sun. when I returned to feed around 7, it no longer appeared red, but a greenish brown instead. The entire pond was shaded by that time, so I assumed that was the reason. Pretty cool.

That they know about!

I've never had the red variety in my pond but did get it in a plastic boat I had next to the pond when it got rainwater in it. It's now turned over all the time so it's not an issue.

The 17,000 species was just for the number of species of filamentous algae(FA) and those examples of red and green are not types of FA. We won't scare you as to how many species of algae there are of nonfilamentous algae. In outdoorliving's case it was probably bluegreen(Cyanobacteria) and in spkplg's case it was likely a species of Euglena which can change color as day length changes. I would be more concerned with the bluegreen(toxin potential) compared to the Euglena. Although both when dense can cause severe DO sags during long periods of cloudy days or in early morning hours. It depends.

Thanks Bill, I've had it before and thus far have never suffered for it...it's only on one corner when concentrated by the wind, so coverage is nil.

It's red again this morning.

Great I get the good stuff... We have had some really cool nights, wind and a little bit if rain the last couple day.. It appears that it is still out there but mixed in the water column and not all surfaced in one corner..

What is the best way to get ahead of it? Major concern? I have read the OMG, end of the world post here and other places on the web..

IMO I would lightly treat the downwind surface scums or films with either properly diluted liquid Curtrine-Plus (or similar active copper based ingredient) or with liquid (10 part water:1part GCPro) of "completely" dissolved Green Clean Pro granular @ 1 cup/gal and thoroughly spray just the filmy area. GC Pro is hydrogen peroxide based as active ingredient and generally much 'safer' with no residual bound copper (metal) for the overall pond ecosystem.

Certain algae will move up and down in the water column based on type of species, wind amount, time of day, and or light brightness, intensity. It is advisable for obvious reasons to treat the surface 'film' when it appears early in development and when most dense (usually calm or light breeze) so one gets maximum numbers "trimmed" from the ecosystem. It is extremely difficult, impossible and not necessary to 'get' every individual. IMO pond conditions should be changed or modified to minimize future blooms of same species. Of course if you don't know which specie that is the problem you will never now if a return bloom is same or different since many blooming algae appear much alike to novices without microscopic examination.

Let us know how it works.

I have a 50 lb bag of sodium percarbonate in my shed that I have been spot treating FA.. I will mix up a couple of gallons and spray treat the surface areas and let you know the results...

Had a nice wind from the north this AM and it was all pushed up in the same corner again.. Went out and mixed up 2 gallons of sodium percarbonate and sprayed the surface...Went home on my lunch hour and the there was still a small area that was surfaced and together so hit it again with another gallon them finished the gallon off on the ponds edge...


Now I wait....

Still trying to figure out a way to change/modify the nutrient levels in the pond...I have tried to introduce some plants, but the only survivors was the water iris and hyacinth...The hyacinth did not spread or grow at the rate I was hoping for...Going to have to figure out a way to crowd it or keep it in selected areas...

I guess I have to remember this is my 1st year owning a pond...

Any grass carp in the pond?

You can get a good stand of Eurasian Water Milfoil started very easily.....

You have an evil side, Esshup.......

Not seeing much improvement with the sodium percarbonate... Might spray some with Cutrine plus tomorrow morning.. Water is down about 8-12" because we have had no rain to speak of lately.. Havn't been running well because I Was hoping to get it a level i could transplant some iris from pot to the pond bottom... Guess that can wait until I get this mess going in the right direction...

So i just fired up the well to add some fresh water hoping that might help.. This crap is going to cause me to drink!!!

Don't sweat it Sean.......in my opinion there will always be inconsistencies, and unforeseen irregularities where a pond is concerned. Differentiating between the ones that demand your immediate attention, vs. situations that are longer term, vs. those that just simply need some time to sort themselves out, is all part of the process.

I would try the Cutrine, when you catch the stuff blown into a corner....

So my well has been running for over 24 hours which has raised the pond right at a foot...If 100,000+ gallons of water don't change my water quality I don't know what will...

Pretty much exhausted trying to get rid of this algae...It moves up and down in the water column and nothing seems to touch it...I have used copper and sodium percarbonate with little to no affect...The sodium percarbonate did change the consistency of it one time when it was surfaced and blow to the edge to where I could remove with a dip net...

On very calm days like today it covers about 70-80% of the pond...

You've still got the stuff?? Hmmm.....maybe Bill will chime in with another idea or two. What are your water temps? Does it disappear with the rain, and if so, for how long?

By the way.....Happy Birthday!!

Water temps have been averaging between 66° to 73°...If we get a good rain or wind from the north it mixes in the water column pretty good and appears to just be a bloom...As the water settles and it surfaces again it looks just like the original pictures.. Sometimes heavier sometimes lighter...

Thanks for the Birthday wish...

Happy Birthday!

Some pics from today on my lunch hour...

If it's any consolation, my pond looked that way most of the summer too. It has been going away as the days get colder and we get a bit more rain. I figured in my case, some sort of aeration/diffusers would help. With seeing yours, I am beginning to wonder if the aeration doesn't help, I am assuming you have some kind. Do you?

I have one diffuser running off of a windmill and one running 24/7 off electric...Going to go with a new system in the spring with 2 vertex diffusers and relocate the wind mill to shallower water to be left year around, probably under the dock...

Aeration IMO will not reduce that type of bloom and its biomass an appreciable amount. You might be able to mix the pond strong enough to put most of the surface bloom blended into the water column but the amount of growth will prevail. I think excess phosphorus and possibly a shortage of nitrogen is feeding that particular type of bloom. If it were my pond with the surface film pushed into a fairly narrow band at one end, I would spray the film with diluted Green Clean Pro liquid or dissolved Phycomycin. Both with same active ingredient. The algae should decompose fairly quickly and recycle some nitrate and phosphate to stimulate other more beneficial planktonic algae. Ideally one wants to spray the surface film before it forms reproductive spores to regenerate next year's same type bloom.

How old was the Phytomycin? It should have at least killed what was on top. PM me for info to test the reactivity of the Phycomycin. Make sure when you mixthe granules into the water that all are dissolved before spraying. Get good even coverage of the surface film. also then take about 1/2 to one gallon of granules and spread it fairly evenly over top the film to get the algae that is suspended under the film. It is possible that you are killing what is currently on the surface and more is floating to the top from in the water column .

How long of a period of time does this spore making take. Are we talking about as soon as you see it on the surface, a week or so, or is it an all summer process?

Spores or akinetes which are resting stages to survive harsh conditions of Cyanobacteria form close to the end of the vegetative growth period or as filaments age and are influenced by environmental factors. I am not sure but I suspect it happens over the course of a 3-7 days. Akinetes of Cyanobacteria are essentially specialized DNA storage cells.

So when you see this stuff forming on the surface, it would be good to take care of it every three days?

I would "hit" it with Phycomycin every time you see it forming those scums along one shoreline or blown into corners - windrows. This is called 'trimming the bloom'. Phycomycin and similar peroxyhydrates leave no residue and can be applied frequently with basically no side affects and are quite safe. They actually release dissolved oxygen when working which is a good benefit to using them.

PM sent to you Bill....

You probably don't remember, but you helped me with algae, RBT, and phycomycin before. I still have some left, and I want to be prepared for next year if this stuff appears again. The bloom lasted too long for my liking this year, and by your description it probably will be back next year from all the spores.

Thank you.

I just purchased it from a local cleaning supply house that had to order it in special...

Hate to admit my STUPIDITY, but...

I can assume it is pretty new by the reaction I got by NOT cleaning out the itsy bitsy bit of Cutrine Plus that was left in my hand sprayer...Needless to say I never had to pump the handle on the sprayer for the hole 2 gallons...Took the tip off of the spray wand for fear it was going to blow up...

I almost blew up a 50-gal spray-tank the first time I used Greenclean (on a golf course, no less).
Without my knowledge, the customer's tank held about a gallon of CUTRINE PLUS mixture before we began filling it with water. I added about 5 lbs of Greenclean Pro into the tank and then screwed on the lid due the rapidly rising foam. Imagine my surprise when the tank began to rapidly bulge - significantly! I cautiously unscrewed the lid to avoid a tank-exposion. Once the lid came free, an 8" diameter exothermic geiser went skyward - probably 6' vertical.
I'm sure the entire spectacle was quite entertaining to those who were watching this free circus - from a distance.

Water temp is down to 59°-61° and most of it has settled lower in the water column....I did spray another couple of gallons of Sodium Percarconate when is was surfaced on blown to one side...

Fish are still feeding pretty well even with the cooler temps...Goal is to get a couple of friends over in the next week and pull some BG out for deer season...

I didn't know deer were attracted to BG! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

LOL! Nice....

You would be amazed at what the deer over here eat!!!

And it's back... I hate this pond!!

Pond is warming up fast.. Surface temp is 73° today and water clarity is about 30"..

The pond is almost a brown color with little flecks in the water..

Kelly, it's still pretty damn funny!

Stay with it Sean.....dust off the sprayer!

Goal was to physically remove as much of the FA as possible in the next week or so to remove some of the nutrients.. Changed up plans and sprayed it with sodium per carbonate today as well as spread the powder around the edge of pond... We will see how this plays out I guess..

Update...

With the help of several members here I think I am finally going in the right direction... A very big THANKS to all that helped especially Bill Cody who helped with water testing and several ideas and suggestion via PM...

We decided that I had a typical HAB because my nitrogen to phosphorus was way out of balance.. My Ortho-p was .079 and my Nitrates were 1.1 which put me way short of the suggested 20 to 1 ratio of beneficial blooms..

The approach I took was start a bacteria program and try to get the nitrogen levels up.. I did simple things like spraying surface films with phycomycin and then added bacteria after to gobble up the nutrients being released.. Also added a slow release zero P yard fertilizer even around the edge of the pond which I normally don't do... Spraying would get me a few days of better appearance but I could still see the suspended particles in the water..

June came and went with little headway made.. Then July came and I decided to take a little more of an aggressive approach via some out of the box thinking of Bill... I got a gallon of 28% liquid nitrogen and added about a 1/3 of a gallon to see what would happen.. Really didn't see an immediate change, but had a day with a perfect wind to spray the surface films.. Sprayed with 9:1 ratio Cutrine with 2 ounces if reward mixed in...

That was in my opinion of the turning point...I don't know if the added nitrogen plus/or the copper/reward being enough to push things in the right direction, but I am seeing a LOT nicer looking pond.. Have only had to treat with phycomycin once since then..

A few pictures along the way... Will have to get some new ones to show the pond now..

Awesome progress. Glad you posted, as I was wondering how things were coming along. Bill kindly offered to help with my pond also, but shortly thereafter my issues disappeared.

Post those new photos!

Couple pics on my lunch today...

Definitely looks more inviting for a swim now than it did. That was some nasty looking green snot you had. Good to hear you are getting the upper hand on it.

I'm waiting to see what pictures in July next year will show. I hope that it isn't just a change in the weather coupled with the rains that we've had that made the change. My pond in the past few weeks has changed for the better algae wise, and I haven't treated it.......

You and me both!!! If it doesn't keep going in the right direction I am going to blame you because of that post...I almost didn't want to update because of that exact fear.. I also would to know where my ortho-p and nitrates are right now..

I know a lot of people aren't believers in bacteria.. But like Ted Lea explained to me if it didn't work why do water treatment plants use it.. I am going to continue to use it even through the winter but just cut back my dosage.. If I can spend $20 a month on a maintainance program that is cheap insurance IMHO..

I will continue to update with whatever happens.. I have nothing to hide either way.. Just can't make the promise to get it done in a timely matter with a few changes as of late..

I've got broad shoulders!

Lets see if you remember to update it in 11 months.

Some pictures from today on my lunch..

As for what I have done this year.. Sprayed FA one time in the spring then have just continued with the bacteria program.. Now with the rain we have had I have no idea how to tell what that has done.. With it being a ground water pond with no overflow that has cause an issue for a few yards and my garden.. Pretty much chalk the garden up for this year...

My FA just kind of went away after dragging a bunch of the floating mats out of the water. My pond edge looks just about like yours with just a slight amount of residual FA around the edges in places.

Did anyone tell you most people put the fixed portion of the floating dock where it is attached to the bank ABOVE water?

Sorry, just being a smart ass........ couldn't resist. If that is a groundwater pond, you obviously have had adequate rain to recharge the aquifer.

Like your rock lining around the pond. Pretty much what I did.

What used to be my garden..

Lots of rain flushing nutrients out of the pond help keep the FA away.

Once the rain stops, that might change when all the new vegetation that is now underwater starts to decompose.

Been another year and this one has been a little more enjoyable around the pond.. Water is looking good this year.. Had some early FA that I let clear up itself this year with no manual removal or copper products.. Have continued the bacteria program even through the the winter but cut back to just 1lb a month under the ice.. Started adding 2 lbs a month in April but other than that just letting it do it's thing..

Lookin great!