Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants FA questions for a rookie

Greetings all - I am hopeful someone can share some wisdom. I have several questions regarding FA and controlling it. I've had a terrible time with FA this year and been lurking on the internet looking for solutions.

Forgive the length of the post but I want to give you as much information about the pond as I can think of. I have a 2.5 acre pond that I have owned for approximately 4 years. It is probably 8-12 ft deep in the middle. It is fed by another pond and run off from a field. Problem #1 I know due to the nutrients from the run off. There is really no way to divert that run off either. One fourth of the pond bank is lined by trees to seperate it from the other pond. The rest of the entire pond shore has 4 weeping willow trees.

I cannot recall if the problem has increased from year to year but it is definitely worse this year. I have also noticed an increase in other aquatic vegetation (Americal pondweed maybe)The FA is currently around the entire bank extending 5-8 feet out. There are only two things I can think of that has changed.

1. I installed a windmill aeration system in January with two seperate stone defusers. Could this of somehow increased the amount I am seeing?

2. The house next too me put in a new septic system with the lateral fields being approximately 50ft from my pond. Could this be adding even more nutirents and increasing my FA?

So far I am trying to stay away from the copper sulphate because I dont feel that will ever get at the real problem and only increase the food for the future. I raked off the FA once this year. I just got as much of it on the bank as possible to dry out and then went back a day after to haul it off. Its labor intensive and grows back faster than I can keep up with it being 2.5 acres.

The talapia route seems very effective but they with them not being able to survive the winter, doesnt seem like a great solution either. I am not sure if they are legal in KY or not.I wasnt sure how much this method costs either.

Although the middle is 8-12 the sides leading up to the bank are obviously shallower (1-2 foot). Would it be beneficial to deepen those areas? I know it grows by sunlight, and with it only forming around the bank, it seems that deepening those areas may help?!?!?! Its the only "longer term" solution I could think of.

Thanks in advance for any help that you can provide.

Welcome to PB. See this from the archives and look at the links.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92633#Post92633

But what does "get at the real problem"?
Isn't this for most pond owners an on-going problem year to year?
Whether it's chems/spray, raking, tilapia, they usually have to be done every year.
There doesnt seem to be a "cure-all pill".
Carp can work year after year, but they are usually just one piece of the puzzle.


Again...aren't most algae/aquatic vegetation control methods needed almost every year? Please list the method I can do once and the problem is solved?

Plus unlike most control solutions,
Tilapia in fact can serve a double or even triple purpose.

#1. Tilapia help contol some unwanted growths.
#2. Tilapia fatten the bass.
#3. Tilapia are tasty to eat.

Of course like the other "solutions" tilapia does not solve the entire problem, and must be thought of as one of the pieces to the puzzle. Budget also plays a huge role in how to combat the problem.

I'd like to add to beefsmack's question: What controls FA in colder climates like Eastern Washington State? My current method is to rake the bottom with a piece of chain-link fencing and/or skim it when it gets to the surface.

The damned stuff makes fishing for my trout a bit of a bummer and a lot more work than I'd like.

Like all plant problems it is a function of sunlight , nutrients and temps. It is next to impossible to permanently change your dirt (nutrients) and temps change with the seasons (which we can't change). That leaves light and conversion/consumption. If you could convert the energy from the sun, nutrients stored in the plants to animal biomass and remove them ( by animals ,tilapia , carp or other) and then take out the animals you will have removed that supply of energy/nutrients from the system. Also aeration and chemicals (bacteria , microbes etc.) aid in the breakdown and use of excess energy. Herbicides that kill the plant followed by removal (manual) accomplishes the same result. Manual removal will also work. You can also convert one form of energy (bad plants) to another useful one (nuisance plants to plankton) and turn that energy into fish growth. You can also reduce light to the plants (FA starts on the bottom) by shading (dye , plankton bloom or covering the surface). Those are the concepts which are all explained in the linked threads. No magic bullet but with learning/understanding comes wisdom.

I don't know if this is applicable to your situation, but I had great success removing my algae this spring by attacking it at its source. I too was hesitant to use copper sulphate, but the problem was really getting out of hand. My pond is fed by field runoff, so it gets a lot of nutrients. Instead of treating much of the pond itself, I treated the watershed that feeds it, all the way to the edge of my property. I cautiously used only a third of the recommended amount for one treatment, and after one large rain, my pond was completely clean and has remained so.

Thanks everyone for spreading the wisdom and I am very glad I discovered this forum. Tremendous amount of knowledge. I am going to look at potential solutions for re-directing the run off to at least cut down on the nutirents. I think I would still have plenty of run off coming from the pond above mine. In the meantime....looks like i'm raking. Help get me in shape for my upcoming wedding, which is going to be by the pond with FA or without. Thanks again.

If you are 8-10 days before the wedding and there is still FA on the pond, get some Cutrine Ultra or Cutrine Plus or anohter chelated copper product (if you don't have trout in the pond). Treat 1/3 of the FA. Wait 2 days, treat another 1/3. Treat the last 1/3 in 2 more days. That will give it 4 days to decompose before the wedding.

After the wedding is over, you can go back to raking. Get it looking good for the wedding. Your soon to be better half will appreciate it.