Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants looking for recommendations

I have a small pond in Michigan. Pond is about 90' in diameter and 7' deep at the deepest part. I've been lurking in the forums for a few weeks and have learned a lot, but unfortunately for every 1 thing I learn I then develop 2 new questions. We just moved into our new house 2 years ago and since the inside of the house & landscaping are finally finished (what the wife thought was important) I can finally start to work on having the pond look less like a giant bowl of green soup by mid summer. We have quite a bit of filamentous algae (see pic below). Some of the algae is floating on top while on sunny days I can see that towards the center quite a bit is growing up from the center. Should I start by using Cutrine to kill the algae I currently have? Then after removing all dead alae use Aquashade to try and prevent as much as possible? Not really sure where to start.

vfr - From your picture it looks like this filamentous algae could be some of the fine stranded types that grow in cold water. Since your pond is small, I would go to one of MI's many good sporting goods stores and get yourself a smelt dipping net. They usually have a nylon bag mesh of 3/16 to 1/4". You will find this a very good tool for removing all sorts of things in your small pond including filamentous algae and leaves. Dip out as much of your algae as practical for you and then treat the remaining shallow shoreline areas that are 1,ft to 4 or 5 ft deep with Curtine GRANULAR or "Green Clean". Read the directions on the bag for proper application method and dosage.

Some "prefer not to use chemicals people" can get buy with just AQUASHADE AND frequently removing the algae as it brakes lose with the smelt net for the first spring & summer. Since quite a few nutrients are removed along with each algae removal session, quite-a-bit less algae grows in succeeding years if nutrients are not washing in the pond from grass/lawn AND Aquashade is applied early after ice out.

A couple days after treating the algae with herbicide, add aquashade at the proper dosage. Your pond will require approx one qt Aqshde but first start with one pint. After a day or two add extra aquashade until the water looks deep sky blue in a white 5 gal bucket. Once you get the proper conc of Aquashade, then for your size of pond add about 1/2 cup Aquashade every month that the water is not frozen. This keeps the proper intensity of the color so the red and orange sunlight rays get filtered out of the water deeper than 2 ft.

Algae that is growing deeper than 5 ft will eventually slow its growth and float to the surface then dip it out with your new "algae net".

Get yourself a bottom diffuser aerator (maybe Stoney Creek equipment, MI) and this will help keep your pond overall healthier and fewer nutrients will be recycled from the bottom sediments and usually less filamentous algae growth will occur esp if you use Aquashade combined with aeration and the net dipping of limited growths when they pop up. Keep lawn fertilizer away from and out of the pond.