Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Muskgrass "Chara Algae" for small pond

I have a problem with this form of algae Musk grass Chara. My pond is about 3/4 of an acre feet (very small pond 80 feet in diameter and about 7 feet deep as an average) and i currently treat it with Aqua Ace and Aqua Deuce for filamentous algae which is no longer a problem. However this product does not seem to work on this type of algae.

At the beginning of the season April i treated the pond once with Cutrine plus - didn't help this algae at all.

Forgot to mention I also have an aerator 2 horse Kiosk that runs about 4 hours a day.

The pond is almost 5 years old now. I live in the Houston area for any suggestions on who to contact to fix it, a chemical to use to clear it, or a bio solution.

Also should I continue the Aqua Ace and Aqua deuce treatment even though I do not have filamentous algae any longer?

any help would be appreciated

Thank you,

Bob Fulton

Waller area Texas

Bob,

Been there done that and still doing it.
Any possibility you treated before your water reached 60 degrees? Did you use the granular Cutrine Plus? Are you aware Chara can be resistent to treatment if you apply after it gets a good head start? Addtionally I seem to remember the directions say you may need to apply more, or more then once if it's resistent.

Personally if it was me I would consider adding grass carp as Chara is high on their favorite foods list. Don't expect them to clean it all at once and follow stocking guides regarding the size of the pond and % coverage of the pond. You may not see results for a year.

As far as treating algae that is no longer a problem, that sounds like a waste of money to me. But I could be wrong.

Never heard of the products you mentioned. Are they for aquatic use?

I fight Chara ever year in my 1/10 the acre trout pond. I can't use copper products and grass carp are not very effective in the cold water. The only way for me to control it is to rake it out twice a year and drain every two years after harvest. I don't know about your pond, but due to the amount of nutrients produced by the trout, my Chara grows three feet thick or possibly more if I don't keep ahead of it!

Cecil thanks for the reply. I am not sure the water got to below 60 degrees here where I live.

It appears we have about the same size pond and I treated it with cutrine plus liquid. I applied a full pond dose based on the acre foot of the pond or size which mine is about 5,000 to 6,000 square feet.

Aqua Ace and Aqua deuce are microbes I believe - it was recommended by a local fellow who mostly works on large lakes.

Yes my Chara has surely gotten a big head start - it is out of control lately. Do you use the granules and if so are they effective and what kind? How do you calculate how much to use? Yes I believe you from when I treated in the spring with the cutrine liquid that it may not work it did not seem to work then!

I read up on the carp solution a little on the Texas A&M web site and it sounded really like a problem solver.

Do you know anything about microbes and if they are effective in treating Chara?

Ok I have given my pond a dose of cutrine plus, a full pond dose for killing algae according to the label.

If this does not work my plan is to do it again in a couple of days - any suggestions other than that? I have said to my self - heck with the fish (but I would like to keep them) but if I must to clean up this mess I will kill the fish.

Forgot to say the full pond dose was calculated and i used about 15% more than recommended according to the calculation which of course could be off a little. I have performed this treatment each year and sometimes twice a year and it always kills the filamentous algae in total but the chara it did not last time.

I will let you know about the extra special dose, if it takes care of it.

Bob,

Are you using the granular or the liquid this time?

I don't use any herbicide on the the trout pond for the Chara because it has copper in it. Trout and Grass Carp are very sensitive to copper. I may be able to get away with the Cutrine Plus granular in the trout pond due to my extreme hardness and low temps but I'm not willing to take the risk. I've also noticed when I rake it in there is dead Chara underneath the live green Chara. I prefer to remove mechanically to get as much of the live and dead Chara out as I can. As we all know decomposing vegetation can consume oxygen.

I am presently removing the Chara from two ponds with a weed rake. It's the big one with the nylon teeth about 10 inches long. I have a wheel barrow that I dump it into right away, and then haul it to another place on the property. A pitch fork helps to gather it up if I miss the wheel barrow. I use two orange survey flat markers and do a little each day. I space the flags about 4 feet apart and rake that section all the way out to the middle of the pond until I can't bring any more Chara in. The next day I move the flags over 4 feet. I do this twice a year. Hopefully with the one pond that has the yellow perch in it I will have enough grass carp in it to keep the Chara under control. All the fish in that pond will be in cages with a feeding ring so the Grass Carp will have no choice but the eat the Chara unlike another one of my ponds where they are feeding on pellets with the rest of my fish.

Wow Cecil. I have a little spot of chara in my minnow pond, and had no idea it was such a milignant pest. I'm sure there's none in my main pond yet, because it's never cleared up since I built it. I'm going to pull all the chara out of my minnow pond, and watch it carefully in my main pond. I may get some GC for preventative measures. Thanks for the warning!

Cecil i have hybrid perch in the pond. i used the liquid cutrine plus. how are the granules to use?

when i apply the liquid i use a hose mixer at 10 gal a minute to one part cutrine. i have 2 hose bibs and use a hose to reach around the entire pond for spraying.

Bob,

You just cast them over the surface of the pond and let them sink to the bottom. Seems to me the granular is what you are supposed to use for bottom growing Chara.

Bobad,

I have a lot of nutrients from the fish I feed intensely for grow out. More than a typical recreational pond. So you may not have it grow as prolifically as it does for me.

If you use Curtine Plus for treating Chara the granules are the type to use not the liquid. Read instructions on the bag for appliation rates. Maybe use granules to get Chara under control and knocked back then add a few grass carp for long term control. For southern waters start with grass carp at about 5-6 per acre. Then after 2 yrs add an extra one or two per acre ONLY IF the Chara is still abundant. After the g.carp have been in the pond for 5-6 yrs you may need to stock a booster (second) stocking of g.carp of about 3-4/acre. Old g.carp often slow down in their eating habits.

"Old g.carp often slow down in their eating habits."

Or they get lazy and start mooching on the pellets like three of mine do. :rolleyes:

Well, it grows so fast in my minnow pond that it's scary. I guess I should add GC to my main pond now, because will probably get in there sooner or later.

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Being an algae it spreads by spores among other means.

A paper by Letson & Markarewicz 1994 describes how they used Papershell crayfish (Orconectes immunis) to reduce Chara and some submerged vascuar plants in a NY lake. I am trying to locate a copy of this article. Lake & Reservoir Management 10:127-132.

Wow it would take a lot of crayfish to do that in my ponds!

OK i sprayed cutrine before you said to use granules. the spray did much better this time. i am going to stock carp my pond is 1/6 to 1/5 acre surface. the volume is 3/4 acre feet. the fish company in Brenham Texas said 3 grass carp - does that sound right?

wow - the state is into everything you have to apply for a permit to do this and get it notarized and pay 15 bucks plus a 2buck a fish charge. ain't the government great?

Yep, you also might have to erect a barrier, take pictures of it and send it to the TPWD for their approval.

I think 2 would probably be about right for that size.

Not sure if anyone is still checking this thread, but I've been trying to locate a source for this algae for a planted aquarium and overstocked koi pond, that said, it's impossible to find a source, but I'd be happy to send cash in advance for a (sample/bunch) of this stuff. Thanks in advance....terrellryanking@yahoo.com

t

Welcome to PB Eddie. I can get some but have no idea how to ship the stuff. Heck, I don't even know whether it is legal to ship it.

Eddie I might have some but if I do it looks like underdeveloped coontail. And if it is chara finding it now would be a little nippy. I know that members that do have it post now and then asking how to get rid of it. Probably an inactive post will get lost since there are so many. It would be better for you to keep up with posts or do a search to find members that have had a problem with it.

Why do you want it, for an oxygenator or filter plant wouldn't coontail work just as well?

Eddie you have mail.