Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization Stop Fertilizing due to FA?

Sounds good, dove hunting is one type of hunting where you almost can't have enough hunters. The more guys hunting the more the birds are moving around. I'm not much of a goose caller myself, but maybe an extra shotgun or two will lead to an extra dead bird or two. Resident Canada literally are rats with wings!

What Eric said (quoted). I usually start in March. You can check water temp if you want, or if you just start in March you'll have a good bloom going before the FA gets cranked up.

You probably wouldn't want to fertilize at the same time you apply Cutrine; the FA is going to take up oxygen as it dies, as you've obviously already gleaned. Plankton produces oxygen, but it also consumes it during nighttime when there's no sunlight, so there would probably be an increased strain on the DO levels at night if you had FA dying off on top of a big plankton bloom that takes up oxygen at night. Also, you may get somewhat of a bloom just from the nutrients released when the FA dies, in which case you would need less fertilizer once you fertilize. I would say apply the Cutrine, then wait a week or two and fertilize. And remember - once you get the bloom going it gets much, much easier, and your fish get much, much bigger.

Thanks guys! What seemed complicated now looks straightforward and simple. I can probably find a way to mess up.:-) Can't wait to get started.

You'll be fine. Post some pics in a couple weeks when you have a nice bloom going and no more FA.

In my haste to get the Cutrine sprayed I screwed up by mixing only 12 oz. of Cutrine in 3 gal. of water-not the 24 oz. it should have been per Gregs recommendation. I sprayed as much of the FA as I could since it was pretty scattered.

Probably just wasted my time and put this chemical into the pond for no good reason. It will be real interesting to see if any of the FA dies. If not I will really need some advice on whether to try again or just wait till next year and start fertilizing early.

I do want to eat some of these fish and chemicals concern me. I go organic, grass fed, wild game etc. as much as possible in my diet.

I will post results, good or bad sometime next week when I return. Man, I was happy to get that done. I need to quit work so I can focus on important things like farming, ponds, fishing and hunting. Too many things competing for attention in my limited gray matter.

If you've only got FA around the edges of the pond, you'd be pretty safe to try fertilizing again without further application of the Cutrine. The FA in the five-acre pond I work with was forming some pretty extensive weedbeds that ranged out into water six feet deep and more when I fertilized the first time, and within a week after fertilizing the FA was a distant memory.

The fertilizer won't hurt in the slightest as far as eating the fish; the same chemicals used in pond fertilizer, nitrogen and phosphorus, are routinely used for fertilizer for agricultural crops. Copper sulfate is approved by the EPA for aquatic use, so one application won't hurt anything, but I wouldn't use it too regularly.

I can apply more Cutine in the morning. Greg recommended 8 oz. per gal. According to the label they recommend a 9 to 1 ratio which is 14 oz. per gal. Trying to decide whether to apply more tomorrow or wait a week and see what happens.

I'm not concerned about the health effects of the fertilizer. It's the copper sulfate I worry about. No offense but I don't have a lot of faith in EPA, FDA etc. What they consider safe today might be banned tomorrow.

I'm with you on the copper sulfate. I can't remember where I read it, but there have been studies done that show it can build up in a pond if used multiple times, and can harm the fish; it's not a great leap of imagination to think that such an effect on the fish would likewise not produce a great effect on anyone who ate the fish.

Yeah i'm torn on this Walt. I hate to add something that would not be healthy. What would you do in my case since I did not use enough Cutrine? Hit it again in the morning or wait until next week and see what it does?

I am even concerned about what is in the Purina Fish Chow. Like I said I don't trust chemicals in my food.

I could let the FA run its course this year and fertilize next week regardless of the outcome of my under application of Cutrine.

Regardless, I will start a fertilization program early next year to get in front of the FA and get some bigger fish. I think I get too caught up sometimes in trying to achieve perfection. The biggest problem I have is the pond leaks and the water source dries up when we get prolonged dry spells. The fish seem to do all right without me and in spite of me.

CUSO4 in low alkalinity situations can cause gill impairment and suffocation in fish. It is important to understand the risks to someone's pond before it is recommended. If you have low alkalinity you can kill shore FA with hydrated lime in small amounts placed on the mats. It is not a whole pond option but can be done in small (less than 10%) situations provided you have low alkalinity.. If you put to much HL you can kill the fish.

I would just go ahead and fertilize. Worst-case scenario, the FA grows a lot more, and your fish have a new source of food i.e. a home for pond snails, possibly grass shrimp, etc. But every time I've ever fertilized a pond that wasn't already covered over a majority of its surface with FA, the plankton bloom has done its job admirably and eliminated the FA like a bad dream within a week, usually less than that. Also, the water-soluble fertilizer may make all the difference.

If I were you I wouldn't hesitate to fertilize. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Your fish will grow more even through the winter just by achieving a bloom now. I remember the first year I ever worked with ponds how the ponds would stay a deep green even in winter; the water was clearer when it got cold, of course, but there was definitely more food in the water and a better food chain for the entire winter than what the pond had had before fertilization was begun. And the fish were noticeably bigger the next spring.

I definitely wouldn't worry about the fish chow. To me it's the equivalent of feeding beef cattle a commercially-available food. It's mostly fish meal and fish oil. Are the bluegill eating it yet?

I havent been there when the feeder goes off to observe if the fish are eating it or not. I have a strong suspicion that the 13 geese are getting it as I no longer see any leftover pellets on the platform like I used to.

I will just fertilize next week and leave the FA alone for now. It is full of minnows and larger fish so it can't be all bad.

Pick a non lethal spot and tag them with a pellet gun. Don't get caught.

I was thinking the same thing.

Words to live by.

I wonder if they all can fly yet. The young ones have just gotten their adult plummage. Usually they fly away when i start bush hogging, fishing in the boat. Maybe, they just have it too good with the feeder. I would love to have them back Sept. 1 however for the opening day of resident goose season.

Would you leave you got all the free Aquamax you could eat? HAHA

13 geese would seem to contribute a lot of fertilizer all by themselves, not to mention all of the food they eat. I don't know about geese, but I have birds stay year round when they would normally migrate.

I have been successful in using the pellets Dave speaks of as educational tools.

I will have to deal with. They are too destructive. The pond is littered with little pieces of styrofoam that they pecked off the raft I built to set the feeder on.

Not that you need more motivation to rid of but the goose poop laying on pond bottom is major factor to the FA growing.

And the goose poop laying on the ground is a major factor in soiling white sneakers.

I understand that it rinses off when you walk into the pond, Sunil.

Of course, that would be even worse for the FA growth.

OK' the geese will have to find a better home. I don't have a pellet gun but I have something that should work just fine. I have a secnd pond below the dam that is 3 feet deep an 1/2 acre that I was hoping waterfowl would use but they seem to prefer the nice big one.

Armageddon comes for the geese.

Mark I've got a couple pellet guns if you need to borrow one...