Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Hi - and Help!

Wow - after talking with so many people, searching the internet, hearing so many different things, this site was such a relief to find! So, thank you all in advance!

I am an outdoorsman, do most of my own home/car repairs. So, I am handy, hard working and used to taking on new things. But, I know very little about managing a pond.

But, I recently moved. We now own a 1 acre pond (aveage 4' deep) that has kind of let it go, so pondweed is rather thick, lot's of alage and lilly pads (which I'm working on)!

This water level is maintained by a well pump, which has been off so I can clean out the lilly pads and my shore line. But I am about done (done as I am going to be)!

I know there is a lot of information on this forum, but I would like to toss out just a few basic questions.

1) I know it all depends on a lot of factors. But can I get some rough ideas of what the electrical costs of running a well pump for a 1 acre pond might cost per month? Let's say for argument sake that it runs for 4 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it's your average pump/setup.

2) Thanks to my new home (Rual King) I saved a lot of $ on the lilly pad problem. I used glyphomate 41 (which includes a surfacant), sprayed the pads a few days ago and they are indeed dying. I now need to rake them out, as much root too as possible.

3) The lake also has algae and what I believe is pondweed. What is the simplest and most cost effective way of getting these under control? Note too - I do plan to add a few grass carp. But first, I am thinking that I need to hit pondweed/alage with some chemicals, basically get it under control first.

Last thing (for this post)!
For the most basic Pond Maintaince plan, based upon what I know so far, and about my pond. I am thinking the following. Please let me know what you think!

1) Kill/remove 'most' lilly pads with glyphomate 41. I will do this as necessary (hopefully just a few times a year), maybe the carp will help?
2) Run the pump to maintain pond water level.
3) Get and keep the pondweed and alage under control. Do this by....... (help needed here)!!! Again, maybe the grass carp can help, but I nthink that I need to get this under control first.
4) Remove as much of the dead vegation as possilble. I can rake, pull, etc. But is there a chemical or other menthod that can help?

I am sure that I will add to that list! But it would seem to take care of at least the biggest needs of my pond at this time. Let me know if I am missing anything big.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Welcome.
The more knowledgeable folks will want to know what your eventual goals are for the pond in the future. Fishing? Swimming? Wildlife habitat? a combination of sorts? That will help them get you started in the right direction.

You say an average depth of 4'. What is your max depth, and how much pond area contains this depth? That will help determine your ability to raise fish succesfully.

An acre of water one inch deep equals 27,000 gallons. The level of evaporation your pond suffers will have the final word on rather or not your well can keep up on a 28 hours per week run schedule. In my area, we had a very dry summer....

Shallow water can be a nightmare when it comes to plant/algae growth. You can most certainly kill it, but depending on your goals, and your nutrient levels, the correct method can be tricky to pin down. Even once you do decide on a plan of action, mother nature has her own ideas and her hand trumps yours. It usually boils down to a compromise.

Let us know what you intend to do with your new pond, and folks here will help you devise a plan.

Welcome to the forum!

I'll try and hit your points for ya.

1) I know it all depends on a lot of factors. But can I get some rough ideas of what the electrical costs of running a well pump for a 1 acre pond might cost per month? Let's say for argument sake that it runs for 4 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it's your average pump/setup.

To do that, you need to know what your electrical rates are, per kwh/hr. I can tell you what it costs me to run my 3/4 hp well pump per month, but if your electrical rates are different it won't do you any good.

2) Thanks to my new home (Rual King) I saved a lot of $ on the lilly pad problem. I used glyphomate 41 (which includes a surfacant), sprayed the pads a few days ago and they are indeed dying. I now need to rake them out, as much root too as possible.

Is that glyphosate mixture labeled for pond/water use? While glyphosate is the same, it's the surfactant that is the problem. If it's not labeled for aquatic use, then the surfactant may damage/kill some desirable pond life. I've done the same thing as you did in the past, but after taking my perticide/herbacide applicator license test, (and being on here) I now know why I can't nor shouldn't use a product if it isn't labeled for that particular application.

3) The lake also has algae and what I believe is pondweed. What is the simplest and most cost effective way of getting these under control? Note too - I do plan to add a few grass carp. But first, I am thinking that I need to hit pondweed/alage with some chemicals, basically get it under control first.

The answer all depends on what specific plants you are talking about. They must be identified. Vascular plants will need a different chemical control than algae. Grass Carp are not a cureall - they have plants that they like and don't like to eat. If the plants are on their "don't like" list, then you will see poor control of them with GC. If you look under "aquatic plants" then "identifying vegetation", you should be able to find out exactly what plants and algae you have. Then we can talk about a control. If you want to whack all the plants and algae in the pond, then I'd say use a Fluridone based product (Sonar or Whitecap) for the vascular plants, and Cutrine Plus for the algae. But, the plants have to be actively growing, and it's getting late in the year for effective treatment.

Because the pond is so shallow, sunlight probably gets to the bottom of the whole pond. That will be a problem for you to control weed growth. If you can get a photoplankton bloom going that will keep the water clarity around 24", then that will go a long way to help you with your plant problem. Also, when you reduce the plants in the pond, something will try to take it's place to utilize the nutrients in the pond, be it FA or photoplankton, or other plants. Raking out the dead plants will help greatly.

Take a look in the archives for the different acronyms in the archives section that we use here, and do lots of reading. No question is a "bad" question.

Like sprkplug said, tell us your goals for the pond and we can fine tune a plan to help you reach your goals.

Thanks!

Regarding my kwh rates, they vary according to what I use, they are listed as:
$0.0945 per kwh for First 400 kwhs per billing period
$0.0715 per kwh for Next 1400 kwhs per billing period
$0.0535 per kwh for Over 1800 kwhs per billing period
Since I have not recieved my first bill, I don't know what my average is. But let's say $0.0715 per kwh. But to be honest, I am just looking for an idea, my pump might run more or less than 4 hours a day. But in general, I am just tying to find out if I might be paying $20 per month or $100 per month.

I am not sure of the deepest part of the pond, I'm guessing a small percentage is about 5'-6', with an average depth of 3-4'. I will update you as I find out more.

My goal for the pond would be partly fishing and partly an 'attraction". Meaning, my house sits right by the pond, so it can be a great view off of the deck - or bad one if covered with liilypads and pondweed!

But with that depth of water might Fish stocking be a problem? I live in MO, lakes do freeze here, but typically never more than 6" or so.

I will definately check into the Sonar or Whitecap and Cutrine Plus. It also sounds like it will be best to wait until spring? By the way (here is my dumb/bad question), will the pondweed, alge, lilly pads all die off in the winter? If so, will most/all come back in the spring?

Also, for Sonar/Whitecap and Cutrine Plus. What might a 1 acre application cost of each, and roughly how may times might I have to apply it? Again, I am just looking for an idea of what basic pond management will cost.

Last question on Sonar/Whitecap and Cutrine Plus. I am sure there are pages of information that come with those products, but in general how are they applied? Mixed in the water? Sprayed? etc.?

Thanks again for all of your help, I really do apprciate it!

One last thing, my short term goal is to clear this poorly maintained pond from as much plant growth as possible (probably next few months) then add fish in the early spring (assuming it's deep enough, including carp to help).


But again, high level right now.

I don't know if this fits into your plans or not but personally I would dig the pond out to make it a little deeper and this will also help your problems.

Depending on your location in Missouri, the 5-6' may or may not be deep to support fish over the winter months.

Using Sonar/Whitecap (all fluridone products) depends on a lot of things; level of organic matter that is built up, amount of water that moves thru the pond, etc. The amount to use is based on what plants are in the pond, it takes a certain parts per billion of Fluridone to be maintained over a period of 30 to 60 days for it to work.

At this point in the year, I wouldn't worry about treating any of the plants. They will die back during the winter on their own, and you'd be wasting $$ applying chemicals now, with the exception of glyphosate based aquatic labeled herbicides for the lily pads.

Fluridone isn't cheap, but it works by stopping photosynthesis, so the plants basically starve to death. There are also systemic and non-systemic products on the market. Systemic is like glyphosate - it translocates to the roots and kills the whole plant. Non-systemic just give them a "haircut" and they grow back over time.

If I was in your shoes, I'd do some studying and run some numbers on draining down the pond, having someone come in with an excavator or dragline (excavator will be quicker) and dig the pond deeper. That will help in a number of ways:
1) reduce the organic build-up on the pond bottom
2) remove all the lily pads and most if not all of the weeds
3) make the pond more condusive to supporting a fish population year 'round without having to worry (too much) about a fish kill during the winter or hot windless summer days.
4) by removing the muck on the pond bottom, you will also reduce the amount of nutrients that are available to feed the algae.

The money that is spend digging the pond deeper will be offset by not having to spend $$ and time on chemicals over the years, and it will make the pond into something that you envisioned a whole lot quicker.

Hi, I have some additional information.

The deepest part of the pond is actually a small area (about 5% of pond) that runs 10-11'.

I am going to remove (best I can) the Lilly pads that I treated, then bring the lake back up to normal level. Then come spring treat the pondweed and deal with the Lilly pads that come back. I will deal with the alge too if it becomes a problem again,

But I do have some more questions. Will the pondweed die over the winter? If so, when is it best to treat it? As soon as it starts to grow in the spring or after it starts thickening?

Also, what are less expensive options for dealing with pondweed? Maybe some type of Non-systemic chemical? I don't mind treating more often.

Thanks

What species of pondweed is it? Is it in the Potamogeton family or something else?

Good question, I will have to check. I will take a sample next time I am out there.