Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Small pond and FA Removal Ideas

I have a small backyard pond that has what I have determined to be FA. The water is clear. We have no fish in this pond, it is for the dogs and us to swim in only. Pond size is 20x25x10 (does have a small 1-2' shelf that I did not include in calc) The rest of the pond is 10ft deep uniform. This calculated as .09 Acre-feet volume. Is this correct?
Can I use Cutrine-Plus?
How much should I mix? I only have a one gallon spray unit.
Can I also use Blue Bayou?

Please help. Thanks, Mary

I suggest manually removing the FA, this disrupts the cycle of growth and decomposition which just sets you up for another episode next season. Removing the FA manually also removes all those nutrients from decomposition and helps you in the long run.

Yes Cutrine will kill the FA, but left in the pond, you're just allowing the cycle to continue and it will get worse every season. I'm no cutrine expert, I've never treated FA with any chemicals, I manually remove - so others can likely chime in here.

Pond dyes can help by blocking UV spectrum necessary for plants to grow - but are best applied early in season. I have never used pond dyes, others can likely chime in here, too.

If you look on the label that is on the bottle, there should be an application chart of how to calculate how much to use.

Surface area x average depth will give you a figure.

20x25 = 500

IF the average depth is 10' (that would be hard to do is a pond that size without some creative ways to make the sides very steep), that would be 5000 cubic feet. There's 7.48 gallons of water in a cubic foot. 5000 x 7.48 = 37,400.

325,851 gallons of water in an acre foot.

37,400 ÷ 325,851 = 0.11 ac/ft of water.

Depending on the type and severity of algae, apply it at the rate between 0.2 and 1.0 ppm.

The dye will work by limiting the sunlight that reaches the bottom of the pond. If there's no sunlight then algae can't grow.

Thank you. I have tried a skimmer and the FA just slimes right out of it. What do you use to collect/remove it? I don't mind putting in the time on removal work, but removing by handfuls takes hours on end, and how do I get to the bottom/sides I can't reach?

The sides are steep, but do have an angle to them. I tried to post a link to a pic not sure you can see this. This pond is lined with concrete/stone, which I am sure had a mud coating now. Thanks for the rate help, I have read the label, but since it is small wasn't sure how to cut the calculations to a correct rate.

If you have a concrete liner then have you considered draining and mucking it out? It would probably be the fastest way to reduce nutrient loading.

Thank you, Yes, we have considered that option its just the fact of having to put all the water back in it approx 30k gals. With Texas being in a drought for years I just hate to waste the water since it was filled by the torrential rains this spring. Its odd that our other ponds (2 acre and 1 acre) don't have any FA in them just this small one.

mportus, do you have a water or semi-trash pump, or even access to one?

Yes, we actually have a pump and complete filter system made for a 40k gal volume just not installed yet.

I guess I was thinking more about a gasoline 2" pump, but this might work with your system, I just don't know.

We move water from one pond to another 5-6 times a year. Moving weeds/algae from one pond to another is an issue, so we use filter bags on the outlet to catch all the plant matter. We get the bags from PENTAIR, and they're just called "Filter bags with drawstring". We use the 300 micron bags and they work great.

Since you're wanting to take care of the water you have, you might just vac the algae up, and just discharge the filtered water back into the pond. It would catch most of the algae, and the bag could be emptied and reused dozens of times.

Just a thought.

I find the best tool for FA removal is a 10' net - must be sturdy to handle weight.

Fire provided excellent idea here...makes manual removal look kinda stupid. Thanks Al.

Anyone here ever sucked algae off the surface with a trash pump?
Pump rental people say the trash pump will lose prime if it sucks air. Thus it may not work well for sucking algae off the surface???

Bill: I've seen venturi-operated systems for vacuuming algae; whereas a trash pump flows into the venturi-device and out through a discharge hose, while a separate hose is attached to the device, in which a vacuum is created by the device. The vacuum-hose doesn't require priming since the vacuum is present even when air occupies the hose.
Probably easier to diagram than explain, but it does exist.

Kelly I'd love to see the diagram, netting FA is not my favorite chore and every year it's getting worse.

Below in the first link is possibly the system or one very similar to the one that Kelly was referring to. Other related systems are in additional links.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=23627&Number=297034#Post297034

A YouTube video for removing algae with a pump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGPuo6kaPds&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Shop Vac algae sucker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4UfcIzdQGA

Another pond Vacuum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2bQvFdRINA

Thanks bill!

After using Cutrine both liquid and granuals I knocked my FA back pretty good and was satisfied. Then it came back like gangbusters.

Decided to let it run its course and see what happened. Lots of floating mats all around the pond.

Then I modified a landscape rake and in about three different three hour sessions made it all the way around the 3 acre pond and pulled the mats out.

Moddified landscape rake to remove FA

Was gone for a month on motorcycle trip and when came back water looked great with only a trace of sickly FA around the edge. Don't know if the variety I had was a cold water variety or what, but the FA ceased to continue growing. Pond looks great now.

The rake above removing FA mats worked ok before the modification. Worked multiple times better after.

Some strong winds helped me out during removal. I could put the rake out and drag off 8-10' of the mats, but in one place the mats extended out probably 25' from the shore line. I could pull a strip out, come back some time later, and the wind pushed the mats back to the shore line and concentrated them in such a way that removal was very effective.

Manual removal of FA is quite a workout.

I've put in a proposal to have it listed as a Crossfit challenge. With any luck, my pond will forever be FA free and I'll make a little coin in the process.

I was considering the cutrine route as well, but after reading this thread, I'll stick to tossing as much up on the banks as possible.

Snrub - Put a bolt through the end of the handle to add a rope to your rake for more reach out into the pond. Look up Lake Rake for an example of rope attachment. I can send a picture as an example if necessary.

I used a handle-less leaf rake last year with great success. Couldn't find it the other weekend when I wanted to remove some FA. I ended up cutting up some panel fencing and bending it over. Tied a rope to it and started tossing. It was very effective at grabbing everything it touched, but was difficult removing the FA once I got it pulled up onto shore.

Thank you all for your suggestions and expertise. I am going out in the morning to see what I can do to hand remove the FA.

Good idea Bill. Will keep that in mind. Hope I never have to use the rake again, but something tells me I will.

I fully expected to return from my trip a month later and see the pond again full of FA and a mess. Amazingly the pond looked perfect when I got home (except for needing dam mowed). With hot weather the FA just seemed to go away.

I found that keeping the long handle on the rake makes in pretty cumbersome on the pull back. That's why I ended up removing the one I used.

Wow someone is feeling post generous on their birthday!

I finally found something I've had a little bit of experience with!