We are at our beach home. The property manager asked me for some assistance with the ornamental pond next to the HOA clubhouse.
I've included a link to several photos of the problem. I'm not sure what this stuff is. Everytime I look at it, I change my mind. It does not appear to be rooted, although it reaches from the pond bottom up to the point of where it floats on the top. It is darn near thick enough to walk on.
This pond receives a lot of fertilizer and other chemicals, as it is surrounded by a golf course. This is the worst it has ever been.
The pond is about four feet deep and has a continue inflow of water table water and runoff. I added some dye earlier in the week,but there is a fair amount of water flow-through. It is in pure sand and fluctuates with the water table, which is quite high here.
What is this stuff? Do I chemically treat it? If so, it it going to make an even bigger mess? If we get it under control this season, will grass carp keep it under control in seasons to come? Would a floating island help?
My present thoughts are that it is chara because it does not seem to be rooted. I unfortunatelydid not crush any of it to see what it smelled like.
When I first looked at it, I assumed it was slender pondweed. I'm fairly certain it is not naiad nor sago, but I've ruled out elodea either. It is like long slender green grass or hair. It is not slimy.
I can get more photos if that would help.
Presently the only noticeable wildlife in the pond are large unidentified turtles. They are pretty much all black, and the size and shape of WW-II German army helmets. There are also some pretty good size bull frogs and other smaller frogs.
My immediate concern is getting it cleaned out. Not knowing whether it is a weed or an algae has some bearing on this. If we take it out mechanically I'm afraid I'm going to leaving rhizomes, seeds, maybe roots, etc. If I use a chemical, dies, and all sinks to the bottom I'm afraid I'll create a stinky swamp.
That kinda looks like Chara but I don't think it is. Where are the bulbs at? I have bulbs every 6 or 8 inches on mine looks like a stringer of lights... haha, and you don't really have to crush them to smell it... whew it stinks even without crushing then.... I'm not so sure that's chara.... just M.O. though.
RC
Last edited by RC51; 05/19/1601:22 PM.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
One thing for sure - it won't hurt to manually remove it. If it comes back then it will be easier to treat at lower volumes. Take some good close up pics for id.
The pond is covered now and has fragments and spore/rhizomes. Since most treatments are with a contact herbicide the less you have to contact the better. This is not a normal situation where you have a small % coverage and fish to worry about. Manually remove as much as possible and then treat as needed with one of the copper products or Hydrothol or one of the endothall salts.
That is if its chara. There may be a newer product that I am not aware of however.
Hard to see but I don't think it is Chara. Looks like a macrophyte probably pondweed species but the pics are grainy.. What a mess for sure. Can you grab a fragment in your hand and take a closeup? Can't imagine any fish in there. I could be wrong. If it is a plant use a Diquat or if Chara a medium copper sulfate.
We did bring the water level up by about 4 inches and added more dye. What I didn't realize was that the water we use comes from a huge well on the property. I don't know how many thousands of gallons per hour it can provide, but it can come in pretty forcefully through a six inch pipe.
With the added water and added dye, it seems to be somewhat better, but the added water and dye may just be hiding what is there.
I still don't know whether it is algae or weed. I pulled more out this morning. If it is rooted, the roots are extremely weak. I see no evidence of roots when I use a rake to pull from the very bottom in 2-3 feet of water.
However, I'm now back to thinking pondweed, probably Sago pond weed. I'd like to treat it this afternoon or tomorrow. I'm just not sure what to get.
We are having our annual home owners meeting at the clubhouse a week from tomorrow,which will be attended by a couple of hundred people. We would like to have it looking nice.
Assuming I can get it under control, do I add grass carp for later this season and next season. Do I add tilapia (which are legal here in North Carolina) to clean up the mess? We'd prefer to use a minimal of chemicals, other than maybe pond dye.
Yeah I don't think that's Chara.... Not sure what it is but doesn't look like Chara to me....... that's not a very big BOW you could put 3 or 4 GC in there and be good to go I bet.... My not even need the TP
RC
Last edited by RC51; 05/20/1610:42 AM.
The only difference between a rut and a Grave is the depth. So get up get out of that rut and get moving!! Time to work!!
Look up this old post of mine. It has some pictures. It looks like in your pics I see a seed formation that looks similar to one of the photos I have if you scroll down a bit.
Look up this old post of mine. It has some pictures. It looks like in your pics I see a seed formation that looks similar to one of the photos I have if you scroll down a bit.
The crazy thing is that your photos look a lot like what I'm dealing with. Maybe I missed the answer, but the answers you got seem to be the same as I've gotten so far for what appears to be the same problem.
FnC -- did you ever find an answer? Did you find out what it was -- specifically, was it algae or a rooted plant?
I really would like to get any clues that someone might have.
Do to multiple budget cuts at nearly all levels, including elimination of our multi-state University Extension Aquaculture services, I'm not sure where to turn if my PB friends/experts don't have any good answers.
My experience with our largest local interstate aquaculture consulting company has been far less than professional.
Mine does not pose that much trouble for me, actually been almost un-noticeable. Grows near the edge in some areas, probably 6' of water or less. Whatever you have looks very extensive. Where mine grows, it looks like yours with density, just that I don't get it everywhere.
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