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#449286 06/09/16 04:09 PM
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Got a 1/3 acre pond that has developed an algae bloom I think this spring that is really bad. Visibility is down to 13" and seems to be getting worse. It has a mediam green tint to it with some lighter green film on top in places and a lot of suspended green particles. It's getting to the point that I'm concerned for my fish. I have a heavy fish load and feed quite a bit also. Also can't see crap. It is slowly spring fed and I usually have to add pond dye to keep the clarity down. Not this year.
It has a limited amount of run off from a fertilized hayfield but has been since built.
My question is what have I got going on and what can I do about it.
Thanks

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Suspended green particles? That's not any part of a phytoplankton bloom. From your description, I think it's possible that you might have too many fish for the environment.

The bottom line is that there's no way for me to tell.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

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Beretta, Dave has way more experience than I do, so my experience with this may mean squat. I went through a similar situation about a month or so back. I was fertilizing every 10 days or so in an attempt to get my bloom going after this past winter. At one time I saw some green looking flakes floating around the pond. Looked like green glitter flakes. I also saw some area where a green film was floating on the surface, mostly where the wind had blown it to an area of the pond. I was concerned and posted my experience here on the forum. I received several comments after posting and I came to understand I was having a good bloom and what I was seeing was part of that bloom with excess phytoplankton. I was getting some spring rains at the time and I believe the bloom was diluted back by the rain, so not sure what all took place as I have only about 18 months of pond experience's under my belt, but things seamed to turn out ok. I did not see any floaters during this event.

Tracy


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Can you post a pic. ? It sounds like a heavy plankton bloom. How has the weather/temps been over the last 2 weeks?

If so until (short term) you can determine the situation reduce feeding and if possible move the water (motor , aeration , water inflow etc.)but do so at the surface not from the pond bottom.
















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The floating stuff just might be algae that is breaking loose from the bottom.

A pic would help.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

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I've never been able to post a picture on here. I'm trying......

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Store in a photobucket account. That is the easiest for me. Then post the direct link to the pic and it shows up here. There are instructions in the archives here.

Green particles is algae in nutrient rich water. Probably from the fertilizer run-off. You will most likely have to develop a nutrient reduction program.

I would find a lab that will do water testing for total N and P plus ortho-P and get a baseline now. Then start the program and take another sample in 6 months and a year. That's the only way to know for sure that the program is working.

Phoslock/Phosclear or do an alum/hydrated lime treatment. Tilapia if legal. Dig a wetland filter pond upstream to catch the runoff and utilize some of the nutrients before they hit the pond. etc., etc.


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Well i have accomplished something, I got pictures on the forum.
Water temp is 80.5 and weather coming up is mid 90s with a low of high 60s and chance of scattered thunderstorms later part of next week.
I'm thinking a heavy alge bloom that I need to correct with time. Short term? Would an algecide help or just hurt the problem. I run bottom air.
Just looking for some advice.
Thanks

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That might be the beginning of Blue-green algae.

I would use Cutrine Plus at a 0.2 ppm dose.

Here's the label so you can figure out how much to use:
Cutrine Plus Liquid label


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Looks like a heavy plankton bloom. They are often associated with the a blue-green algae breakout. High nutrient level ? How long have you been aerating ? Much rain recently ?
















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Think this will be my forth year on the air. We are in about a 2 week hot and dry spell.
I put cutrine plus to it yesterday morning so we will see I guess. Have my fingers crossed.

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You might want to have a boat motor handy if the Cutrine kills it off too fast. It could cause an oxygen crash.



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It very well could crash. I think I was headed that way anyway. Things are definitely changing. Most of the top sheen and small floating alge are gone now. Well not gone but dead and out of sight I guess. With what I have researched and seen I think this was a blue green algae. But I'm probably wrong as usual. Water visibility is the same at 1 foot but it is a paler green tonight.
Rain man, what is the thinking behind the boat motor?
I've actually seen more fish activity in the last 30 minutes of eating and chasing fry and bugs than I have in the last week.
With that said I'm gonna get my pole and catch me some before they all die tonight.

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Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Rainman is saying use the boat motor in an emergency. If your DO is crashing you can run a boat motor and keep the water surface moving to help aerate the water.

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You are correct, woodster!



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Well my saga continues. Fish are doing fine and active. I've cut them down to a bare minimum on feed for the last week. Weather has been the same.
Water today is the same 1 foot clarity but has turned a darker green again with a slight green film where the wind is congregating it. I think I had another bloom but this just looks like the regular green if that makes sense. But the suspended particles are definitely smaller.
Looking on where to go from here.
Would getting the water tested learn me much on how to proceed?
I'm also off this weekend so I think I'm gonna lighten the fish load. I kinda think I may have a decent balance of cc cnbg lmb and res. Just too many of them. Anyone got an idea of what poundage of each I may need to try to remove for a 1/3 acre.Also if I did have blue green algae what's the take on consuming the fish? Good bad or not worth the risk.
I'll try to get a couple pics of water posted up.
Thanks

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That looks like a heavy plankton bloom. Do I see a bunch of FA ? If so and you put in a CU product then be ready for a DO problem . Rake out some of the FA if possible. Aeration should help reduce the problem . Harvest some CC , LMB up to 20% of your total - my guess is 10 lbs total - max. A few BG also. That is if you are fish (bio-mass) heavy.
















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There is no FA in the pond. That is just the heavy green film that was pushed up by wind. Nothing to rake out. Aerator is running 24/7.
Thanks

Last edited by Beretta; 06/18/16 03:38 PM.
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Your picture below looks like a bluegreen algae bloom to me. The stuff in the picture eventually works its way to the surface as the algae cell/colony buoyancy increases and forms green films as in one of your pictures. This surface scum/film resembles a typical nuisance bluegreen surface scum to me. If it was my problem, I would be intensively spraying the accumulated films with an algaecide. I would choose an algaecide that matches or corresponds to the goals for your pond. Some prefer copper based algaecides while others prefer a hydrogen peroxide (hydrogen dioxide) based chemical (Sodium Carbonate Peroxyhydrate 85%) - example Green Clean Pro.

[URL=http://s1186.photobucket.com/user/beretta2011/media/AEB95CAC-F67B-443C-8CEF-B10AE1385EFB_zpsacjpcief.jpg.html][/URL

Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/18/16 08:56 PM.

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Well I broadcast Phycomycin yesterday morning @ 30# per acre foot. I believe I could have saved some money and just dumped in a bag of triple 19. I'm steadily loosing the battle. Water is dark green at 12" tonight. The film on top definately don't look dead.


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With that heavy of a bloom you probably did not use enough Phycomycin per acft. Maximum dosage is 100/lb/acft. It is an oxidizer and it has an oxidation potential for each pound applied. When the biomass is greater than the material applied a percentage of algae does not get oxidized/killed. With that heavy of a biomass you may have to resort to using a copper based product. Do not kill it all at one time or you could create a DO shortage when all of it dies & decomposes at once. Keep in mind that you are treating the symptom not the cause of the problem - nutrients or a nutrient imbalance.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/29/16 08:07 PM.

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