Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations bloom=oxygen?'s

i thought i would start a new thread instead of adding this to my fish kill thread. as some of you know, i just barely missed a big fish kill. quick actions of starting up 3 pumps saved the day (night). I had trouble this year getting and maintaining a bloom. i fertilized and limed and eventually had things going good. right before the fish got stressed i noticed the water turned an odd color (grayish) but not as bad as last year. after the event the other night it appears the water has gotten really clear. i understand the plankton is the base of the food chain, but is it also the responsible for most of the oxygen in an unaerated pond? i guess i have never concerned myself with this aspect since i never had a problem in old or new pond with oxygen. i have a vegetation problem from time to time. fa, pondweed, chara, etc. i have eliminated most of it except the chara. i am not having much luck with cutrine with the chara. if using algaecides to control vegetation, is that a possible cause leading up to low oxygen? i don't mean the dying and decomposing of the matter, i mean the elimination of the bloom that can occur during treatment.

Scott, Are you using liquid or granular cutrine? And another question because I've never had chara; does it root or float? If it is a rooted plant, I think the granular would work better for control

The phytoplankton bloom is responsible for most of the oxygen during the day. Some is subsequently used for respiration in the pond but most typically exits water and goes into atmosphere. Oxygen is always moving back and forth between atmosphere but net importance for getting it into water is greatest at night, when sky is very overcast, and when photosynthesis of the type generating oxygen is otherwise limiting. Atmospheric oxygen also important when respiration exceeds the ability of photosynthesis to keep water saturated with oxygen. Heavily feed bodies of water can fall into this category.

Yes, your algaecide can kill off a phytoplankton bloom depending upon what species are dominant. Other species not effected. I do not know which species are impacted.

I agree with JW's assessment. Some species of phytoplankton are more vulnerable or tolerant to algacides than other species.

i use both liquid and the granular. the liquid works great on the fa. i saw some of the chara turn white after a treatment and i assume it died. i just didn't realize how much i had in deeper water. i am just wondering if the chara may have something to do with the trouble of keeping a bloom in the past.
one of my employees was using a crank bait the other week and he kept dragging it up. i don't fish a lot. i usually throw a trick worm or either fish for bg. i was shocked at how much he was snagging. i want to get it under control before too much takes over.