OK guys, I'm now thinking that the best way to deal with my serious algae and weed problem is to drain or partially drain and deepen the pond. Again, this is a 4 acre 50 year old pond that has never been renovated. We're talking 2-3 ft depth at the east end moving to a bowl in the west end of about 8 ft depth. The pond is newly re-stocked but heavy FA is covering 80% of the surface. Submerged vegetation is also thick. We've tried GC in the past but it's been all or nothing with them.
I've attached an aerial view (taken in winter - the white is ice cover) and outlined the shallow area in yellow and the deeper part in red. The dam is marked in green and the position of two aerators is marked with blue.
I'm trying to come up with a way to keep the fish during the renovation process. I got a crazy idea the other day and wanted to run it past you all. Would it be possible for me to draw down the pond enough to expose the bottom in the shallow (east) end and allow it to dry out enough to deepen that part with an excavator? The fish would remain in the deeper (west) end with an aerator. Once the shallow end was excavated, cut a trench and let the water (and fish) flow into the newly deepened east end (with an aerator) and then rework the west end and dam. The middle part of the pond could serve as a barrier between the two areas during excavating and then serve as a shallow area once the pond refilled.
What do you think? Is it even possible, or way too complicated? Would the added expense not justify trying to save the fish or would it be better to just drain the whole thing, do the excavating and restock....again. Thanks for the input.
