Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Fluridone usage during hot weather

Living in central IL last winter we had a huge winter kill around here. My pond got it too. Last year was the first year that I had lots of coontail in it.

My question is, will the Fluridone kill the coontail slow enough as not to have to worry about the heat of the summer? I see nothing on the label about not using above certain temps.

I would like put it in this time of year since the big water changing rains are most likely over for the year. The label states that it is pretty slow acting and could take 45+ days.

Does anyone have experience or recommendations?

With your pond having a winterkill too, unless you replaced all the fish that died, the reduced biomass puts a lower oxygen demand on the pond. Fluridone kills slowly, and I feel that it's a better choice for ponds rather than a "fast all at once kill" if you don't have aeration set up in the pond.

So, I feel you are going the correct route using Fluridone. Just double check the pond volume to make sure you have the concentration of Fluridone needed. I'd even give it a "bump" at around 3 weeks after initial application to help ensure the concentraion is there for the required duration of time.

Thanks, reading into, I was thinking about the same as you said. I seen someone else also put aquashade in at the same time to prevent the light from breaking down the fluridone. Any thoughts on that? I would like to keep my algae bloom if I can.

Depending on the amount of Fluridone you have (as in enough extra to give it a "bump") pond dye wouldn't hurt, but if you have extra, then the dye might not be needed.

How many acre feet of water are you treating, and how many ounces of Fluridone do you have?

Still calculating how much to use. I thought about adding a small amount each week until it starts to work. Pond is about an acre and a half about eight foot average depth.

I hope it doesn't kill my submerged cypress.

You can't add a small amount each week and wait to see results. You've got to add enough all at once to get the concentration up to the recommended PPB at once and keep it there for the recommended 30-45 days.

How much did you buy, and what type of Fluridone product is it?

When using any chemicals in a pond, we can't guesstimate to figure out how much to use. It's a "measure and verify" type of thing to get the correct dosage. Also, it's not a "if "X" is good then "2X" is better" thing either.

Since Fluridone dosage is based on the volume of water in the pond, to use it correctly you have to measure the surface area of the pond, and verify the water depth over the pond to get a correct picture of how many gallons of water are in the pond. If that isn't done, you can put in too little and not have any results, or put in too much and damage/kill plants that you don't want controlled.

Try this to measure the pond:

http://www.freemaptools.com/area-calculator.htm

If it's too new to show up on the map then it's time to get out a pencil, paper and LONG tape measure or laser rangefinder.

You'd be suprised on how accurate you can measure the depth of the pond by using a slip bobber and a weight (keep casting and adjusting the slip knot until the bobber doesn't sink, measure and repeat), or go out in a boat with a weighted reel type tape measure.

Not an expert on fluridone, but I got interested in it last year when there were two or three members who had fish kills after using it. Didn't make sense, as it's so nontoxic for animals. What I found out:

1] Fluridone is dependent upon sunlight for destruction of chlorophyl, so you might not want to use aquashade, unless everything you want to kill is on the surface or immediately below.

2] It works by destroying chlorophyl, which eventually leads the plant to die. However, the plant will continue to produce energy by oxidative phosphorylation of stored carbohydrates--that is, consume oxygen through the process of respiration. At times in which DO is relatively low, during the warmest water temps and/or when biomass is high, the reduced 02 production from loss of chlorophyl coupled with increased oxygen uptake by the plants can definitely precipitate a fatal event.

Hope this helps.