Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Losing the battle with Duckweed

Hello,

We have a 1.75 acre flooded timber pond, and we've been using a combination of Reward and Cutrine plus with a surfactant and spraying as much duckweed as we can about every other week. We went on a 10 day trip to alaska and left the pond about 20% covered, and came home to about 90% covered. There's some water meal and floating algae mixed in the lot as well, but the duckweed is the main problem. We don't mind being out on the water, and the combination seems to provide a good kill when we use it, but with all the sticks and stumps sticking out of the water its absolutely impossible to get all the plants and its been a struggle to keep up. Will this work if we are persistent, or is this a futile effort with all the hiding places for the little buggers?

Any suggestions on how to convince my fianc� that tilapia would be easier? He doesn't have any interest in harvesting or eating them at the end of the summer.

We have considered fluridone, but our water flow rate has been quite high, one storm had us putting our emergency overflow to good use and the water level was 18 inches below the top of the dam.

Are there

Unless you can get a 60 day period where the water stays in the pond (no overflow) I wouldn't use Fluridone. Look into using Clipper and do your best to spray all the duckweed. It is prolific seed wise, and there is probably a pretty good seed bank on the pond bottom waiting to germinate.

I'd use Clipper (flumioxazin) if I was you. 1.75 acres with the top acre foot of water is 1.75 acre feet. Apply Clipper at 1 lb per acre foot (200 ppb). Might have to reapply in a couple of months to pick up the stragglers that were caught up in the grass or washed in after
the initial treatment.

I have a lot of algae and also what appears to be duckweed in my 1/4 pond. I have places where it is solid green topping over the pond, in the shallow areas. I ended up buying something called farm pond treatment, a natural biological treatment that does not hurt fish, actually is good for them I am told.

This product is sold under different names by different distributors but I think they all come from a place called pond perfect or tlc, not sure. Below is the link. I add the dosage per instructions 2 weeks ago, and nothing yet. I hope it works.

https://www.tlc-products.com/pond-perfect-treatments/


Maybe someone else has used this stuff?

Justin, those are just bacteria blends. Unless you aerate a pond, they are pretty useless. They also do absolutely nothing to control duckweed.

In the right form, with oxygenated water to thrive in, and some manual labor, yes, beneficial bacteria can indeed be good for fish. Just tossing the product in the water without the other conditions being met however, is pretty much a waste of money....No harm to anything but the wallet.

oh crap!
thanks Rainman, what would u suggest to kill algae and duckweed that do not harm fish? I will be growing fish to eat later. I also have a well directly below the pond which supplies my house with water, so cant get that contaminated.

This stuff appeared to be biologically neutral so thought it was safe. Sounds like it is, but just doesnt work. I dont have aeration yet. I do have 2 fountains that shoot water 10 feet in the air, so the surface gets aerated. I run it about 4 hours a day with a Shimwaya ~5700 gph pump

Justin, the bacteria blends CAN help to speed the decay and digestion of muck, but to have rapid decay, you need oxygenated water for aerobic bacterial formation. Fountains only help the top few inches of the pond. Bottom diffused aeration will circulate the entire water column, and are less expensive to operate.

The site did not disclose what bacteria are used, but they are no doubt, harmless. there are many threads on the site concerning duckweed removal. The aquatic herbicide is your best option. It is very expensive, so it needs to be applied very carefully, and normally twice to be most effective.

Fish for controlling Duckweed.

Control Duckweed In your Pond with these fish

As many pond owners know, the common duckweed plant can be a major nuisance if it invades and overtakes a small pond or lake. With a little maintenance and attention you can protect your pond from duckweed infestation. Duckweed is ok for a pond as long it does not completely cover the pond. One way to ensure this doesn't happen is by introducing fish that eat duckweed.

The most common fish that people put in ponds to eat duckweed are tilapia and carp or koi. Adding a few of these fish to your pond can be all it takes to maintain a healthy balance.

thanks Rainman, Im going to check it out!

Thanks John!

Justin, read the first 3 posts in this thread.

thanks Essup

I understand tilapia also help in removing algae and ducweed, etc.

Filamentous algae yes, duckweed not so much. Not unless that's the only thing available to eat, and in an earthen pond, there's invertebrates on the bottom of the pond to consume first.