Mark C.,
Addressing the AquaShade issue. The effectiveness of the AquaShade is dependent on the proportions of shallow and deep water. Remember, AquaShade will not do much in water less than 2 feet deep. At least two feet of water column (treated with AquaShade) are required to effectively block out the light spectrums used by plants. Therefore, if the majority of the lake is 4' deep, I wouldn't expect much success. I would anticipate that your average water transparency is moderate(in the range of 36"), the result of nutrients being tied up by the vascular plants rather than phytoplankton.
If by chance your average Secchi depths are less than 12" then there wouldn't be any use in adding AquaShade. I mention this because coontail is capable of growing in quite murky, low light situations. So, it would be possible to have phytoplankton bloom and still support a fair amount of coontail. Also, because coontail does not have roots (it will sometimes attach to bottom with modified leaves/stems) it oftens drifts about the pond. That often means it will eventually reach sunlit areas on its course of drifting, even if AquaShade were applied.
To say that aeration (windmill or any other form for that matter) will solve your plant problems is a far cry. In many situtions, aeration can actually increase the prevalence of rooted plants, by reducing the amount of phytoplankton in the water column. Yes, aeration will act to oxidize the sediments and tie up phosphorous; but...in a 15 year old system, there are many more nutrients available to spur rooted plant growth.
However...aeration WILL likely be very important to the survival of your fish, especially over the winter. With the excessive amounts of vegetation that you are describing, there will be considerable decomposition occurring at the pond bottom over winter. Not too big of a deal provided the lake stays ice free. However a little ice and a couple inches of snow and your fish will be hurting in a few days.
So...the use of aeration for rooted plant control is not going to do much for you. However, using aeration to maintain oxygen levels and prevent a winter kill will be invaluable!!! Using a single windmill will be marginal, however that depends on the exact morphology of the lake. An electric aeration system will do a much better job. I don't know how far away any electricity is, but one can run airline up to 200 feet depending on the number of diffusers used.
Unless your lake has more depth than I'm accounting for, AquaShade will likely have little affect either (especially given the coontail). About your only option for that is a herbicide application. Even the use of white amur (if permitted in your state) will be of little use as they do not prefer coontail or milfoil. I will let another pond meister go into details on the types and quantities of herbicide required.
Best Regards,
Jason Roehrig
