Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Management, Duckweed, watermeal, aeration

I found this site via google. I plan to post pics later today. I believe the pond is covered in duckweed/watermeal. Bass seem to be prevalent and would surface often because when my parents bought the pond the aerators weren't working.

I believe the pond is covered in duckweed/watermeal and this is an aeration/circulation issue.

I have read duckweed seems to flourish in non moving water.

I have read several articles about homemade aerators and circulators using soaker hoses, sump pumps, and bilge pumps Currently, the pond has only a Kasco surface aerator.

Adding water also adds oxygen so would a soaker hose be sufficient for bottom aeration? My understanding is surface aeration is not enough. Bottom aerators seem to be over a thousand dollars.

I believe the pond is maximum depth of 6 feet and is circular and about 100 feet across either direction.

My understanding is there are 3 ways to remove duckweed: herbicides, biological controls and mechanical controls http://www.schoolofhowto.com/rid-duckweed/ My understanding is herbicide Reward a liquid diquat chemical is good for for chemically killing duckweed but is fairly expensive. Skimming duckweed with a net or boxspring is also been mentioned but will this method totally eradicate it? Any other suggestions with aeration and duck weed removal?

Where do you buy Duquat or reward? How mych is needed for a circular pond that is about 100 ft across plus or minus and 6 feet deep plus or minus?

few pictures

Sump pump idea I found online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X46_sHifBHk

Bottom vs surface aerator: http://www.naturespondcare.com/education/bottom-up-aeration-vs-surface-aeration.html

Anyone tried this soaker hose idea? http://bigbluegill.com/group/yourpond/forum/topics/aeration-in-small-midwest

Duckweed elimination is one of those "says easy/does hard" type of things. It reproduces at an amazing rate. Thankfully, I've never had it. The only thing I've heard of working is nuking it every time it tries to get a start. After the first chemical application, you have to keep hitting it.

Is skimming Duckweed by net routinely sufficient to get rid of it without chemicals?
I prefer not to have to use chemicals.
Will using a soaker hose for bottom aeration work? And have one surface fountain aerator for the top?

Bass come to surface to breath before surface aerator was fixed. I don't see any bream. Most bass were the size of the one in first pic I posted. I haven't seen any bream in awhile but pond was covered pretty good with duckweed.I caught 5 or 6 big bream about 5 months ago. The fisheries require a minimum of 500 for the bigger bream and they cost more than the smaller ones.

I tried cast-net and caught 1 small bream yesterday with 3 cast. Released the bream but at least i know there's at least one bream in there, LOL. I may bass fish today.

I skimmed quite a bit of duckweed but what about the duckweed on the bottom is it dead or will it surface to the top??

The photos you posted do not look like duckweed to me.

where in FL is your pond?

Have you ever heard the chinese proverb: Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.

You (Floridafish) didn't go to the site that I linked and looked up the differences between duckweed, watermeal and filamentous algae did you? That's one of the problems with today's society, they want answers but can't take the time to learn for themselves.

Go to that site and read. http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/

Do yourself a favor and go and learn a bit. I hate to be this harsh, but I don't have patience for people that don't take advice offered and don't want to learn when given the chance.

I sprayed Diquat now the weeds are brown assumed dying, will I have to skim all the dead weeds or will they sink or go away on their own?

Remove all that you can because because, in decaying, plants use oxygen.

In my experience, duckweed seems to multiply most readily when it can drift around on the pond surface. Allowing vegetation to grow along the pond bank seems to contain the duckweed and helps minimize the problem.

Dudley just said a mouthful. Try to remove all you can using a rope or prickly rope and spray the rest. That stuff can be deadly.

OK thanks, I sprayed last weekend and maybe today I can start skimming if it doesn't rain.

Told I’m dealing with spikerush
Sprayed Diquat with a surfactant

Would it be slender spike rush by any chance if so how did poison work…. Everything I read about it says poison doesn’t work and grass carp won’t eat it….. very curious to hear

Depends on the exact kind you have it seems, poison.works according to tx a n m but there is a big potential for fish loss due to oxygen depletion from all the dying spike rush.

Hydroraking is more time consuming and laborious, but seems the safer bet

Here’s the article from Tamu , you might have the kind one species of carp will eat

There’s not just one spike rush

https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/spike-rush/

CD