Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations algae

I am sorry to repeat this topic, but I can not seem to control my algae. Its April 1, and my mid Ohio pond has bad algae already. It started with ice out. Its 1 1/2 acrea, well built, has 15 growing amurs, 12", and still having problems. My controled run off is farm fields, however I can divert this water around the pond during rains. I only fill my pond when needed and the water is running very slow. This is a great design that I built. Will copper sulfate work? How much? Or is there something better. I plan on eating some fish. Sorry about the repeat topic. I went back in old posts and did not find anything that really helped me. Thanks, Tom

Tom:

I'm curious - do you have any filamentous algae floating on the surface yet? I have only small amounts of FA apparent yet (although it's growing) in the pond, although a couple of small sumps in my woods which have runoff from the neighboring subdivision septic systems have had dense, lush, floating FA for a month/month and a half now.

My FA differences above suggest to me that your problem is probably aggravated by/due to the agricultural runoff. I am not sure whether "shutting off" the runoff into the pond during rains would curtail the amount of nutrients (as a percentage of the water) as I think you are theorizing. You've still got ag nutrients coming in when the runoff is slow, and you're missing the "flushing" action you would get during the rains. I just don't know which approach is best, but maybe someone else here does or has a way you can check the incoming water nutrient levels and decide to flush or not to flush.

As I'm sure you have read here elsewhere, White Amur really don't do much to control FA. If you haven't seen the current thread on FA in the "Controlling Unwanted Plants" section, check it out. They are discussing several alternate FA controls - Aquashade, Cutrine, aeration, and Tilapia - and this might give you some ideas.

Are you worried about eating fish due to the FA (I don't believe that's a problem with fish edibility) or chemical control measures (I don't have a clue, but we have several experts, like Kelly Duffy, who should know everything you could ask)?

I wish you luck with your FA; mine is not so bad and my control measures are just raking lanes in it to fish from shore through for a month or so each Summer.

Yes Theo, it is fa. I got it pretty bad last summer like I expect. But this early? Don't get me wrong, its not real bad. Just bad enough to worry a little. I did not know that amurs did not eat algae. Thats what I got them for. Now I wish I did not have them. I will try to read up more and let you know. Thanks, Tom.

Tom,

How much submergent vegatation do you have? Have the grass carp eaten it all or is it scare? If your macro submergant plants are scare, or nonexistant, your FA is taking up all the nutrients coming into your pond which of cours cause it to proliferate. Too many amur could actually be aggravating your algae problem by eating too many of your submergent macros, and due to a very short digestive tract quickly converting them into nutrients in your pond which aggravates your FA.

Case in point. I have nutrient rich trout pond due to lots of feeding. I have three plant organism that uptake nutrients:

1.) Chara (Skunk weed) acutally a large form of algae that looks like a plant.

2.) Phytoplankton (suspended algae that colors the water green)

and

3.) Filamentous algae.

I have found if I rake out a lot of the Chara I get a proliferation of FA. That's because something uses the nutrients and if the Chara is substantially gone the filamentous algae takes over.