Forums36
Topics41,084
Posts559,374
Members18,577
|
Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57
|
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57 |
I used Alum/lime treatment for clearing green water and it worked great. Visibility went from 9" to 36". It was a job to add enough to clear a 3+ acre pond but well worth the effort. There was a downside and by clearing the water the plants took off. Before the treatment i had no plants growing in the water.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Tracy
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,541 Likes: 282
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,541 Likes: 282 |
In some cases hay placed in the " wetland to cleanse and oxygenate it" has improved results.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 2,280 Likes: 558
|
OP
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 2,280 Likes: 558 |
Can I assume you are referring to Barley straw??
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,902 Likes: 281
|
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 1,902 Likes: 281 |
I used Alum/lime treatment for clearing green water and it worked great. Visibility went from 9" to 36". It was a job to add enough to clear a 3+ acre pond but well worth the effort. There was a downside and by clearing the water the plants took off. Before the treatment i had no plants growing in the water. Tracy, this post really piqued my interest. As I mentioned before, I am keen to understand whether nutrients that are deposited by the Alum treatments are lost to the ecology of the pond. For example, is phosphorus bound such that the plants cannot free it for their own use? Are the nutrients in organics of the detrital algae that were flocced and deposited available to detrivores and bacteria? I have to consider the question of whether foccing all the algae and sending it to bottom doesn't greatly limit the nutrients available to the ecosystem. Perhaps the nutrients, rather than being in solution, are now only available to rooted plants (as opposed to plant that source nutrients from the water column ... algae). If so, the excess nutrients are not really removed and other organisms will fill the niche that the treatment caused. So we need a deeper understanding. If one is applying Alum as a solution for green water, it may be tempting to consider the treatment as a success ... that is ... until the cascade effects become fully evident. In may way of thinking, I think would rather deal with excessive green water than have to deal with excessive growth of rooted plants.
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so - Will Rogers
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,686 Likes: 892
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,686 Likes: 892 |
jpsdad, in the ponds that we've treated with alum/hydrated lime or phoslock, it's just stripped nutrients from the water, but not enough to strip all the nutrients. Water testing pre/post application has shown that. In one particular pond it had stripped enough nutrients to go from 8"-12" visibility to 40"-48" visibility in <36 hours, but 5 days later some of the phytoplankton grew back, so the visibility settled in around 36".
That particular pond is a high nutrient loaded pond, where the N:P ratio is such that there was a Cyanobacteria problem when water temps exceeded approx. 78°F. Doing the P stripping changed the ratio enough that the Cyanobacteria hasn't been a problem since, BUT the stripping process also has been done on a yearly basis because the pond owner wanted the pond water to be clearer to scuba dive in. Max pond depth is 12', pond surface area is right around 4 ac. The banks taper sharply to the bottom, giving very little area for plants to grow because of the minimal pond bottom that is exposed to enough sunlight. Pond volume is right around 38 ac/ft.
Without looking at the records, I believe the P stripping has gone on for the past 4 years. Since we started doing it, the pond owner has built a 3/4 ac sediment pond to minimize turbid water from the farm fields from entering the pond, and last year completed a ditch from the sediment pond around the main pond so that water could be routed completely away from the big pond if needed.
Also, while e-shocking the pond has not revealed any TGC, the owner doesn't remember if any were stocked years ago. The turbidity is not due to mechanical means as the SS levels aren't out of whack compared to clearer ponds. BUT due to the steep slope on the banks, the rip rap that was installed around the whole pond and the limited sunlight reaching the pond bottom, getting any type of rooted plants established have resulted in 0 success.
While it seems to be heretical, after a few months of long discussions with the pond owner, we supplied him with close to 200# of Eurasian Water Milfoil to see if that could get established in the pond. He WANTS clearer water, and he said that if the EWM causes more problems than it's worth, he was OK with using fluridone on a yearly basis to eradicate it from the pond further down the road. For the $$ that he has been spending annually to reduce the P in the pond, it's a no brainer economics wise.....
Last edited by esshup; 12/31/20 01:52 PM. Reason: added info.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57
|
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 3,668 Likes: 57 |
esshup, the water clearity at my pond also settled in at or around 36" after the treatment. The excess bushy pondweed came up the following year. What I saw was last winter. The 36" visibility went to 8' due to the winter temps. The increase in visibility along with a boom of bushy pondweed in 2020 became a problem. After talking with Bob Lusk, he said he saw alot of Southern Niad last year in ponds all accross Texas. I am not sure why so many ponds had problems with Southern Naid last year. What brought in all the BPW accross Texas? Birds, wind or floods?
Last edited by TGW1; 01/02/21 09:22 AM.
Do not judge me by the politicians in my City, State or Federal Government.
Tracy
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,868 Likes: 301
|
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,868 Likes: 301 |
Tracy, I'm wondering if unusually mild winter weather has something to do with it. If this year winter is colder, or at least has more severe cold snaps, perhaps this will limit the BPW growth. Would love to see some research on this topic!
Last edited by anthropic; 01/02/21 07:53 PM.
7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160
|
|
|
Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
|
|
|
|
Algae
by Boondoggle - 06/14/24 10:07 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|