Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Chara and Filamentous algae control

New to the forum. I have a four year old pond .66 acre that is lined on the bottom with a pond liner. There is a varying depth to the bottom sediment from as much as six inches close to the bank to none at all twenty feet from the bank. The water is extremely clear right now and algae growth has intensified. The water has good plankton blooms later in the year but I am struggling with an algae overload now. Chara (or something like it) covers the pond bottom and FA covers the Chara. Mechanical removal is backbreaking work that only delays the algae coverage. I prefer not to use chemicals due to the toxicity to zooplankton but I am a loss. Really would like your opinions.
Thanks
Bob

Your water clarity is compounding the issue. Once the water warms up, is Tilapia an option for you in Tennessee?

Green Clean is a "non-toxic" option, though copper complex algaecides, applied properly, will be safe as well. The algae is just the symptom of excessive nutrient loading. You can permanently bind free reactive Phosphorus with an Aluminum Sulfate or Phosloc application 2 weeks after treating/killing the algae.

Tilapia is really not an option because I have several good size LM Bass. Our winter temperatures would cause a winterkill as well.
Thanks

Thank you. I will look into that.

Tilapia are supposed to die each winter, and will create more forage and growth in your bass than you might realize. You can't produce more forage for bass than with tilapia...and they are legal in TN

Then I would use Tilapia for algae control in the OP's pond. They help with the algae problem in two ways. 1) actually eating the algae and 2) utilizing the nutrients to grow, and when they die off in the Fall, they are removed from the pond by either the pond owner or by scavengers, and by doing that the nutrients are being removed from the pond.

I second the use of Tilapia for FA control. I was skeptical as well. My previous pond had some big LMB in it and I was afraid I was just buying a tropical treat for my fish. But I was desperate. I bought them as big as I could find and they put a huge dent in the FA in no time. They are pretty inexpensive so you can buy a ton and they start spawning almost immediately. Sure your bass will eat a lot of them, but tilapia can even out spawn BG. Plus, the tilapia might also take some pressure off of your other forage fish during the warm months to allow them to increase in numbers. Also, there is nothing really to lose. If it doesn't work out you are out a few bucks and all of the tilapia will be gone in October/November anyway.