Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Adding TFS to new unfertilized pond

Golf courses that use water from their water hazards to water the turf really, really like the Tilapia. FA clogs the sprinkler heads. When they are using Cutrine Plus or other copper based algaecides to control the algae in those ponds, they have to be very mindful of when the algaecide is applied so they don't pump that water onto the turf, which causes problems for the turf. Since some of the places have sprinkler systems that are on timers, if they don't remember to turn the system off before applying the algaecide, then their turf has problems. Or they forget to turn the irrigation system back on..........

Ok that makes sense and thank you for the detailed explanation. To try to bring this all back together If i add TP to my pond to help control FA but have to spray to kill the FA first will that affect the desired algae bloom needed to feed the TFS and prevent overgrowth of plant life? I’m sorry for asking so many questions but as a retired veterinarian I need to exercise my brain.

The spraying for FA will affect the phytoplankton, but only for a very short time - a week to two weeks then it will start growing back quickly. Follow the label directions on the algaecide. Some ponds can be treated all at once, others need 2 treatments if they have a lot of FA.

The treatment for FA has virtually no killing affect on underwater plants.

Hey esshup, can i get your thoughts on pond dye as an alternative to using chemicals in my pond? I’m really trying to avoid them as my dogs and grandkids swim in it frequently.

Dye limits sunlight penetration. Which cuts out the bottom of the food chain (reduces phytoplankton amounts). Pond dye doesn't do much for water shallower than 4 feet or so. If you want to have TFS, it will hurt their food source.

The chemicals that you use in the pond are rated for pond use, and I have no qualms about using them. For instance, Cutrine Plus has no time restriction from use to a person swimming in the water. Use it once or twice, add Tilapia. Doing that uses less chemicals than treating the pond every 2 weeks for FA. Dye won't cut back a lot of the FA growth because sunlight can still reach the bottom of the pond in 3'-4' of water unless you REALLY use a lot of dye (think tidy bowl blue).

Ok thanks, I will do the cutrine plus and tilapia as you recommend. I have a food grade TP farm close to me so I will see if they will sell me some for my pond. I wasn’t sold on the dye option because i have visions of blue dogs and grandkids after a swim ( I know it wouldn’t do that ).

LOL. You don't get blue from swimming in it. re: food grade Tilapia. You might need a lot more than 40#/acre because they are 90% or more all Males. You really need a 50/50 mix of males and females to produce viable eggs to create a lot of small tilapia. Male Tilapia grow faster than females, so they can bring them to market with less food. Less $$ input more profit.

A pond management place I know that also sprays weeds only sells food grade Tilapia so they still get calls to spray algae. They have the option to purchase 50/50 but don't want them. That should say something right there.

Bill Cody says - AMEN to the great advice.

If any type of animal swims in Straight or full concentrated "out of the bottle" blue pond dye they will be blue. Full strength blue pond colorant does stain skin. I know that from first hand use! The dilution of 1:1,000,000 does not stain swimmers. It has been tested by many pond owners.

If you wet your hands before pouring it into the pond it won't stay on your skin for long. I have a customer that said she can get blue on her just by walking past the bottle sitting on the shelf in her pole barn.

A friend wanted some to play with. O kay......... He used a needle and syringe to fill up ping pong balls so his grand kids could shoot them with a .22 LR and they'd explode. He did it at the private range that they belong to. A week later he got a phone call from the guy that was running cattle on it. He asked why the cattle all of a sudden had blue noses and blue tongues? Another time he did the same thing except the grass was a wee bit tall and wet at his farm where he used it. His daughter chewed him a new one. It seems the kids came home with blue shoes, socks and feet, plus the white goats weren't so white any more...... ROFL.

Another buddy wanted some to play a practical joke on a co-worker. I asked him what he was going to do. He said he was going to put some on his co-workers sweat band he put on his head/fore head. I told him that he could buy some from the store, but I wasn't going to get involved with that. After he found out how long it would last, he didn't do it.

Well said; Scott and Bill.