Thanks guys, I certainly appreciate the feedback. I used the liquid form of Aquathol. I can try to treat only the beach and dock area of the lake this year and see what the difference is. However, when the weeds die off at the end of the season, won't that decompose into muck? As opposed to treating it before it can grow? Good thought on wind direction as well. I really enjoyed not seeing the underwater weeds in our pond last year, as the previous year they were abundant. We have many swimming ponds in our area that are 40+ years old and the owners treat for so there are no weeds. After talking with a number of them, most informed me they only use copper sulfate and Diuron - both of which seem quite harsh (after researching, I've decided not to use). So I've only introduced fish to my pond to help balance the eco-system as my desire has been to keep it primarily a swimming pond. Remlinger Fish Farms in my area have been my supplier, and I followed the recommendations on their chart for stocking (
https://www.remlingerfishfarm.com/recom.html). I did stock slightly lower amounts of perch and red ear with the idea that they could propogate a few years before adding a predator such as bass. But I am certainly open to advice and want to be sure I do as much as I can to prevent issues in the future - without this becoming a full-time hobby.
Stocking Tilapia on an annual basis I was told would cost me about $2000-$3000 by Remlinger. While the idea of not having to treat the pond with algeacide is certainly attractive, I'm simply not positioned to spend that each year. Are there other effective ways to remove nutrients - besides weeds and Tilapia? I am also planning to add several aerators to the pond - hopefully this year.
