Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations cutrine.......copper suphate????...algae

fins, You are applying granular/crystal copper sulfate incorrectly when you say ""The copper sulfate granules are easy because I just scatter some in the area's the algae is growng from."" CuSO4 is a contact killer and when you apply by spreading granules two things occur. 1. you have to use too much to get an effecive kill and 2. the granules sink to the bottom and minimal affect occurs as the granule dissolves and remineralizes in just the immediate area of each granule.

If you are using CuSO4 for filamentous algae you are supposed to put it in a porus bag (sock or cloth bag) and drag the bag around on the end of a long stick or pole in the zone where the algae is growing. Remember CuSO4 is a CONTACT killer AND it does not prevent any new growth. As the CuSO4 dissolves the copper cloud mixes among the algae filaments and if done correctly a lesser amount of CuSO4 kills it. When you use this technique ideally you should buy CuSO4 in the largest particles, pieces or granules possible. The best type is the one that has a mixture of pieces the size of peas to dimes or pennies. It is sometimes hard to find but it is definately the best to use when using the draging-treatment method. It takes longer for the larger pieces to dissolve and you can then travel further distances before the amount of CuSO4 in the bag is all dissolved. I tell people to split the dose into 2 or 3 amounts so all of it is not dissolving at the same time thus it lasts longer with less product. Done this way you can treat a whole lot of shoreline with just 3 to 5 pounds of CuSO4. It only takes a very little amount of the dilute CuSO4 cloud to kill algae.

Obviously the finer the CuSO4 granules the faster it dissolves and you do not want it to dissolve fast. Since the metalic copper carbonate accumulates in the sediment, the less you have there the healthier your pond sediments will be. Dead, toxic sediments are bad.

The label says granular Cutrine-Plus and GreenClean granules are supposed to be applied as broadcasting the granules over the area that contains filamentous algae growths.

If the filamentous algae is floating on the surface you are supposed to spray the mats with either Cutrine-Plus liquid or dissolved/liquid CuSO4. Personally I prefer to remove as much of the floating algae as possible then treat just what is remaining. That way you do not have all that dead algae decaying in the pond and recycling the nutrients back to feed more algae growth AND you ultimately use less herbicide since you are treating less filamentous algae. If you do a good enough job of removing the filamentous algae, often times there is not enough algae left to be worth treating. Sometimes the algae grows back and sometimes the pond conditions are such that filamentous algae does not return right away. The amount of available nutrients present, the water clarity and competition from other plants determine if the algae returns or not.