Hello. New to the forum but I have been reading a while. I have a about a 1.5 acre pond. It’s pretty shallow on one side (2-3ft) gradually getting to almost 20ft deep at the dam. Every summer I end up ha omg pretty significant algae growth. No real weed issues along the shoreline though. We are just warming up here in southern/central Illinois (mid 60’s) and I looked outside and saw this huge bloom of algae already! Usually algae growth doesn’t start here until late May. I am going to dye it this weekend but wondering what else you all do to prevent the lake from being covered with this by July/Aug? In the past I’ve tried traditional lake algaecide. The previous owner said he used a small amount of karmex to keep it down but I didn’t have much luck the first year and wasn’t comfortable about throwing in any more due to it not rated to be used in ponds to begin with. The pond is stocked with A healthy batch of Bass, bluegill, crappie, and a few catfish.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Welcome to the forum.....are tilapia legal where you are? They really do a number on FA
Please don’t put KARMEX in your pond if you plan on eating your fish. Information is hard to come by as no one wants their tail in a sling.

If tilapia are legal then get in touch with Rainman on the forum

There's always grass carp.

Type "Copper Sulfate Crystals" into your Google search engine or on Amazon. 50 pound bags are about $128 shipped to your door....cheapest price you will find. Get the "small" size. Initially do 15 lbs. per surface acre. Put it in a double burlap bag, tie on a rope and drag it around the shoreline in your Jon boat.

You will likely have to re-treat every 3-4 weeks using 7 lbs. per surface acre.

I don't like using a lot of CS but i can't eliminate the nutrients coming into our ponds and nitrogen, etc. is built up in the muck of our 70 year old BOWs. BM61.

Ice went off here a few days ago and, for what ever reason, this year the pond is covered with FA mats. I have used Cutrine Plus in the past but I found a bag of copper sulfate left over from gardening in the garage so I think I'll try it. My plan is to wait until the water temp gets to 60 F before treating.

FA starts growing once the water hits 48-50 degrees. That is the point where we traditionally do the first dose of CS. Waiting for 60 degree water is waiting too long. Do it ASAP. BM61.

Anybody know if you can dissolve copper sulfate in water first so you can spray it into the pond? How about broadcasting it like you do Cutrine granular?

Thanks for the info. Plan on picking up copper sulfate this weekend to get started. I’ll definitely order some off of amazon though for the future.

I got a grass carp last spring but I don’t know if it’s survived. I haven’t seen it since! Here is a picture of what I’m talking about. Very odd, the rest of the lake looks fine.

I’m trying to post a pic of the algae but it won’t post off my phone for some reason. I’ll try it on the computer when I get home .

Amazon sells a fine, small, and large size. How fast does this stuff dissolve?

Ok, this is the first year I’ve had FA. I was talking to a pond professional the other day about it. He said it was cold water FA. That my pond was frozen over for a few months and with well oxygenated water it formed. This is the first time I’ve had ice for more than a few days. He said it was “good FA” and we would probably go away pretty quickly. I’m not an expert, and am in fact speaking about something I know very little about. This is just what I was told. Possibly one of our experts can shed some light here. This is the first year that almost every luer I bring in is covered with green slime. It must be fairly deep too. I certainly hope it goes away.

Dspud.....the fine definitely dissolves way too fast. We use the small size in a doubled burlap sack (see my post above)and the dissolve rate seems to be ok. I have not tried the large size.
And SG....just zap your "good" FA now with 15 lbs. per acre and you will be good well into mid-May IMO. BM61.

The misinformation on this website is pretty amazing. Most likely that is a blue-green algae. Is it floating in the middle like in little black mats?? I had some bloom here in central Indiana. Might want to find out what it is before dumping a bunch of chemicals in the lake, also the water is very cold right now and many chemicals wont work below 60 degrees. Later.

Dont do this until you find out what it is, take a picture and have someone that knows what they are doing look at it.

Grass Carp never eat algae intentionally.....

Tilapia are not legal to stock in Illinois.

What mis-information? Blue-green algae does not "mat"...Blackened "mats" are common FA species that have floated up from the bottom and the black color is dead FA on the tops of the "mats". Also, Blue-green algae does not start it's growth on the pond's bottom.

I do agree on knowing what species you are dealing with before throwing out blanket doses of Copper products....Contact Bill Cody here and he can identify both the species and best treatments...

Not correct Stagnina a type of blue green algae starts as small balls on the lakes bottom and then floats to the surface. Other blue green algae can do the same.

Aphanothece Stagnina-Had it in my lake, go look it up.

Don't ask people on this forum and then go buy chemicals, take a sample of your algae or take multiple photos and have someone (that would be an aquatic biologists) diagnose your problem. A local company that treats the lakes in your area would be a good start.