Hello everyone!
In August I purchased a 23 acre property with about an acre pond. The previous owners treated it with some sort of algaecide. I have not treated it since and it appears to have developed a nice phytoplankton bloom, along with a population of filamentous algae.

The pond was constructed in its current form in 2010. It is primarily spring fed and during a decent rain a creek runs in from the neighbor's farm. He has a small herd of cattle.

I have seen large mouth bass, bluegill, and four giant grass carp. I know the previous owners regularly stocked the pond but I have no records.

The previous owners liked a nice lawn, so bermuda grass runs right up to the water's edge.

I have a background in biology and would like to restore more biodiversity to the pond and edges. My goal is to get a handle on the nutrients naturally, without using an algaecide. BUT, since this is year one, I am worried that I will have a huge, overwhelming explosion in algae growth in the spring and summer if I don't treat the pond this year.

So, experienced pond bosses, should I treat my pond with algaecide this year until I get my plan rolling? Or let it be and see what happens?

Thanks!
Rachel

Rachel:

Welcome to the forum! Couple of questions for ya. Does the pond have an aeration system in it? Are Tilapia legal to stock in a pond in Tenn.?

To get more plant biodiversity, look at Cardno Native Plant Nursery for plants and seeds for the marginal areas of the pond. Also look at Spence Native Plant Nursery.

The reason for asking about the aeration system is that you have more leeway in treating the algae if it gets out of hand. Kill too much too fast and it causes an O2 crash in the water. That can be mitigated somewhat with an aeration system. If Tilapia can be stocked in your state, then treat the pond with an algaecide a week prior or post stocking. 40# per surface acre of TIilapia should be able to control all the FA. At the most you might need to spot treat a few places once in a while during the year if the FA is really bad.

Thanks for the reply! I'll look in to those nurseries.

No, the pond does not have an aeration system. That's a good point about not killing all the algae at one time.

I have read about tilapia, and they are only seasonal survivors here, apparently, since our water temps drop below 60 degrees (I need to buy a water thermometer...). I also have some decent sized bass, but if I stocked adult tilapia, I guess they would be less likely to be bass food?

Correct. They are seasonal here too. Just need to stock them larger than bass can eat, which is usually around 7"-9" in length for here. If stocked at less than 40# /surface acre they won't do much good. Not enough mouths to eat the algae. If you don't kill the algae right as they are stocked (i.e. a week prior/post stocking will be fine) then they have too much FA to eat and can't keep up with eating all the new stuff that grows.

Welcome to the forum!

I'm newbie too and I hope we get along.

*PLEASE* Consider milkweed around the pond. It is *necessary* for the survival of many pollinators and the ONLY flower monarch butterflies will lay eggs on.
Very pretty!