Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants ~AMERICAN pondweed -- how do I kill it ?

The ranch owner has a roughly 50,000gallon pond that has this blade shapped water plant I believe to be water hawthorn... similiar to this :



I believe he used copper sulphate to the exposed leaves at the water's surface,.. only to kill the lives but not the plants.

What can i suggest he use to NUKE the pond of water plants,.. but not harm the perch in there ?

thanks !

First off, welcome to the forum!

We need to really identify it. Is it this:

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/american-pondweed/

or this:
http://www.mwgs.org/index.php?rte=pltviewd&pid=41&cid=1 ?

In any case, what he's using won't kill it as you found out.

What is the water used for? There are herbicides that have water useage restrictions, and some that don't. It's not a wise idea to kill all of the pond at one time, the decaying plants will cause an O2 crash, which will kill the fish.

What size (in feet length/width) is the tank? 50,000 gallons isn't that big, depending on the depth it could be as small as 20' x 40' depending on the depth. One cubic foot has roughly 7.48 gallons of water in it.

thanks for the input !
ohhh ya,... it's the american pondweed. that's right on the money with the leave pattern and coloration of mostly green.

it's just a decorative pond near the front hunting lodge. there are fish in there, but not many.

I want to say it's a good 70 yards long by 30 yard wide... so 210feet X 90 feet,... with avg depth around 4 foot.

many thanks for the help, hope those better details help in pursuit of a answer.

c

Is the tank used for anything other than decorative? i.e. livestock watering, pulling water for irrigation, etc.

I think you had a decimal in the wrong place, given those dimensions, it's closer to 550,000 gallons.

Takoma - Is the plant growing only along the pond's perimeter; or is it completely covering the pond's surface? Also, does it have a flower/bloom of any type; if so, what color?
Based on the "similar to" photo in your initial post and the fact that most aquatic plants are green, I'd be curious to see an actual photo of the offending plant that occupies your pond.

--- okay ----
pond is 42,000 sq feet. With depth at 4 foot average.
This american pondweed is mostly along the inner 10-15 feet from the sides of the pond. Growning up from the water to the surface.
Also see lots of floating scum ( don't know if that mean anything )

water is a clear- to turquise color.
I'll take a pic this week when I'm at the ranch.

There is just mimimul fish in there - but owner would prefer not to kill them off if possible.

Just wants to NUKE those plants out of there.

what you say pond pros ?

If you need help posting it, e-mail it to me and I'll get it up here.

We gotta (well, should) ID the thing before recommending treatment.

I think I have the american pond weed problem and it started around the over flow pipe two years ago and last year it went almost all the way around the pond. I bought some aquatic weed killer last year and it turned the leaves brown that got hit by the spray but I don't think it killed the plant. Any help on this??

I've used Aquathol K to control Americal Pondweed. It was effective.

Can Aquathol K be used for spot spraying American Pond Weed effectively? Most of the pond is under control with pond dye, but the shallower areas have the weed growing about 4ft. out from the edge.

Thanks!