Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants New pond has loads of nutrients and slimy algae

We have a new pond, probably 3 months old, that has lots of nutrients from decaying trees and is covered in algae. The algae covers half the pond. Is it best to let nature deal with the algae and nutrients or should we take matters into our own hands?

I'm assuming that the pond is new to you, but it's an older pond?

No it's a brand new pond built 3 months ago!

Does it get surface water run-off from any agriculture or fields that are heavily used by cattle? There seems to be more nutrients in the pond than what you'd see from decaying trees in 3 months.

Nope the pond is in the middle of the deep woods. Could it be oxygen depletion that's causing the algae? The 2 acre pond is 1 foot from being full and is very stagnant. We get our water from a creek.

A pond surrounded by woods is very problematic due to all the organic matter that enters the water. Organic matter hopefully decays. Decay uses / requires lots of dissolved oxygen. Results of decay are nutrients. Nutrients are food for algae. It will be very difficult to raise fish in this pond due to the large swings in dissolved oxygen (DO). Little wave action and lack of sunlight reduce the amount of DO. Wave action tends to reduce stagnation. Killing algae results in additional decay consuming more DO.

If at all possible, add an aeration system to it. Raking out will help in removing the nutrients by removing the algae vs. killing the algae and recycling the nutrients in the pond.

Thanks for the advice guys. Aeration will be tough because their is no power at the pond. I'll try to rake some of it out though.

Management of the pond will always be a problem.

Will aquatic vegetation help? Currently the pond has none.

Getting sun and wind to the pond will greatly help..

The pond gets plenty of sun. Here are some pictures of the pond

Looking at the pictures, what is the average depth and the maximum depth of the pond? FA grows on the bottom, then floats up breaking away from the bottom. If you have a lot of shallow area, that helps contribute to the problem.

Yes, underwater weeds will utilize the nutrients, cutting down on the FA, but you might be trading problems..........

Agreed, looks a little on the shallow side to me...but maybe that's just one or two photos.

Also, can't throw my head around high nutrient loads in a brand new BOW...it needs more time to develop excessive loads, right? Could it be the creek water?

maximum depth is 15' in the creek bed. Average depth is around 4'. There is a large shallow area where the creek feeds in, it maybe covers 15% of pond. Here is a picture of what the creek looks like

We had to leave those stumps in due to money issues.

Brenton, can you tell us more about the construction of the pond? Love the creek, but why is the average depth 4'?

Any depth shallower than 3 ft will want to grow lots of FA because of high light penetration.

Should we put anything in it to eradicate it, like Cutrine or some dye? We do have fish in it and it is still not at full pool.

Dye may help some but not a solution. All the stumps left will decay for years, hence Bills statement. From the pics it looks like you have created a great wetland marsh.... Great duck hunting but poor fish habitat. Adding air would be a great start.

Stop now, drain it and excavate at least another 2-3 ft outside of the creek beds. You can excavate then tie back in to the creek channel to maintain a working area. As it is now, you will always have problems with aquatic weeds/algae.

Pardon the ignorance but how does aeration help control FA?

I would venture a guess of these problems:

Old nutrient-rich topsoil and creek deposits from prior floods was not scraped away (as evidenced by the tree trunks).
Leftover organic matter not cleaned up before a fill.
Excessive light penetration due to being shallow.
Lots of tree trunks are going to decay over time, and I would worry about root systems exiting the pond or providing a path for water. Looking at the pics that is probably not really a problem.

I think the solution is "simple" but it isn't too cheap either. Drain the pond, call in an excavator after it is dry, scrape out the tree trunks and top soil down 2+ feet or more to give you a clean start. You want the topsoil and organic matter greatly reduced if you want to control the FA/nutrient problem. While the excavator is there, give yourself a few deep holes if you want.

While the cost up front may be expensive, I think the savings over the years of not having to deal with as many problems will be worth it. I wouldn't bother with chemical control, especially if this is a dammed up creek where control would go downstream.

Any worries about the pipes getting plugged from debris during a flood?

Haha You guys are drilling my poor pond but you are really gonna flip out when i tell yall i have millions of the dreaded green sunfish in there! Yeah a lotta work needs to be done...

GSF = no big deal if you are going to stock LMB in there. They'll whittle down the GSF numbers. If the creek runs into or could run into the pond, then the GSF will be replenished, just something to live with.