Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Algae??

Sprkplug - you ought to send me a sample of some of this stuff. Let's figure out what it is by actually examining it. Copper based products do kill bacteria. How can the copper in Cutrine kill trout in soft water and not harm bacteria and other sensitive organisms?
From the Web:
Toxicity and bioavailability of copper herbicides (Clearigate, Cutrine-Plus, and copper sulfate) to freshwater animals.
Mastin BJ1, Rodgers JH Jr.
Abstract
In designing aquatic herbicides containing copper, an important goal is to maximize efficacy for target species while minimizing risks for nontarget species. To have a margin of safety for nontarget species, the concentration, duration of exposure (i.e., uptake), and form (i.e., species) of copper used for herbicidal properties should not elicit adverse effects on populations of nontarget species. To determine the potential for risk or adverse effects (conversely the margin of safety), data regarding the comparative toxicity of copper-containing herbicides are crucial. A series of comparative toxicity experiments was conducted, including baseline estimates of toxicity (LC50s, LOECs), sensitive species relationships (thresholds and exposure-response slopes), and bioavailability of toxic concentrations and forms of copper 7 days after initial herbicide application. Aqueous 48-h toxicity experiments were performed to contrast responses of Daphnia magna Strauss, Hyalella azteca Saussure, Chironomus tentans Fabricius, and Pimephales promelas Rafinesque to copper herbicides: Clearigate(R), Cutrine(R)-Plus, and copper sulfate. D. magna was the most sensitive aquatic animal tested for all three herbicides; 48-h LC50s for organisms exposed to Clearigate, Cutrine-Plus, and copper sulfate were 29.4, 11.3, and 18. 9 microg Cu/L, respectively. In terms of potency (calculated from the linearized portion of the exposure-response curves, which included 50% mortality), D. magna was the most sensitive animal tested. Organisms exposed to Clearigate, Cutrine-Plus, and copper sulfate had exposure-response slopes of 2.55, 8.61, and 5.07% mortality/microg Cu/L, respectively. Bioavailability of Clearigate and Cutrine-Plus was determined by comparing survival data (LC50s) of test organisms exposed to herbicide concentrations during the first and last 48-h of a 7-day exposure period. Even in these relatively simplified water-only exposures, a transformation of copper to less bioavailable species over time was observed with a 100-200% decrease in toxicity (i.e., an increase in 48-h LC50s) for all four test animals. This series of laboratory experiments provides a worst-case scenario for determining the risk associated with the manufacturer's recommended application rates of Clearigate (100-1,000 microg Cu/L), Cutrine-Plus (200-1,000 microg Cu/L), and copper sulfate (100-500 microg Cu/L) in natural waters for four nontarget freshwater animals.

I'm grateful for your generous offer Bill. I sent you a PM.

Could you please tell me what FA is? I assume it is some kind of algae but since I am not familiar with the abbreviations I am not sure if it is the type of algae I am trying to identify in my pond. Thanks

FA is Filamentous algae. It can look different from pond to pond, but it is often associated with a "hair" type of composition. It tends to grow on the bottom, then break loose and float to the top where it can form mats.

As a side note to this thread, I still haven't sent a sample of my algae to Bill for identification. A combination of rainy days and time away on vacation has thwarted my efforts thus far. Due to all of the rain, the pond has been clear since last weekend. However, we have had a couple of dry days, and I noticed what I think may be the same stuff beginning to form just last night. We'll see.

How much rain you get over your say Sprk? We got 2.6" Mon 2-8am. It was building up all weekend and then unleashed.

The gauge shows three inches since Sat. night. This is the wettest July in a long time. Business is still booming, when it's normally slowing down about now due to dry, non-growing grass.

Love these cool temps also!

Of the 3 summers I've had the place in Lawr Co, this is the driest there. Lotta of the grass is stressed. Rains that have been forecast there have only occasionally amounted to more than 0.1". You've prolly had no issues with water levels then, and that's good. Monday got us back to full pool- it had held at -4" for a few weeks.

You let the boys bring any of their toothy new friends back to bucket stock one of the ponds?

We brought some back......but in steak form I'm afraid! The captain claimed blacktips are delicious.

Yep, water levels are good here. All ponds at full pool and discharging water. Haven't been able to say that the past few summers.