Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants still have way too much algae......

I have a 2 yr old pond, bout 2/3 of an acre, 10-12' deep in the middle. I have a tremendous surface algae (the green pea soup looking kind) which I believe is the filamentaous algae? I sprayed 1 1/2 gallons of Cutrine + with my portable sprayer, using a 1/2 gallon on 3 seperate occasions about 2 weeks apart each time. I have also been throwing out granular Cutrine (2 bottles so far) and it appears the algae is only getting worse! I bought a Gast aerator and a membrane diffusor about a month ago, it has been running for 3 weeks straight now, and 2 weeks ago I installed a large fountain. I realize the fountain isnt going to help much, but at least it keeps the algae away from the middle of the pond and i have aboutr a 40' round area without any algae. The rest of the pond is covered with the algae and isnt clearing up at all! I was told that the hot summer temps would help clear it up, but no help there either, as it has been over 95 degrees for the past 3 weeks here.

I am in Denton County, just north of Dallas, TX and would appreciate any and all suggestions. Am I in way over my head, or can I save this thing? My wife is pushing me to just "fill the #$@% thing in and be done with it!" We just built this house on 18 acres last yr and built the pond because we needed dirt for our house pad, but it has always held water and filled up in only a few months after we had it dug. We are in an area of very expensive homes (the neighbors, not ours). I am not even sure who to even call for help with this, as when I asked the guys where I bou my cutrine from, they gave me a name of a local guy who maintains ponds, but I can't even get him to call me back, as business must be pretty good nowadays. Most ponds around here are in the same condition as mine, is this par for the course and I never noticed anyone elses ponds before since I didnt have one, or did the record rainfall we had in June make things worse?
Sorry, didnt mean to write a novel, butI dont get a chance to post very often here at the office and wanted to get everything in! Thanks in advance for any help!!

You need to get your water tested for nutrients, pH, etc. Are you in an area where there is farming near by? Something is over feeding your pond. You also need help from a local expert. There are fish that you can put in to help take care of algae and plants.

Yes, I had my cows in this pasture over winter, but I took them out in March, and have been brushhogging this pasture at least every other week to keep the grass low, so therefore there shouldnt be any more manure getting in the pond. There are farms around me, but where they keep their cows are a few hundred acres away, and the guy next door has one horse but his pasture drains into his pond. As stated earlier, most of the ponds around here have a large amt of algae growth, and most folks just say wait until it gets hot and it will go away by itsself! Only ponds without algae seem to be the ones with the fountains in them.

Sounds to me that with all that organic cow manure around it must add a lot of nutrients to the run off water. Once nutrients get dissolved in water they can travel as far as the water does. With out any filtration of the water it ends up in your pond sooner or later.

I would aerate like crazy and add cattails or other natural grasses along the shore to use some of those nutrients.

There are tests for dissolved nutrients that can be done to confirm my guess.

BBH - Most TX lake management companies avoid small pond clients *<5 acres +/-*, since such pond owners are often unable to commit the bucks to simply compensate a professional's time and travel expenses. Besides, if they're any good at their profession, most lake mgmt folks are at maximum load-capacity right now. I suspect that this dilemma was one of the principle catalysts for the birth of Pond Boss several years ago.

You mentioned that the pond's watershed area is frequently mowed. It is possible that the pasture clippings could be providing the nutrient "fuels" for your algae bloom. Also, the cows may now be gone, but their prior presence is still likely impacting the pond. Nutrients, once concentrated in a pond, don't simply disappear when the cows go to market. I grew up near Wichita Falls; so I'm very familiar with north TX stock "tanks" - Lewisville area included.

With ponds, pictures may be worth 10K words. Can you provide *email* some pictures of your pond (wide angle overview) and include some fairly close up shots of the water/infestation?

Although assessment of a pond's situation is best done on site through direct observation and water-quality tests, photos might help bridge the gap.

BBH, I live in Mississippi with a 2 acre pond that was covered with filamentous algae this summer. Almost 100%. I use a pond management service here and they applied aquashade to the water.The dark blue color stopped the growth of new algae and the rest died off.I have not had a problem since. Most of the color blue color is gone now due to several heavy rains. Good luck.

bbh, i would like to find out what you spent on the diffuser and aerator, and see what you think about them. probably the fountain around 1200 bucks and the aerator another 650?

i agree with the last persons post. a pond your size would recover nicely with aquashade. i use it in my office pond and it really does make it look nice. especially with your fountain, would look good. now, you'll read other posts later that talk about fertilizing for fish ponds, aquashade for making a nice looking pond. but sounds like you have plenty of fertilizer/nutrients as it is. also, have you purchased the pond boss "water weeds and algae" book. may help.

also, a pond that size may be partly managed by a pond rake i have seen advertized. looks like annoying work to me, but may be a cost effective way to get some of the scum off the top. good luck. send some pics. mark

Kelley, I will try and put a couple of pics up of the pond, it looked alot better after the rain this weekend! But its starting to come back again, I guess the rain just pushed the algae to the banks for awhile.
I actually have less than a grand in both the aerator and the fountain. I built the fountain myself, as I own a machine shop and made the float out of some black delrin (24" round by 1" thick) and bought a submersible pump from Grainger (4100 gph). Then it was just a matter of cutting pvc and splicing the cable together. I used the 3M kit where you mix the two chemicals together and pour them into a plastic case until it hardens up. It was recommended by the electrical supply house where I bought the wire at. Supposedly works as well as if not better than the heat shrink tubing method. With about 80' of wire, I have about $400 in the fountain, including the nozzles. The aerator was put together online and purchased from a couple of different places. I have about $300 bucks in it, since I didnt use weighted tubing, opting for the garden hose route until I decide what I am gonna do permanently.

I talked to the guys who dug the pond, and they want to exchange some work from me for them coming back out with their track hoe and making the sides steeper and putting a larger dam on the ends, and then run their dozer over it to pack it down and smooth it out. That seems like a goood option for me, so I am thinking about letting them do some more work on it.

Would it be worth anything to me to put some Aquashade in the pond at this time, with the condition it is in now?
Kelley, I am not opposed to spending some money on this thing, as it is pretty close to my house and would be an asset if I can get it in shape. I called the guy you recommended, and they just seemed to be pretty busy and evidently didnt think I was seriously wanting it worked on, as they havent returned any phone calls. I am only about 3 miles from them, so it would've worked out great for both of us! I dont have an unlimited budget, but I realize I need to spend what it takes to get it under control and I feel I can maintain it from there on out, given the correct information on what to do.

BBH: Didn't realize that we had already spoken (your name wasn't listed), but think I recall our conversation. The phone-call suggestion was a gamble. Do know that they're good folks, but extremely swamped this time of the year.

Are there fish in your pond? If so, you'd best be cautious about putting AQUASHADE in there at this stage. If your pond has a heavy phytoplankton population, AQUASHADE can crash it - along with your dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. AQUASHADE is best used as a preventative measure, rather than a curative tactic.

Also, the recent rains may have been enough to cause a partial (though temporary) die-off of any blue-green algae - or, may have dislodged the trapped bubbles that were providing buoyancy for any floating mats of filamentous algae, allowing it to sink out of sight. In either case, they'll be back.

I've gained a lot of confidence in recommending microbial treatments (specific brands) for some pond situations where excessive nutrients appear to be causing algae problems. Good aeration is also a solid asset toward correcting many nutrient-related problems. Both tactics may be justified in severe situations. But, your overall objectives for the pond play a big role in guiding the decision for one, both or the other.

Call me again if you're interested in discussing further options.