Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants chara

I HAVE CHARA TAKING OVER...MY POND IS 1 ACRE WITH AVERAGE DEPTH OF 8 FEET ...ANY HELP ON CONTROL

How much of the ponds bottom is in chara? What is the average depth of the pond? Is this just primarily a swimming area or pond-edge problem?

MAINLY AN EDGE PROBLEM..

Cutrine Plus granular applied directly onto the chara should provide relief. It is an algae that will continue to come back. You may also want to look into using a pond dye to darken the water so the chara will be lessened.

I rake mine manually out of my 1/10 acre pond. It's not attached to the bottom and comes out easily. I then throw it into a wheelbarrow with a pithfork or potato fork and dump it somewhere.

Chara is like a thistle or dendelion; primary invader in new pond environments with fresh or barron bottoms.

Features can be Pro or Con based on goals.

Benefits?:
fish cover,
competes with other algae for nutrients,
easily removed,
does not float when fragmented (pro & con)
can rapidly consume soluable nutrients due to rapid growth this can suppresses other algae development based on total nutrient availability,
tends to help keep the water clear (pro & con?)
White amur (grass carp) readily eat it.

Disadvantages?:
poor quality fish cover since old growth tends to be fairly compact,
spreads like fire,
dense tight mat that inhibits water circulation at the mud- water interface,
causes anoxic conditions under the mat or bed layer,
does not float when fragmented,
fragments can regrow ( I think)
can stiffle the growth of other beneficial, less aggressive rooted submerged types,
smelly garlic or skunk-musk odor.

As long as your pond bottom stays barren you will always combat either Chara, Nitella or filamentous algae if adequate light can reach the pond bottom. Nitella is usu considered the soft-water equivalent of Chara.

PS Aquashade in adequate concentrations can limit the depth spread of Chara but not its expansion around the pond perimeter. Other blue dye brands probably have less impact on its growth and depth spread .