Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Algae Control for irrigation water

Short story long is that I have a friend that is growing thousands of elderberry bushes, and wants to irrigate from a pond that is loaded with various kinds of algae, including FA. I haven't seen the pond yet, nor do I know the size/depth.

So my question is, has anybody used one of the Peroxyhydrate algaecides? I know Cutrine Plus is irrigation friendly, but I'd prefer to go a different route. Plan B would be Aquashade Plus and mechanical removal around a screened inlet cage. As long as the irrigation lines don't have extremely small drippers, I would think this would work. Not actually killing the algae may also help fertilize the plants.

GreenClean PRO by Biosafe systems would be an example of a peroxyhydrate product.

Thank for any suggestions.

GreenClean Pro, Phycomycin, etc. all work the same way. Even if he uses that (and it's dang expensive compared to Cutrine Plus) he'd still have to either wait until all the FA decomposes or go with Plan B as well to keep the algae out if he's got a drip system.

If it was mine, and I had the time, I'd make a LARGE screened intake cage, with removable screens (framework and screens that slid into the framework). That way he could shut the system off, swap screens and fire the system back up asap. He could use a pressure washer to clean the screens that he took out, being careful to watch how close he put the nozzle to the screen. I'd have at least 2 sets of screens, maybe 3 depending on how fast I thought they'd plug up.

I'm thinking screen door sized screens or larger.......

Standard H2O2 would be an option as well-(hydrogen peroxide)

The orifices in drip tape are very small. I think your buddy is going to need some serious filtration in front of his drip lines.

Al,

I would try some proof of concept now, before planning out the solution.

Could he pump up some water now from a spot of the pond with abundant algae and see if he can come up with some large enough orifice sizes in the irrigation system that balance his water usage and minimize plugging?

I believe they also make some mechanical chopping equipment to run on the suction side of the pump. It might be possible to mechanically reduce the FA to a size that will not clog his system.

I would prefer "idiot-proofing" the system against algae as much as possible, because the algae will always be a constant battle.

Thanks guys, lots to think about, but first step is to get details about his pond, and what condition it's in. Second step is to see if the irrigation is pump fed or gravity fed. I'll try to get up to his place in the next week or two, and see what his plans are for the actual irrigation process. That'll narrow down options. I fell out when I found out what elderberries were worth. He's also building a complete processing building to keep as much as possible in house.

Scott and Kenny, thanks for the chem advice.

Rod, just off the top of my head, I was thinking a screened tub like Scott mentioned would handle the majority of the big stuff, then have some type of secondary filter for the smallest stuff. Augie's right about the orifices, so being able to flush the tubing and easily clean out the orifices would be a must also.

Al, I'd concentrate on filtering the water so that cleaning the tubing/orifices wouldn't be required. What about some of those cloth filter bags from Pentair as a last step filter?

IIRC the best depth to pull the cleanest water out of a pond is generally 2-3 feet down - below surface plants/plankton, and above any stirred up bottom muck. I have filter assemblies suspended at this depth in both ponds, used to source water for cattle, and the pipes always seem to run clean (to the naked eye) after an initial spit of corrosion from the steel fittings at the freeze-out hydrants that supply the cattle troughs.

Theo, I kinda sorta do the same thing when moving water from pond to pond, and you're correct, the water is clearer. I'll pull the outlet hose off, run it for a minute or two, and once hooked back up, the pentair bag collects little to no algae or weeds. I'll know more after I get to his place.