Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants Barley Methods

Glad to see that you are proactive enough to have an aeration system.

I have used the barley straw in the past and in my experimentation, it needed to be broken out of the bails, placed loosely in mesh bags like laundry bags and staked along the pond's edge.

The straw does not do anything until it begins to rot. During that rotting process, an enzyme is produced and that enzyme is what takes care of the algae.

If you were to place the straw over the boils of the aeration system, there would not be enough air contact to allow the enzyme to begin to be produced.

In my testing, it took about 2-3 months before it started to work and the customer ended up not liking the look of the straw around the edge with algae growing on it. So I had to end my test prior to receiving any good or bad results.

Let me know by the end of the season how your straw experiment turns out.

Greg Grimes with Aquatic Envirnomental Services should be able to get your tilapia for you. His number is 770-735-3523 and email: lakeservices@mindspring.com.

Good luck!