Pond Boss Forums AERATION Systems questions How Far is Too Far?

It should make sense. This is how nature operates / functions.

When using GC you should kill back or remove some of the submerged vegetation so the abundance of weeds is not overwhelming for the newly stocked young GC. ALWAYS when adding GC if is best to add them early before the weeds are at full bloom. ALSO when using GC you should give them 2-3 full years of growth before adding any more GC to see what the original stockers can do for cropping the weeds and how many weeds remain in at the end f the growing season. Usually when GC are around 8-10 years old about 1/3 to 1/2 the original number is added to keep actively growing and weed eating GC present. Old GC do not eat as many weed pounds per year as young fast growing GC.

YOU DO NOT WANT THE GC TO DENUDE THE POND. They should be just weed "trimmers" removing only a percentage of the weeds. You want around 50% of the weeds to be present at end of year so the weeds naturally compete with Duckweed and FA. Ideally some weeds should be manually removed / harvested each year to remove the sequestered nutrients. This becomes labor intensive in bigger ponds. 30%-50% weed coverage is also very good multipurpose fishery habitat.

Long term you should be planning to drain the pond,, maybe resize / rebuild it smaller and easier / cheaper to manage,,, and divert the agri-field runoff and drainage ditch so excess nutrients don't drain into the pond. As it is now, it is a swamp wanting to happen by filling in with sediment, bottom muck - sludge and heavy growths of dead nutrient laden plants.