cleaning weeds from a pond

[Michelle K linnane]

I used a tractor and chain today and old box spring and dragged it around the pond edge today, it took some weeds, but need to have some one the other side of pond to drag back and forth to get the place they are thick.

But I think it will work well already got alot of the weeds. placed the spings in the water with the forks and the drag it slow with chain.

 

[jinman]

Stop weed growth where you need to control it and let it grow in the other spots for fish. This product works extremely well where you put it and will not leach out underwater. It was recommended and sold to me by Fishman here on TBN. It's expensive, but you just apply it with a broadcast spreader and your weed problems are over.

Aquathol Super K granules

 

[Dargo]

I agree with Jinman in judiciously using chemical control methods. I've seen some disasters in the past with people just throwing out 50 pounds of copper sulfate in their pond. The weeds were gone, but so were most of their fish. All of their catfish perished.

I called a guy I know who spent a lot of time working with the Purdue Extension department specializing in wetlands. He told me that I had the dreaded hydrilla verticillata growing in my pond. Without proper chemical use he advised me that I'd never get ahead of it using mechanical means. I can't recall what he had me use, but it took 3 doses spaced a week or two apart to control my weed problem. I had to be careful to not kill it all at once and have rotting vegetation rob the pond of it's oxygen supply (his warning, not something I knew).

I'm not familiar with the chemical Jinman suggested, but I'm not familiar with many chemicals in controlling vegetation in water. I think the stuff I use when I first see growth is Cutrine Plus. CUTRINE®-PLUS FACT SHEET It too was suggested to me by the same guy. It controls the green looking pea-soup water issues I get sometimes. It's far more "stupid proof" than just using copper sulfate. You can miss on your water volume calculation by quite a bit and still not harm your fish.

I'm not suggesting Cutrine Plus over the stuff Jinman suggested. I'm just mentioning it as something that has worked for maintaining control once I had my heavy growth under control. Good luck!

 

[tugboat-2]

I was told that Tilapia fish (which are good eating) will clean the weeds out of a pond in short order. I have not as yet tried them but would rather do that than use chemicals if possible. Any thoughts?

CHEERS!
. . tug

 

[EddieWalker]

My understanding of Tilapia and Carp for weed control is that they will help with alge and a small amount of plants, but only on a limited basis. Most of the invasive pond weeds are not affected by any type of fish.

The only thing that actually works is chemicals. Get it done, get it over with and move on with enjoying your pond.

Eddie

 

[knute_m]

Michelle,

I've got quite a few years experience in managing private fish ponds. Chemicals are my very last resort.

You don't say where you are located, but grass carp are legal and available in most states. You generally need a permit to stock them, but they will keep a pond clean of most weeds. Two to four per acre will generally do the job. They are sterile and cannot breed (or overpopulate). You don't want too many, as they grow huge and live very long and happy lives. They are a lot of fun to watch when they get to torpedo size.

Tilapia will clean up muck and filamentous algae, but they don't generally do a lot for weeds. Also, they are illegal in quite a few states because they can become invasive in public waters should they escape. They have a lot of other good points, but most strains die out at about 58 degrees F.

Lastly, you might just try a few koi. They do a lot of rooting around the bottom. This does two things. It pulls up the weeds, and it adds turbidity to the water, which limits the amount of sunlight hitting the pond bottom. Less light, means less growth. If you've got bass in the pond, just make sure you get koi that are at least 10 inches long so they don't get eaten. Also, if you've got bass, they will keep the koi from over populating.

You might also want to go over and introduce yourself at the PondBoss.com website. There are a lot of really knowledgeable and helpful folks over there who know a lot about pond management.

Knute

 

[tugboat-2]

Thanks guys,...Jinman, Dargo,..and Eddie since you have much more experience with this than I, I shall likely take your advice and get it done. Besides, first, I have to figure out how to get rid of the Heron that comes by and takes all my fish "every"time I stock. Don't know how he knows, but will show up the next day "every" time.

They may be protected in these parts, ..(BUT??) I hate to do it but unless there is a better solution,...I'm forced to get rid of the problem!! How do they look on the table with the mashed potatoes and gravy? (Be the longest "drumsticks" ever, I guess?)

Actually Knute,...it was all my 10" Koi that "big-bird" got last time!!! But I'll keep you in mind once we get cleaned up here,...thanks also for the great advice above, I appreciate it.

Sorry Michelle, didn't mean to hi-jack your thread, but WELCOME ABOARD!!

CHEERS!
. . tug

 

[theboman]

Greenbo Lake State Park in Greenup County KY. Those hills were fertile and they built a 225 acre lake about 50 years ago. Weeds grew to 10-12' deep! They tossed in the grass carp and those things did more damange than good. They ate it ALL!! In the beginning it was a fine to keep any grass carp you caught, but these days they want them out of there!

 

[knute_m]

Greenbo Lake State Park in Greenup County KY. Those hills were fertile and they built a 225 acre lake about 50 years ago. Weeds grew to 10-12' deep! They tossed in the grass carp and those things did more damange than good. They ate it ALL!! In the beginning it was a fine to keep any grass carp you caught, but these days they want them out of there!

There has been more than just a little research done in the past 50 years regarding the use of grass carp. When I was growing up we bought 55 gallon drums of DDT by the truckload to spray our dairy herd each day before milking. A lot of things have changed in the last 50-60 years, especially in both dairy herd and pond management techniques. Few people today would suggest 10 to 50 grass carp per acre, as they did 50 years ago. There is also a major difference in managing a small pond of a few acres, or less, as compared to keeping weeds and algae under control in a 225 acre lake.

As for keeping herons out of the pond, there are a lot of methods for their control also, but it depends on the size of your pond, and how the edges are sculpted. For instance, on a pond of less than an acre or so, running heavy monofilament line around the perimeter of the pond, about six inches off the ground, will provide quite a bit of control. The herons have great difficulty landing in the water, and they can't step over the monofilament line. Eventually, they give up.

Just remember, if you are going to use Cutrine, or other chelated copper solution, use it only in very small areas at a time. If you try to do a quarter or more of your pond edges all at once, you will likely cause a dissolved oxygen depletion when the algae or weeds die -- killing a large number of your fish. Too much chelated copper can also poison your pond for many years to come, so use it with great care.

 

[jinman]

I believe Michelle, the original poster, may be in France. If so, all this talk by me and others of chemicals may be very limited. I just identified with his trying to drag weeds out of his pond as I have tried that in the past. My experience was exactly as his with needing an easier way to move the drag back and forth across the pond. When I bought the Aquathol K from Fishman, my control problems ended. I was able to spinkle it along the shoreline where I launch my boat and totally eliminate weeds in a channel. My neighbor uses Aquathol K to treat around his floating dock and loves it. One or two treatments a year is all that is needed. We both bought 25 lb buckets at over $500 each. If you pay that much for it, you probably will tend to underuse it rather than overuse it. At least that's my experience.

Certainly, the ability to use chemicals differs from country to country and state to state within the US.

Tug, if I could tell you how to get rid of grey herons, I'd do it. I have several that hang around the shallows of our lake and one of my ponds. I don't see them much around the one pond that has very steep banks. I suspect that's why I still have fish in that pond.