Pond weed management

[LD1]

Just wondering what everyone is using to AFFORDABLY control weeds in your pond

My pond is ~0.8 acres and ~5' average depth. About 1.35 million gallons....or about 4 acre/ft of water.

Most of the stuff is stupid expensive. Like anything with the active ingredient Fluridone....(trade name sonar). I would need about a quart of the stuff.....at $500

Endothall (aquatholl trade name) is another. Granular or liquid form would be $1000 at the dosage levels I need.

Diquat Dibromide (37%) I would need ~2 gallons of....and at $200 is more reasonable.

Triclopyr as labeled for aquatic uses the strongest I can find is 44%. Would take 6 gallons at ~$100/gallon. But labeled for general AG usage ir can be had in 61%, which would only require 4 gallons.....and about $250.

There is also 24d granuals but would require ALOT to treat the area. Like $1000 worth yet again.

The different versions of copper complexes and copper sulfate seem the cheapest, but an reading mixed reviews on how effective they are on weeds, as their primary target is algae, which I have very little of.

Pond has little to no outflow, and is not used for irrigation or human swimming. However the dogs swim and drink. So I want an affordable solution to my problem that is gonna be safe for the dogs.

The three weeds as best I can identify are coontail (about 60% of the weeds), Milfoil (20%) and curly-leaf pond weed (20%).

Any advise or suggestions from THIS forum. I dont want to join pondboss or any other forum.

 

[LD1]

Oh. And I put in a dozed 10-12" grass carp 3 years ago. They have gotten big and fat...probably 26-28" long now, but haven't made a dent in the weeds

 

[Diggin It]

Fish was going to be my suggestion, but .....

Do you ave any kind of boat/skiff that could drag a rake?

 

[LD1]

Fish was going to be my suggestion, but .....

Do you ave any kind of boat/skiff that could drag a rake?

I have tried mechanical removal before. Weeds just come right back and its labor intensive and makes a mess.

$50 buys enough chemical that I could turn my entire 8 acres brown if I wanted.

Just want something similar and affordable for a small 0.8 acre pond.

 

[rekees4300]

Oh. And I put in a dozed 10-12" grass carp 3 years ago. They have gotten big and fat...probably 26-28" long now, but haven't made a dent in the weeds

Mystery why you still have weeds. :confused3: 2014 I put 1 dozen Grass Carp in my 1 acre pond covered with Pondweed and Cattails. Now ALL the weeds are gone.

Grass Carp for Weed Control | Missouri Department of Conservation

 

[Newtocvt]

Aquacide

 

[oosik]

I'm, likewise, surprised at the poor showing of the grass carp. Fish & Game introduced grass carp into a lake about 25 miles south of me. It's a typical lake for here in the Scabrock lands. Long, narrow and VERY deep. It's seven plus miles long - a mile wide - 375 feet deep. Rock Lake is the biggest lake in Ea WA.

Anyhow - it didn't take long and the carp have cleaned up all the pond weeds and standing weeds in this lake. You are not allowed to fish for them and if caught you must release.

I've seen these carp - all of three feet long. And they make a holly mess of the shoreline as they dig & root there. I don't know that they so much eat the pond weeds - I think their continual digging and rooting dislodges the weeds and they simply die.

 

[LD1]

Aquacide

I already mentioned that wasn't affordable, therefore not practical. I'm NOT spending over $1000 on chemical

 

[LD1]

I too am disappointed in the carp performance. I do see them eating from time to time. Usually 2 or 3 at any given time I can see just by walking around the pond.

I assume all 12 are still active. But who knows....maybe all but 3-4 died?

 

[Liquidsilver]

Sorry I can't help. Grass carp ARE doing the job on my weeds in my 10-acre lake, but they are NOT working on the silver-dollar lilly pads I have all over the lake. At least Glyphosate/Roundup should work on those, I just have to get a trolling boat out there and surface spray the whole lake.

I wonder if a surface spray of glyphosate would help with your below surface weeks? I had giant lilly pads in a small pond and glyphosate shrivels 'em up like the wicked witch of the west. (very satisfying)

 

[3gunr]

I have a 4 acre lake and had a dozen grass carp also , they did great for yrs but are all gone now . This yr the rains have kept the lake so high and muddy it looks bad. I also know have a beaver damming up my overflow pipe and cutting trees along the bank. guess ill have to go huntin the beave.

 

[Alan W.]

I was told that the grass carp slow down on consumption when they reach maturity.
Weeds were so thick in mine I believe you couldve walked across on them.
I placed 6 juvenile grass carp in the pond and most weeds were gone the first year and totally gone the second. They were also working on my wife's beloved water lilies. All but one have died or were eaten by the river otters.

 

[Diggin It]

So, more fish? New fish?

 

[murphy1244]

Have you ever contacted Jones Fish? This fish is a herbivore Tilapia – Jones Fish Hatcheries & Dist., Inc.

 

[the old grind]

"Although grass carp will probably not reduce mature stands of aquatic flora, they may eat the new sprouts and prevent further expansion by these plants." (MO Dept of Conservation)

I have about 4 ac and an avg depth of ~6' or less (<1/4 ac >8' deep). We are not allowed to purchase or stock grass carp in MI except under a host of conditions. My pond is self-contained, man-made, entirely on my property, and more that 1000' from the nearest natural 'creek/drain', but the only way I could stock GC is with a special permit and cooperation of an institution that is studying them in situ. :irked:

Most of the better herbicides will be hard on other aquatic life. Glypho is by far the most 'safe' but quickly breaks down when in contact with soil or water. It is the standard for early fall spraying of common reed grass (Phragmites Australis) but it would be ineffective below the surface. :2cents:

Windmill. :confused3:

 

[LD1]

Have you ever contacted Jones Fish? This fish is a herbivore Tilapia – Jones Fish Hatcheries & Dist., Inc.

Going to call them this morning.

I called a company that specializes in farm field spraying, good folks and always helpful and just right down the road from me. Wanted to hear their opinion.

They do tilapia in their farm ponds. But the cold kills them off every year if you dont plan on catching and eating them. So for me that would be a waste. The suggested jones too

 

[the old grind]

'Creeping fertility' is inevitable. Leaf litter composts and exacerbates it. Weeds generates O2, which seems to be a good thing, and seek CO2 while making it. Problems with weeds compound when they inhibit circulation, which works on many levels to enrich and thus cloud the waters.

Fountains in small ponds and windmill 'aerators'/circulators for larger ones are IMO the best 'passive' tools to clear our waters. (why there are often fountains in retention ponds for multi-family housing). I helped put up a 16' four-leg (metal) windmill all of 15 years ago on a barely 1 ac pond. It's been 'tilted down' for service twice that I know of since then. Once for a squeak and a 'checkup' and once for an ice-up that caused no harm. It has fulfilled every promise it was expected to.

A dealer told me I need nine emitters and 2x $4k pump system(s) with $60/mo total electric bill, based on Google Map plotting and digital analysis of my 'puddle' (~4 ac). He said my idea of trying just one windmill alone would give results worse than doing nothing. btw, the 'nothing' I did was any biz with him. I'm just dragging my feet here, hope to switch between three or four air-stones off of one mill from day to day.

 

[Gem99ultra]

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Oh. And I put in a dozed 10-12" grass carp 3 years ago. They have gotten big and fat...probably 26-28" long now, but haven't made a dent in the weeds

Same here. I added 10 grass carp 3 years ago. All are gone except for 2, which have grown to about 3'. Those adults eat very little grass, if any. So I've added another 10 - 8 incher's this year. If they're eating anything at all, I sure can't tell it.

I've also added an aerator to one of the 3/4 acre ponds. What a great improvement! Fish are getting larger, grass and weeds almost non-existent. Water appears cleaner. Aerator might be something the OP would consider.

 

[LD1]

I called Jones fish. Diquat dibromide is what they recommend. Which is syngenta reward trade name. So I ordered some.

Triclopyr is hard on the fish they said.

They said of the three weeds I have, the curly leaf pond weed is all they like. So explains why carp aren't working.

Don't want a fountain or aerator. Just more maintenance, and I like the pond to freeze over solid in the winter so we can get on it. Rather than have a hole, or thin spot left from an aerator.

Due to power consumption, and logistics of putting in a fountain or aerator, the ONLY thing I would even remotely consider is a windmill aerator, and would disable it in the winter. But those are $$$$.

If I can get by with $150 worth of low-maintenance chemical each year, that's money well spent if it works.

 

[murphy1244]

Well did it work for you?