Pond algae

[jgibson]

We have a pond in pasture that has developed an algae problem. Any recommendations for livestock safe cures.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Have you got a source of electricity nearby? If so, you could try an aerator. We used to use them where I used to work, they worked decently.

 

[sstterry]

We have a pond in pasture that has developed an algae problem. Any recommendations for livestock safe cures.

Pond Dye. It will kill the algae within a few weeks and is not a chemical. Copper Sulfate also works but the Dye is more natural and kills it without harming cattle or fish (think food coloring).

FYI algae grows from the bottom and the dye cuts off the sunlight it needs to survive.

 

[LocustDaleCattleCompany]

We have a pond in pasture that has developed an algae problem. Any recommendations for livestock safe cures.

Pond Dye. It will kill the algae within a few weeks and is not a chemical. Copper Sulfate also works but the Dye is more natural and kills it without harming cattle or fish (think food coloring).

FYI algae grows from the bottom and the dye cuts off the sunlight it needs to survive.

We've used copper sulfate in the past with great success.

 

[Texasmark]

Lots of cures for pond problems.....dig deep to pay for them. I know. I spent around $1600 for 2 ea 25# buckets of Coon Tail Moss and other baddies pelletized remedy.....geez, I still can't believe I did that....must have been really desperate. One cure is keep field fertilizers out of the water. Wink! Now let's have super pastures and implement that one. Daaaaaaa. I started using "Blue Bayou" dye this year. Super stuff, easily obtainable, and price is affordable.

One thing to remember this time of year, for those of us in a drought, is that the pond levels are low and things look much worse than they really are. I'm down over 2'. Things not looking good for fish survival this year.

Other thing is I have killed, in several years, over 150 bass, some "Hogs" (I counted and smelled them) and 5+# Channel cats trying to control my pond weeds. Not over that yet.

Good luck.

 

[hurleyjd]

Wheat and barley straw being used for algae controls several university studies on this method and here is one.


https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1171/

 

[Supa Dexta]

Yep barley straw. Gold fish and ducks also help

 

[sstterry]

Lots of cures for pond problems.....dig deep to pay for them. I know. I spent around $1600 for 2 ea 25# buckets of Coon Tail Moss and other baddies pelletized remedy.....geez, I still can't believe I did that....must have been really desperate. One cure is keep field fertilizers out of the water. Wink! Now let's have super pastures and implement that one. Daaaaaaa. I started using "Blue Bayou" dye this year. Super stuff, easily obtainable, and price is affordable.

One thing to remember this time of year, for those of us in a drought, is that the pond levels are low and things look much worse than they really are. I'm down over 2'. Things not looking good for fish survival this year.

Other thing is I have killed, in several years, over 150 bass, some "Hogs" (I counted and smelled them) and 5+# Channel cats trying to control my pond weeds. Not over that yet.

Good luck.

Can I fish in your pond?

 

[TCRanch]

We had blue green algae in our watershed lake a little over a month ago and got a quote from PondScript for the dye:
Blue Seasonal, MAP price $45.99, Sunlight Seasonal Colorant (4x) $15,636.60
Black Seasonal, MAP price $49.99, Sunlight Seasonal Colorant (4x) $16,996.60
Blue & Bio Pond Cleaner, Seasonal Prevention (4x) $31,273.20 or Sunlight & Nutrient Management (6x) $46,909.80
Black & Bio Pond Cleaner, Seasonal Prevention (4x) $32,633.20 or Sunlight & Nutrient Management (6x) $48,949.80

It's a 60 acre watershed but the quote was only for 43 acres (what we own), I have no clue why. Doesn't matter, though, because no way were we paying that much so we ended up having a fence built with 2 gates so we can completely shut off access to the lake. It's a primary source of water for the cattle but they have a pond, creeks & a fountain at the barn until the algae clears (or moves to the north/neighbors side of the lake).

 

[greybeard]

How many gallons per ac/ft of the blue stuff do you need?
Does the Blue Bayou work just as well as any other blue treatment?

 

[JMJ Farms]

IT IS NOT LABELED FOR AQUATIC USE, but, 1 qt diuron per surface acre of water will get rid of the vast majority of pond weed problems.

 

[sstterry]

IT IS NOT LABELED FOR AQUATIC USE, but, 1 qt diuron per surface acre of water will get rid of the vast majority of pond weed problems.

I would be careful with that Michael.

H302 (100%): Harmful if swallowed [Warning Acute toxicity, oral]
H351 (100%): Suspected of causing cancer [Warning Carcinogenicity]
H373 (99.81%): Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure [Warning Specific target organ toxicity, repeated exposure]
H400 (97.5%): Very toxic to aquatic life [Warning Hazardous to the aquatic environment, acute hazard]
H410 (100%): Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects [Warning Hazardous to the aquatic environment, long-term hazard]

 

[sstterry]

How many gallons per ac/ft of the blue stuff do you need?
Does the Blue Bayou work just as well as any other blue treatment?

Here is what I used this year:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pond-Logic...057.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xpond+dye.TRS0

Two packs for $28 treats up to 1 surface acre pond, 4-6 ft avg depth. I used the packs this year because the liquid stuff will stain teribly even from the droplets that splash back. Harmless, but annoying.

 

[greybeard]

How many gallons per ac/ft of the blue stuff do you need?
Does the Blue Bayou work just as well as any other blue treatment?

Here is what I used this year:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pond-Logic...057.m570.l1313.TR11.TRC1.A0.H0.Xpond+dye.TRS0

Two packs for $28 treats up to 1 surface acre pond, 4-6 ft avg depth. I used the packs this year because the liquid stuff will stain teribly even from the droplets that splash back. Harmless, but annoying.

Thanks.
Cheap enough!
(I know all about the liquid blue bayou stuff's stains. I've used it to color my herbicide mix..it just about has to wear off)

 

[JMJ Farms]

IT IS NOT LABELED FOR AQUATIC USE, but, 1 qt diuron per surface acre of water will get rid of the vast majority of pond weed problems.

I would be careful with that Michael.

H302 (100%): Harmful if swallowed [Warning Acute toxicity, oral]
H351 (100%): Suspected of causing cancer [Warning Carcinogenicity]
H373 (99.81%): Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure [Warning Specific target organ toxicity, repeated exposure]
H400 (97.5%): Very toxic to aquatic life [Warning Hazardous to the aquatic environment, acute hazard]
H410 (100%): Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects [Warning Hazardous to the aquatic environment, long-term hazard]

I don’t use Diuron. Don’t have any problems in any of my ponds. Not yet anyway. However I do know people that do use it. And it does work. And I’ve never known of any fish kills. I suspect a lot of this crap we use may increase our risk of cancers. I guess I should have stayed in my original post that I don’t necessarily condone off label usage of herbicides but I didn’t. However I would be lying if I said that I’ve never used a herbicide in such a way to be off label. But I have :hide:

 

[greybeard]

IT IS NOT LABELED FOR AQUATIC USE, but, 1 qt diuron per surface acre of water will get rid of the vast majority of pond weed problems.

There have been several threads about Karmex/diuron over at PondBoss website and most strongly advise against the stuff.

I know there's a big difference between surface area and ac/ft, but that seems like an awful lot of chmical mix to use. When EPA gives a variance to use it on catfish ponds, the instructions are:

According to the EPA, the diuron products may be applied on commercial levee-contained catfish ponds by pouring a pre-mixed slurry from a bucket directly into the pond on the outflow side of the operating aerator. The approved application rate is 0.5 ounce of product, or 0.4 ounce active ingredient, per acre-foot, every seven days, not to exceed nine applications per year.
https://www.deltafarmpress.com/epa-appr ... fish-ponds

 

[True Grit Farms]

Trying to be politically correct stinks and cost money. I like using what works for the job I'm doing. We have crabgrass problems in a hayfield so I asked the grass professional at UGA what to uses. He told me his recommendation and I told him what was recommended to me to use by a sod farm. Dr Hancock said what I was told will work better but it's off label for hayfields. Crazy stuff if you ask me.

 

[Logar]

Hope you do not mind but I posted this a while back and simply copied it over to provide some potential solutions for you:
___________________________________________________
For many years our house only had water from a very large dugout/pond that filled with spring run off - we also watered cattle from the same water source - this is how we did it.....................

Fence the pond.

Buy a wind mill with a pump to aerate the pond. Or if you do not have enough wind, use a solar air pump. Put that hose in to the pond and let it lay on the bottom. That will improve the water quality over time and clear up the water. If it is a large pond you might consider using more than one aerator.

Put an additional line in the pond - suspend the end (intake) do not lay it on the bottom to prevent mud from being sucked in - you can use a couple of big plastic bottles as floats - use this as the intake to the water troughs that your cattle will use. Pump the water to the troughs. We used wind mills as we had enough wind to do the job but again, you can use solar or something similar.

Provide a gravity flow return line to the pond from the troughs so the trough does not overflow and create a mud bog around the troughs.

It is simple and it works. We did this for more than 30 years. I was by the old home place a while back and the new owners are still using the same system.

My best.

 

[sstterry]

I suspect a lot of this crap we use may increase our risk of cancers.

My father who taught Physics, Chemistry, Shop, and Agriculture over his career repeatedly told me he was surprised that my sister and I did not have birth defects because of all of the chemicals he handled over the years, not knowing the dangers. Also, I can remember having access to the school Chemistry Lab when I was very small and him getting out a bottle of mercury and telling us to put in in our hands to shine dimes with it! God only knows how I have lived this long!

 

[True Grit Farms]

I suspect a lot of this crap we use may increase our risk of cancers.

My father who taught Physics, Chemistry, Shop, and Agriculture over his career repeatedly told me he was surprised that my sister and I did not have birth defects because of all of the chemicals he handled over the years, not knowing the dangers. Also, I can remember having access to the school Chemistry Lab when I was very small and him getting out a bottle of mercury and telling us to put in in our hands to shine dimes with it! God only knows how I have lived this long!

You and your sister are living proof that the left is looney. Scare tactics work on the weak and meek, excellent money grab.