ryguyfi wrote:
how do you solve the duck weed problem FD? There's a local pond that just opened to the public due to some people donating it upon their death and it has a pretty bad duck weed problem. Will an aerator or fountain do the trick?
I'm going to find out next year.
There are chemicals that I could use, but they cost half the price of an aerator f fountain and I don't like adding chemicals to the pond, so right now the duck weed problem is not solved.
Had very little when I first moved here and the pond was only a few years old, and it was confined to the cattails. Started having a problem with filamentous algae. Apparently the previous owner used copper sulfate. I used it first year, but eventually decided to stop. Switched to Cutrine Plus (TM) and it did kill the algae and has less of an effect on invertebrates and small fish. Lower copper content. Not cheap though.
Then I stocked channel cats, and no longer needed to treat for that F algae. For some reason, adding the cats solved that problem. When I would pick up a wad of that stuff, I could see tiny fresh water shrimp all through it. My bet is the catfish were eating thee algae for the shrimp. Whatever. Things were good. But then, there was still the cattails and they were spreading.
Along came the muskrats. They nearly wiped out the cattails, and then I wiped out the muskrats. Things were looking better in the pond.
Then came a hot summer with an oddball algea. When it died, it killed off all my catfish. Now that sucked. Hauled a whole bunch of them to the woods. they were big enough that their tails stuck out of the 5 gallon pales. I measured a couple of them at 27".
Catails came back.
Filamentous algae came back.
Muskrats came back.
I left muskrats alone until they wiped out the cattails.
Allowed a neighbor to trap muskrats last winter.
Muskrats gone.
Catails still gone (with a minor exception which I will kill this week.
Used some Aquashade (TM) this spring to help control the filimentous algae. Definitely helped.
Muskrats also nearly wiped out all the water lillies much to my wife's chagrin, but they are coming back. Just no blooms this year.
Pond seems to be healthy this year with the exception of the duck weed which is worse than I have seen on my pond. But I doubt it hurts the fish. Provides shade and might be controlling the F algae.. Completely covered until the last couple rains which washed some out.
Next year I think I will add a fountain and some catfish from proceeds of selling a brown calf.;-)
Yea, I know that an aerator is better for the fish, but wife would rather see a fountain and they don't cost all that much more. Gotta run electric down there either way.