# Dyes?



## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Any of you ever used any of the dyes to help control weed growth?

I was given a bottle of blue dye and told to use it after I get my aeration system up and running to help control algae growth.

Thanks


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Can't help you on your question but do you know what the dye is? Methylene blue?


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## PapawSmith (Feb 13, 2007)

Dyes work great on both weed control and tempature management. They greatly limit sun penetration past shallow water depths.Be careful what brand you use, there are several, some are not as safe as others. I used to purchase mine from a fish hatchery. It was the same brand that they used for the trout tanks to regulate water temps, trout water must be kept cool. The chems that hatchery's use are highly regulated by both the EPA and FDA. These dyes are safe for the fish, swimmers, and fish consumers.
Thats what I would recommend.


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## JIMS SVT (Aug 19, 2004)

I just put some in our pond on monday.Theres two kinds.Ones a liquid ,the others in a powerd form in a bag that disenigrates.Thats the one I used.Got it from Jones fish farm.Water looks great.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

I have used it but I don't now. The better stuff for algae control has yellow dye in addition to the blue dye to block light wavelengths important for plant growth. I think there is only 1 brand EPA labeled for plant control, the others are just colorants. The way I see it, there are ups and downs. 

Ups: Turns the water a pretty color (if you like blue water), reduces _some_ varieties of weed growth, helps shade the bottom which may be a little more important in a pond cold water species or with heavy algaecide treatments or infertile water since there isn't as dense of a layer of planktonic algae blocking the suns rays near the surface.

Downs: Turns the an unnatural color (but green and black are also available), it's expensive (around $40/gal) and needs replaced periodically, It possibly promotes water weeds that like shade, It's not effective in water less than 2' deep, It reduces planktonic algae by blocking sunlight which you want for oxygen production and the base of the food chain.

I never noticed any reduction in weed growth but my wife liked the color. I can't prove it but it sure seemed like it made it harder to catch fish...maybe it was harder for fish to see the bait. A healthy planktonic algae bloom will reduce visablity to around 16" and reduce sun pentration. I like the natural green color and it's better for the fish (I don't have trout).


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## swantucky (Dec 21, 2004)

As stated there are some negatives to the dye, lower water temps and unnatural color. I have had good luck with the dyes helping to control the maority of the filimant type alge and bottom growing weeds. Dye nor herbicides are a cure all, you need to try and reduce your nutrient load. I rake as many leaves and other debris out as I can in early summer after the fish have spawned. I have after 10 years am finally making pretty good headway, the previous owners just dumped tons of copper sulfate in and called it good.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Short answer, don't dye it if ya can help it. The plankton blooms you get will help keep the vegetation from growing as well.

I highly recommend a weekend retreat to your island if you want to see some blue water  

In all honesty this is my experiance with it however:


I, for the most part, in my line of work use True-Blue to dye ponds/lakes when a customer request dye. I think it's pretty safe to say, in most of the ponds that I dye, there is hardly ever any vegetation that gets out of control and if something does pop up it's usually just filamentous algaes. As someone above mentioned though, there are some shade loving plants. 

I've really only seen this once or twice, situations where all the dye get's washed out from a big rain, and lying beneath the surface is a mess of weeds of biblical proportions. That's honestly the exception though and not the rule. If your primary focus of the pond is asthetics I say dye it, unless you enjoy the natural green tint (which I personally like  ) if the pond is for fishing, let the plankton grow


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