# DuckWeed choked pond



## mcmillcd (Feb 18, 2009)

My neighbor lost his leg 5 years ago and has not been able to maintain his pond since. He seemed to disappear for a while but I had the pleasure of talking to him the other day and he told me if I could get the "algae" off the pond I could manage it however I want.
This pond is smaller only a 1/4 acre but plenty a challenge for me as I have never managed a pond before. After some time online and reading a book I found that the "algae" was actually duck weed. I went to TSC and bought some Weedtrin-D and Cutrine-plus I think the names were. Followed the instructions very carefully and sprayed half the pond with the chemicals today. I sprayed half to hopefully try and avoid any fish die off due to lack of oxygen even though I don't believe that there are currently any fish in there. I did see seemingly millions of frogs and tadpoles and a couple snappers (which it sounds like need to be killed or relocated asap). 
My question is am I doing things correctly to remove duckweed and how long do the chemicals take to have an effect? Will I wake up tomorrow and see scum disappearing? How long before I get rid of the rest of it? Is next weekend to soon? Also the bottom of the pond has about 1-2 feet of boot sucking mud on the bottom but seems to have a rock bottom after that is it possible this is the result of 5 years of EXTREME duck weed dieing and falling to the bottom? Thank you so much for all the help and time spent reading and answering questions!


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## Stauff (Mar 7, 2005)

If you find the results with your initial treatment to be unsatisfactory, look for Sonar or the new Sonar RTU. It's expensive, but the only thing that I've found that will reliably clobber duckweed.


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

It will probably require additional treatments. I think Sonar is your probably your best bet from what I've heard. This little pond sounds like it could benfit greatly from a bottom diffuser aerator too. I'd think it would be fairly inexpensive for a sufficiently sized aerator to buy and operate in such a small pond. I think I'd stock it with maybe 20 hybrid striped bass and 50 hybrid bluegills and feed pellets.


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## mcmillcd (Feb 18, 2009)

Is there a place to buy the sonar in the Cincinnati area if the chemical treatment that I used does not work? Also a bottom diffuser aerator is something that puts oxygen in the air and gets rid of silt correct? This is my neighbors pond would I have to wire this into his home? He told me I could do anything I want and that he just misses the beauty that his property used to have but I don't know if he is willing to spend a lot of money. Thanks guys


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Not sure about where to get Sonar. Fishman should know, maybe PM him. If your in Cinci...Jungle Jim's grocery has live tilapia for sale. They'll eat duckweed very well. Get about 10lbs for 1/4 acre, more if you can afford, I think they're $5 or $6 per pound. They'll die off in October but will probably be a lot cheaper than Sonar. If you're satisifed with the tilapia results, you could probably stock less next year as for maintenance. They'll eat filamentous algae too. I've posted on tilapia before see http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/community/showthread.php?t=94625&page=2 

www.cleanponds.com has their Economy 1 model with would be plenty for around $600. It has to be put in a building/enclosure and plugs into 110. I'd guess it would cost $20/mo to run. Could probably piece together something cheaper something for a couple of hundred less if you're really handy and search ebay. Aeration makes a pretty big difference. Bottom diffuser type will help digest organic muck the best, increase carrying capacity, usually reduce weeds, and are the cheapest to run.

The bottom diffuser aerators probably start a


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## Stauff (Mar 7, 2005)

I'm not aware of retail outlets in the Cincy area for Sonar - I had to go mail-order. Take a look at www.aquaticcontrol.com website. They're out of Seymour Indiana, very quick shipping and the prices were in line. As mentioned previously, Sonar is NOT cheap;
Sonar AS 8 oz. $198
Sonar RTU 1 quart $82.50
I believe you need a surfactant with the regular Sonar - not sure about the RTU.


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## mcmillcd (Feb 18, 2009)

Thank you so much for all your help guys! I think I might go and do the Tilapia if my chemical treatment doesn't work! What a great idea!


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Worst case, if they don't work you can still catch and eat the tilapia this fall. If you get them from the grocery, they will most likely be all male so I don't expect reproduction. If by luck you get a female and you start seeing lots of fry swimming around, you may want to stock a couple of bass keep their numbers low and avoid a mess come October. If in fact there are no fish in the pond, another option is to have fry delivered by mail. Tilapia will eat bottom organic matter too. They are used to clean out waste buildup in catfish ponds down south. Think about that the next time you order tilapia at a restaurant.


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## mcmillcd (Feb 18, 2009)

lol they still taste good and if they help that would be awesome!


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Are you seeing any results yet? Weedtrine is a defoiliant and results or indications of dying should be seen within hours of spraying any plant that isn't submerged.

Diquat is the active ingredient in Weedtrine, but it's extremely diluted in comparison to its bigger better brother, Reward. From my personal experiance diquat used in higher concentraions in confined small areas on duckweed is usually fairly effective. It's impossible to get it all, and if you're already facing 100% coverage diquat treatments are more than likley going to be a severe expensive up hill battle. If you didn't have algae at all, then the Cutrine was kind of unneccessary. Diquat alone will burn any plant, the copper in Cutrine just helps add insult to injury. 

My recommendation is to first find out how deep this pond is. Where does it lie in terms of it's geography... is it in a cow pasture? Are you 100% sure it's only duckweed and there isn't any watermeal? From there you decide whether or not this pond is worth the work  

If the answer is yes, you should start out with a Sonar application. You'll need to know the deepest part of the pond to find out exactly how much Sonar you'll need. I wouldn't expect it to be more than a pint at a 1/4 acre unless its deep and you also have watermeal.

At the same time, consider the installation of a bottom based aeration unit, if it's deep. If you're dealing with a 7 foot deep pond or less and really want to take on this potential challenge I'de go with an aerating surface fountain... not be to confused with those sissy aestheiticly pleasing fountains 

If you have a digital camera and can snap some photos of all the aquatic vegetation you see I can help you further. I can't stress enough how important it is to verify you don't have watermeal hiding amongst the duckweed.


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## mcmillcd (Feb 18, 2009)

PM sent thanks


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## [email protected] (Dec 22, 2006)

Fishman said:


> not be to confused with those sissy aestheiticly pleasing fountains


No doubt Fishman. One of those Kasco AF aerators would just about whip the duckweed to death! Probably a couple of hundred more and about double the operating cost but a lot easier to install..plug in and rope out to the middle. It would provide plenty of aeration for a 1/4 acre pond.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Fishman said:


> I can't stress enough how important it is to verify you don't have watermeal hiding amongst the duckweed.


From my own personal experiences I would have to say Watermeal sucks!!!


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Honestly Lundy, wait until a cyanobacteria blooms, then you really have a good time on your hands.

When ponds are shallow, I'de almost always recommend a surface aerator over a bottom based unit. If an O2 crash does occur, and they're far more likley in shallow nutrient rich ponds, the best chance for the survival of your fish is a surface aerator. I don't know how much of the Duckweed would get beat to death by a surface unit, but a Sonar applicator would still be neccessary.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

Fishman said:


> Honestly Lundy, wait until a cyanobacteria blooms, then you really have a good time on your hands.


Educate me please.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

The are a lot of cyanobacteria, most salt water, but some fresh water varities exsist. If you're familiar with microcystis (looks like a bunch of plankton you'de normally see dispursed in the water column only packed together on the surface or on a wind blown shore) It looks that, only red. When it photosynthesises (a plant like property this bacteria interestingly has) it turns anywhere from redish brown to full on ketchup red floating on the surface. 

Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Its been a couple days since you've sprayed, how's it looking?


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## mcmillcd (Feb 18, 2009)

It is looking great the dead duckweed has sunk or is sinking to the bottom I will probably apply to the second half this weekend.


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## Fishman (Apr 5, 2004)

Awsome! Keep us updated how this goes.


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