Help with pond.

[returningliberty]

Pump it out then. Burn it and spray


ΜΟΡΟΝ ΛΑΒΙΑ

Do you have any advice for clearing silty pond water? Small pond, 50x30x8 (100,000gal or so? Haven't done the math)

Has Lots of fish already, but nothing has seemed to clear up the water.

 

[oppsImissed]

Why not just host a BBQ and have your friend help you clean it out. It worked just fine for mine.

 

[mcinfantry]

Do you have any advice for clearing silty pond water? Small pond, 50x30x8 (100,000gal or so? Haven't done the math)

Has Lots of fish already, but nothing has seemed to clear up the water.

if its not clear you have to have something agitating or draining into it to make it silty. the dirt settles in still water, if its algae bloom then you need to aerate it. but all ponds SHOULD bloom because thats what feeds the frye. my aunt and uncles will bloom once to twice a year.

 

[returningliberty]

if its not clear you have to have something agitating or draining into it to make it silty. the dirt settles in still water, if its algae bloom then you need to aerate it. but all ponds SHOULD bloom because thats what feeds the frye. my aunt and uncles will bloom once to twice a year.

It's mud bottomed, when I put a sample in a jar it did not settle to the bottom over a couple of days. Online it says I have a colloidal clay problem.
Suggested fixes were aeration And aluminum sulfate to make the clay lump up and settle. I have no idea where to buy the chemicals.

1/4 acre 6' average depth. It was stocked with catfish, perch, and bass 2 years ago. I thought it was a little small for bass but the fish seem to be doing well in there. The local herein is Definitely not going hungry.

I'm afraid treating it will kill the fish, but I don't have any experience with ponds.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Update 7/8/13:

Yesterday at around 1000hrs got some concentrated round up and a sprayer. Bottle said it was good for 10 gal measured out, but I only got 6.5 out of it going by their instructions. Oh well must have been stronger, and that's just fine. Sprayed it on thick all the way around the pond on the perimeter, and on the tops of the plants exposed in the water. 95% of what was on the banks died in the past 21 hours minus some of the stronger plants, but only like 20% of what was in the water died. Just sprayed everything with the remainder of the round up that was exposed, and will see what happens tomorrow.

Before spraying:

After:

 

[mcinfantry]

it takes a couple days to set depending on vegetaion and other things. give it about three days and then get mad. LOL

 

[Bayoupiper]

That pond looks like its in a vegetative state.

I'd wait a couple of days and see how it goes.



.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Not getting mad. Wasn't really expecting anything to happen with the stuff in the water. Biggest thing I'm hoping for is the stuff on the banks to wither up and drop all the water weight so I can actually pack it all out in trash bags.

Didn't get a good look cuz when I was spraying this morning (shorts, t-shirt, flip flops) a 2-3ft moccasin came up about 6inches from my feet. Dropped the sprayer and ran.

God I hate snakes.


Not sure what "state" it's in, but il be monitoring and photographing it over the next few days/weeks. This thread has gotten more attention than I originally thought, so I'll be updating this thread with all that goes on for those interested in seeing.

 

[03protege]

Sounds like you need to buy yourself a honey badger.

 

[zbaw]

If your poisoning doesn't work, you could always buy a few grass carp to throw in there. They would take care of that grass in no time and you would avoid the oxygen problem from the grass breakdown. The ones you buy for weed control are sterile, so they don't spawn. They won't eat your other fish either. Plus, you can eat them as well. They are used a lot on golf courses in the ponds.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Thanks. I'll look into that.

 

[Paintball]

buy a few grass carp to throw in there. They would take care of that grass in no time and you would avoid the oxygen problem from the grass breakdown. The ones you buy for weed control are sterile, so they don't spawn. They won't eat your other fish either. Plus, you can eat them as well. They are used a lot on golf courses in the ponds.

Good advice zbaw.

Have you measured the depth of your pond? I ask because once dug and filled the banks will settle in and make the pond shallower. Shallow ponds allow light to reach bottom and grass to grow. Shallow ponds get hot faster and produce more algae. From the photos you have posted the pond looks to be shallow due to the abundance of vegetation and more than likely oxygen deprived. Aerators/agitators will help cool the pond but not stop vegetation growth. If you dredge it out be sure to leave a shallow area for your fish to spawn. One other thing about catfish. If you feed them pellets you will have a hard time catching them on the end of a line. Friend of mine has this problem. Fished for hours with no bite, throws in fish food and the water boiled up with catfish gulping down pellets.

Best of luck.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

It's 7-8 ft deep.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Update: 7/15/13

Picked up two of these:

Chopped the head off of one of em, and mounted onto an 8ft - 16ft extendable pool cleaning pole. And went to work.
After around 5.5 - 6 hours in the rain I got this stacked about 2ft high half way around the pond:

Was able to dig out the fountain head and get the filters cleared out:

And got out 90% of the vegetation on the surface out of the pond and onto the bank. Still several feet of dead leaves/plants on the bottom, but progress is being made as I got all the big stuff out.

 

[LACamper]

a little late but...

My parents used to live on a waterway. The HOA insisted they not use roundup, and to use vinegar instead. They were skeptical at first but it worked great.

 

[king4456]

Small weave fish nets will get the duck weed out but it will come back in a matter of weeks been there done that. A company comes out and treats our pond now. Both ponds run 1800 per year to keep vegetation free. They are drainage ponds for the neighborhood and without them draining due to vegetation our subdivision could flood.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Yea. Ima keep maintaining it with pool skimmer for the duck weed after the initial clearing. Fortunately it's not much larger than a large pool.

 

[I_FLY_LOW]

It's looking good!

 

[AustinBR]

Looks a lot better. We have a small pond at our house and every year the lilly pads grow and cover the whole thing. After they die it stinks like a mofo. We now get a shovel and clean it out and put in some white powder that makes everything settle to the bottom.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Haven't seen any Lilly pads, but that tall fat leafed swamp grass looking stuff is trying to grow back in a mean way