Summertime Fish Kills And How To Avoid Them

As a pond algae specialist (we all have to grow up to be something right?:) I make a point to keep tabs on the various happenings around the U.S. on algae and came across this article on a recent fish kill in a community pond.

This is just one incident that got publicized somewhat, where many others simply go unreported, but let’s just say that mid-summer fish kills aren’t all that uncommon.

High temperatures are largely to blame because once you see air temps getting into the high 80’s and beyond, it’s a fairly good bet that in some ponds the water temperature will be near or above 78 degrees and that’s kind of a magic number. Higher than this and the water’s ability to hold on to dissolved oxygen will begin to drop and DO is critical to fish health.

Read more

Toxic Algae In Farm Pond Kills Cattle In Georgia

Compared to how common algae blooms are across the country in the summer months, you don’t hear about the potential hazards of algae all that much. But a recent article in Beef Magazine caught my eye because it involved the death of four cows that were killed from contact or most likely ingestion with a toxic form of algae.

Before we delve into this topic I want to stress that this is not something to panic over or get crazy worried about. Toxic algae is nothing new. It’s been a part of our world since, well the beginning or pretty close to it. The vast majority of algae will never develop toxicity or cause this kind of problem however it’s important to note that the risk exists and what you can do about the algae if it shows up.

In the article you’ll see that a few specific things were talked about. Blue green algae and cyanobacteria were mentioned and specifically a species called microsystis was highlighted. What’s interesting to note is that in many of our algae tests and samplings sent to us from around the country, microsystis is probably the most common algae that’s found in nearly every pond or lake. So obviously it doesn’t always produce toxins, and researchers still don’t know why it starts to in particular cases. Ultimately the only sure fire way to deduce that toxicity is present is to test for it after it’s created.

It’s likely, that in most cases, it’s also a matter of density. When populations of this blue green algae are high and abundant, the chances of toxin production are likely to increase. What you’ll see in the water may vary from a green or brown tint turning into a much thicker, paint like appearance to floating slicks or masses. Colors may also vary from green and brown to red and blue.

Read more

What Is A Pond Flocculent?

It’s a fancy sounding word that a lot of pond owners may never have heard of, but it can do a lot for your water garden.

A floccu-what they may ask?

Flocculent. Look it up in any dictionary and you’ll get a variety of definitions.

The main one we’re concerned with though is the definition “to flock” or group together.

Flocculents create a chemical, and I use this term loosely because chemistry can involve organic substances too, but they create a chemical reaction that binds or groups various things together. Where this applies to ponds is in regards to floating elements like particulates that can lead to murky or cloudy water.

Green water, which we’ve talked about a lot before(namely here), is made up of many single cell algae, and these can be flocked together as well. But why would you want to do that?

Read more

Aquatic Weeds And Algae – What To Treat First

In large ponds there are times when if it weren’t for bad luck, you’d have no luck at all. What I mean is that while pond weeds or pond algae aren’t all that uncommon during the summer, it’s bad enough if you have one of them, let alone both, or in the case of aquatic weeds, several different varieties.

Interestingly and often enough, when you have a big old algae bloom, it may choke off everything else and not allow other plants to grow. The same might be said of things like duckweed. When a pond owner treats the duckweed and clears it, lo and behold, an algae bloom crops up. Such is life I guess. Seriously though, the reason one plant simply took the place of the other is that you really didn’t address the reason the plants are growing so well in the first place. If nutrients are abundant, things will likely grow.

For the scope of this article however I want to talk about what you can do if you find several different plants sprouting up in your pond. In my opinion, it’s important to go at the problem in a logical fashion rather than just trying to kill everything in one atomic blast of chemicals. Namely because the latter approach usually doesn’t work well.

Read more

How To Tell If Your Beneficial Pond Bacteria Is Depleted

Beneficial bacteria for ponds is impossible to see with the naked eye. These little good bugs do a lot to help keep a pond cleaner and clearer, and we owe a lot of thanks to Mother Nature for giving us the head’s up on just what these microbes can do.

In ponds that are naturally clear, it’s a pretty good bet that good bacteria is playing it’s part in the equation. Without it, the pond bottom will accumulate stuff to the point where you’ll end up with a lot of muck or sludge, and water quality problems, like algae, will start to develop out.

But beyond the obvious issues that come from poor bacterial performance, we often get the question…”How can I tell if my pond bacteria is depleted?” It’s a good one to ask, but a bit tougher to answer, but I’ll try to do justice to the question below. Namely, I want to discuss how pond bacteria can be damaged, diminished, or wiped out due to some simple pond management mistakes.

In all man-made ponds and particularly those you’ll find in the backyard, it’s long been suggested to add some beneficial bacteria to the water once a pond is started up. This goes for new installations and for upstart ponds that are coming off a long winter season of little to no activity.

Read more

Running A Marathon With A Bag Over Your Head

Can I be honest. I’m not a fan of running in the first place.

Yes, it’s true that if something bigger and meaner than me is in pursuit, I’ll run fairly quick, but that’s about it.

Needless to say I’m not into marathons either. For those of you that are, I applaud your efforts because anyone can certainly understand that running 26 miles, all in one attempt, takes true endurance and stamina, oh and a bit of determination too.

Now just for the sake of discussion, how do you think you would perform with a plastic bag over your head?

If it’s sealed reasonably well at the bottom, and has no leaks (or as I call them, cheater holes) my best bet is you won’t get very far at all. Try as you might, you’ll probably drop in the first 1/4 mile and if you don’t, you’ll certainly be struggling along as if you were dragging an elephant by the tail. Suffice it to say, you won’t finish. But YOU might be finished when all is said and done.

Read more