Pond stuff....

[lee s]

Did a couple ponds this past w/e locally. One being just over a ridge and closer to the cooling effects of the fog throughout the season. This is the pond. We chose this pic, NOT for the massive size of the piscatorial specimen, nor the visual of the submerged pier creating fine structure, nor the superbly fashionable shirt, but because dark (almost black) algea can be seen in the near shore weeds.

What is it? It is the first time I remember seeing it, and we have pestered denizens at this spot for over 40 years. It seems to start as a fine algea that clings to all the aquatic weeds and structure, seeming to smother a lot of stuff. I think it is not good. This pond seemed a bit slow. Top-water was be achieved, a BIT, through tenacious unwavering persistence. (read STUBBORNESS!)
10 minutes away, over one ridge, and just a bit further from the fog effects, we hit another pond and the residents drove us pleasantly insane with their top-water antics. Admittedly, the participants of this pond were sub 10", but one usually has at least one of these scaled by the "real" targets that reside there too.
Ya think the difference is due to water temps (no...did NOT check! ) or due to detrimental effects of the aquatic "black plague"?
.....lee s.

[fish4trout]

I have no idea about alge but I was wondering if that pond is on public land as I get down that way a couple of times per year.

[Gardenfish]

a pond I fish up here is totally blanked by algae and weeds come August. We use a rake to gather some of it in buckets to put on the garden but thirty acres of algae and weeds is something else. My guess involves fertilizers from nearby grass seed fields. Betcha. What do you think?
Paul

[lee s]

Sorry, NOT public. BUT there are some of those nearby.
Yep, kinda think along the lines of fertilizers, but due to cattle useing the hills surrounding the pond. A VERY common occourance locally.
Could it be that when the ranch was active as a dairy and the pond draw-down was way below the pier, there was more "flush" in the winter. Now at a more steady level, maybe the poop just "collects"?

[anglerdave]

Lee

I think it is called algae bloom. Some of the ponds of here get it. I've noticed it normally about this time of the year. I think warmer days and cooler nights contribute to that. But I don't know if it has to do with the lakes/ponds turning over or not.

Just my 2 cents.

[meadowlark2]

Sounds like an algae bloom to me...planktonic algae and not filamentous algae. It generally is caused by excess nutrients in the water...from fertilizers or cows or whatever. The concern comes it you get too much and have a "crash" which can remove most of the DO (dissolved oxygen) from the water and result in a major fish kill. Aeration can help avoid the problem.

[Bluegill222]

Algae bloom is a distinct possibility, but on the ponds around here that tends to be a temporary thing, lasting until the prevailing weather conditions change then fading away. If it lasts the whole season, I'd start to look at chemical usage in the surrounding fields. Lack of water moving through the system could indeed cause fertilizer in any form to collect, thus making the water too fertile for its own good.

[white43]

In some extreme cases algae becomes toxic, meaning it can kill fauna that drink water containing the algae. Phosphorus is supposedly the main cause for algae among the listed nutrients. JGW

[old geezer]

I think you might want to check and see if the pond has been treated recently with a chemical or crystals to kill the algae that was in bloom. When the floating or partially submereged algae dies off you will get the blackish color. chemical will destroy crustations and will be in the ground forever. If this was the case be careful wading bear foot and with fish consumption.

my .02

Philip

Excessive "Nitrogen" and "Phosphorus" that enter our waters, is the main culprits of "Algae Bloom"!

Depending on the type of Algae, it can also be toxic to the aquatic life, and maybe even land wildlife and even humans.

"Algae Blooms happen in low water conditions, where water temperature gets to high."

Minnesota has banned "Phosphorus" from all commercial fertilizers sold for use inside the State of Minnesota. We have already seen improvement in the water system. Waters that have excessive algae blooms are monitored, and source of nitrogen and phosphorus is unidentified.

Special permit is required from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Natural Resources, to use Phosphorus. Soil Samples are required, to be analyzed before a limited permit is issued.

We are hopeful that this will solve the "Algae Blooms" from becoming yearly occurrences, clogging our public waterways.