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Pond Maintenance Question Paul Franklin 03-31-2007
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Posted by Paul Franklin on March 31, 2007, 1:26 pm


My new homestead has a pond. I'd guess about a quarter acre and 5-6
feet deep in the center. I'm educating myself about maintenance but
am looking for wisdom from any experienced pond owners our there.

It has a fountain aerator, and at least at the end of last year did
not appear to have any major algae issues. There were a few areas of
green glop, but most of the surface was clear. It's home to the usual
frogs, turtles, some fish, a mallard couple, and is visited by the
occasional Great Blue Heron (which is awesome!)

I'm in NE Ohio. My specific question has to do with the cattails that
line part of the bank. It appears the stalks have died off over the
winter, and I wonder if it's best to cut them off at the waterline
before the new growth sprouts up. My thinking is this will avoid
adding a bunch of organic matter to the pond that might contribute to
algae.

I'd appreciate your thoughts and any other advice on pond maintenance.

Paul Franklin
pffranklin@nospam.hotmail.com
(you know what to leave out)

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Posted by Steve B on March 31, 2007, 1:38 pm



> My new homestead has a pond. I'd guess about a quarter acre and 5-6
> feet deep in the center. I'm educating myself about maintenance but
> am looking for wisdom from any experienced pond owners our there.
>
> It has a fountain aerator, and at least at the end of last year did
> not appear to have any major algae issues. There were a few areas of
> green glop, but most of the surface was clear. It's home to the usual
> frogs, turtles, some fish, a mallard couple, and is visited by the
> occasional Great Blue Heron (which is awesome!)
>
> I'm in NE Ohio. My specific question has to do with the cattails that
> line part of the bank. It appears the stalks have died off over the
> winter, and I wonder if it's best to cut them off at the waterline
> before the new growth sprouts up. My thinking is this will avoid
> adding a bunch of organic matter to the pond that might contribute to
> algae.
>
> I'd appreciate your thoughts and any other advice on pond maintenance.
>
> Paul Franklin
> pffranklin@nospam.hotmail.com
> (you know what to leave out)

Check with local universities and agriculture department services. Many
times they have free programs to help you do just such a thing.

Steve



Posted by Oren on March 31, 2007, 4:18 pm


On Sat, 31 Mar 2007 10:38:53 -0700, "Steve B"

>
>> My new homestead has a pond. I'd guess about a quarter acre and 5-6
>> feet deep in the center. I'm educating myself about maintenance but
>> am looking for wisdom from any experienced pond owners our there.
>>
>> It has a fountain aerator, and at least at the end of last year did
>> not appear to have any major algae issues. There were a few areas of
>> green glop, but most of the surface was clear. It's home to the usual
>> frogs, turtles, some fish, a mallard couple, and is visited by the
>> occasional Great Blue Heron (which is awesome!)
>>
>> I'm in NE Ohio. My specific question has to do with the cattails that
>> line part of the bank. It appears the stalks have died off over the
>> winter, and I wonder if it's best to cut them off at the waterline
>> before the new growth sprouts up. My thinking is this will avoid
>> adding a bunch of organic matter to the pond that might contribute to
>> algae.
>>
>> I'd appreciate your thoughts and any other advice on pond maintenance.
>>
>> Paul Franklin
>> pffranklin@nospam.hotmail.com
>> (you know what to leave out)
>
>Check with local universities and agriculture department services. Many
>times they have free programs to help you do just such a thing.
>
>Steve
>

Add to this mosquito control. Communities want to reduce the bastards.
--
Oren

"equal opportunity, not equal results"

Posted by HeyBub on March 31, 2007, 3:53 pm


Paul Franklin wrote:
> My new homestead has a pond. I'd guess about a quarter acre and 5-6
> feet deep in the center. I'm educating myself about maintenance but
> am looking for wisdom from any experienced pond owners our there.
>
> It has a fountain aerator, and at least at the end of last year did
> not appear to have any major algae issues. There were a few areas of
> green glop, but most of the surface was clear. It's home to the usual
> frogs, turtles, some fish, a mallard couple, and is visited by the
> occasional Great Blue Heron (which is awesome!)
>
> I'm in NE Ohio. My specific question has to do with the cattails that
> line part of the bank. It appears the stalks have died off over the
> winter, and I wonder if it's best to cut them off at the waterline
> before the new growth sprouts up. My thinking is this will avoid
> adding a bunch of organic matter to the pond that might contribute to
> algae.
>
> I'd appreciate your thoughts and any other advice on pond maintenance.
>

Think duck shit, turtle shit, heron shit, fish shit, toad shit, and possibly
mastadon shit leaching up from below. There's plenty of organic matter.

But, we live in an information-rich society. "cattail + pruning" yields over
19,000 hits on Google.

Interestingly, you may need an environmental impact statement and a federal
inspection, license, and permission (which won't be granted) to fiddle with
a wetlands.



Posted by Jim Z on March 31, 2007, 4:52 pm


I think a pond that size should not be very hard
to manage with your aeriator and some chemical
treatment. The volume of water is small enough to
make it cost effective.

The plant you need to avoid is Eurasian milfoil which
has messed up a lot of small lakes and ponds throughout
northeast Ohio. It responds to only one chemical,
called Sonar. It costs around $2000 a gallon.

I belong to a lake community, in Rome Ohio,
and we are going to be spending big bucks to rid ourselves of this green
bastard.

Good luck


> My new homestead has a pond. I'd guess about a quarter acre and 5-6
> feet deep in the center. I'm educating myself about maintenance but
> am looking for wisdom from any experienced pond owners our there.
>
> It has a fountain aerator, and at least at the end of last year did
> not appear to have any major algae issues. There were a few areas of
> green glop, but most of the surface was clear. It's home to the usual
> frogs, turtles, some fish, a mallard couple, and is visited by the
> occasional Great Blue Heron (which is awesome!)
>
> I'm in NE Ohio. My specific question has to do with the cattails that
> line part of the bank. It appears the stalks have died off over the
> winter, and I wonder if it's best to cut them off at the waterline
> before the new growth sprouts up. My thinking is this will avoid
> adding a bunch of organic matter to the pond that might contribute to
> algae.
>
> I'd appreciate your thoughts and any other advice on pond maintenance.
>
> Paul Franklin
> pffranklin@nospam.hotmail.com
> (you know what to leave out)



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