Topic: Chemical blanket weed control

[dibberxxx]

could anyone advise me, i have had a pond for about 4 years now and the blanket weed seems to be getting out of hand ,removed all blanket weed last Thursday manual by hand  it is a big pond so need to get in it to reach the middle ,the blanket weed has seem to come back worse then ever over a few days also done a water change and the water is going a little green. so has anybody ever used these blanket weed control products are they safe to fish and wildlife do they work, will they harm the orfe as they do not fair to well with chemicals as it can deform and bend there tails .So if anybody has used a product could u please let me know how u got on with it thanks

[ACE]

You need more plants in the pond, more plants more oxygen, unfortunatly this time of year the plants are still dormant. As the weather gets better and the days get longer they will start growing and do their work. Barley straw works well and I top up my preventive measures with a few small 'bales' in march/april.

Shading out the pond with a strategically placed hedge/fence/tree etc will also help.

You will never get rid of it completly as I have all of the above plus a uv filter and I still get a bit in mid summer. I would not like to use man made chemicals because of the insect life
 which helps make up the ecological balance of an artificial pond

[Margaret]

I agree with heritage,however ,like him i have lots of plants,uv,filter etc and still get blanketweed in my fish ponds,However i never get it in the wildlife pond as it is stuffed full of plants and weed.

The only safe product i use occasionally if i get really fed up with it is a treatment made by Interpet called Pond Balance.It alters the water chemistry to create an environment which is not conducive for blanketweed to grow,without harming aquatic plants,fish or any other life form.I have used it on several occasions and if used as per instructions it really does work.Always best to remove blanketweed by hand first.It is better than using chemicals to kill the blanketweed as it can then decay and upset the balance even further.

[dibberxxx]

thanks  both of u for your advice , i do have lots of plants and a UV  and filter but it just seems i am being really plagued by the stuff but will just have to be patient and let nature do its thing, thanks again

[Anthony]

I used a product last year called "Goodbye Blanketweed" which if my memory serves me correctly is developed by Nishikoi.  Over the course of about 3/4 months it worked really well.  Unfortunately I then ran out and my problem returned.  Think it costs approx £10 for a tub which treats 1,000 gallons for 3-4 months!