Algae treatment

LeonL

We have what I believe to be planktonic or blue green algae. (I'm not a botanist) The recommended treatment is copper sulfate, but the application method for a 15 acre lake is elusive. Some say spray with a garden sprayer, but that proves to be quite difficult to achieve an effective application rate and will take forever. Any past experience, recommendations?
Edit: don't know how I got this under "stuff for sale". Didn't see a choice as in the past.

DW

@LeonL : You can source it either in liquid, granular or pellet form. The application on our lake is done via commercial sprayer for liquid or a knockoff type of fertilizer spreader for the granules.

LeonL

Can you be more specific on the fertilizer spreader? I've heard that the granules just sink to the bottom and are minimally effective on the surface algae.

DW

We have the application done by a licensed applicator, required by state law. The sprayer is like a pressure washer, gas powered that sucks out the liquid from a large tank and the pressure spray distributes the mix. Agree, the liquid tends to be the fast acting and best for surface algae, although any wind, rain or action tends to break that up as effectively as anything else and the blooms tend to be temporary.

The_MS

@LeonL some will use gunnysacks and fill with granular. Tie it to the boat and drag up the lake. I have not tried it. We use powder and put in on calm morning. As it drops through the water colume it creates a cloud that floats around. We toss from the shore and pour a bag in the middle as the boat heads down the lake. The best way is 25 gallon sprayer and Cutrine plus. If you have fish, watch the wind and only do half the lake.

skiep

We just put mask and goggles on idle boat down the boat guides and pour out. let the prop wash do the spreading.

LeonL

@skiep I assume you're speaking of distributing dry? Hence mask and goggles. Everyone...application rate? How much for 15 acres surface, average 7 feet deep.

igkya

@LeonL We use the granular copper sulfate, bright blue sand like crystals. Place in a burlap sack and drag through lake as others mentioned. Our lake is ~2,1000' x 160' and 5ft deep. We use 1, 50 lb. sack (in early May), wait 2-3 days and dump 1 more sack. May need to use a 3rd in mid-late August.

Not_The_Pug

We have a liquid ag spreader with a boom that was bought at a garden supply store.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fimco-25-gal-7-nozzle-atv-sprayer?cm_vc=-10005

We built a mount that sits on the swim platform. Then just turn it on and mow the lawn.

Golfguy

Ok, first to know is if your lake water is high in calcium (hard water) If so Copper Sulfate will not be as effective as a chelated copper such as Cutrine Plus. Calcium and sulfate bond making much of the copper unavailable to treat the algae. Also in time the sulfate builds a toxic environment to fish and other desirable water creatures the bottom. Use the chelated copper in a liquid form and if it is Cutrine plus the rate is one gallon per Acer foot, 7' deep by 15 A =105 gallons. Are you sure the lake is 7' deep average? Pour the chemical from the back of a boat directly into the water circling the lake about 20 feet from the shore. A majority of the algae lives in the shallower, warmer, clearer water. Next have a lake water nutrient test done to check the Phosphors levels. Eliminate and source of nutrients entering the lake. The copper will shade the lake for a couple of weeks, after, you can use a lake dye if you like.

garyh20ski

We treat our algae with chelated copper in a dry granular form. After becoming frustrated applying with a hand spreader we bought a Stihl backpack sprayer. It is essentially a leaf blower that has a tank on top and can be quickly switched to spray both liquid and dry material. It will spray out the dry copper granules approximately 40 feet. This makes quick work treating the algae in shallow water from the shore or spot treating deeper water from a boat.

LeonL

@Golfguy I can't control the nutrient influx from others property. The watershed includes crop land, i.e. soybeans, corn. Is there a feasible way to provide something to consume nutrients so as not to feed algae?

Wayne

Our lake was recently treated by a commercial outfit. They did a liquid application but it literally looked like it was being sprayed from a garden hose. Just a fat single stream being shot about 5 feet from shore.

Golfguy

@LeonL You can try a bail of straw anchored to the bottom on the windward side of the lake. This has shown to absorb nutrients from the water. Replace it every year or so. If this is Still Water, your water is probably alkaline so stay away from Copper Sulfate. Depending on your water source, it may be possible to inject copper chelate to the input point. Otherwise for a simple algae bloom it is relatively easy to pour Cutrine from the back of the boat as I mentioned in the previous post, I have personally done this many times and the results are spectacular. And really not that difficult. PM me if you would like any more information. Cheers.

A_B

Lots of dye and Tilapia. Algae likes the sun and Tilapia like the Algae.

Golfguy

If the water drops below 50 F the talipa will not survive. Otherwise, they are great. Agree

LeonL

Unfortunately Cutrine, in the volume needed $4000, is a bit cost prohibitive. As far as dye, our water has a high turbidity level, so sunlight penetration isn't an issue.
@Golfguy ball of straw? Size? How many? Can I interpret "bale"?

Golfguy

Yes, a single bale of straw (like you would buy for your horse) if there are two lakes one in each. One should be able to buy Cutrine Plus for about $35 a gallon. Is your lake really an average of 7 feet deep? That would indicate that it is 14 feet at some of the deepest depths. If I had more information about the lake, I could determine more accurately the quantity of Copper you might need.

LeonL

Some areas of our lake are 12' per Fathometer. This is near the dam which is nearly 500' long. I don't know what additional info to provide. Where can I get ph and phosphate tested?

waterskigirl

Any pool supply test kit will give you a idea of where the water is, not as accurate as a local test facility usually in every big town, but it gets expensive that way. Best not to take sample from surface near shore better deeper in center...lots of previous threads here about Alum that can really help(with turbity too) but it will lower PH.

LeonL

Fingers crossed, but it appears that our application of copper sulfate (100lbs 15 acre lake) has done the trick. I don't know how long the copper sulfate will sustain its efficacy, but for now no algae. It took about 4 days after application. Applied it dry, straight from the bag off the platform.

igkya

@LeonL Approx. how deep is your lake? Also, try using a burlap sack next time. I place a bag of the CS in the sack, make a several slices/cuts in the bags and drag the sack behind the boat. This helps distribute the CS amongst other things.

LeonL

Average depth is a guesstimation. Deepest area near the dam shows about 12' on boat depth gauge. Dam is over 400' long. Lake is 2050' long and gradually gets shallower going away from the dam down to about 4'. Of course shorelines taper off, so average depth??? Maybe about 6-7 feet? I'm pretty satisfied with just letting it slowly pour out of the bag.

The_MS

@igkya how long before it dissipates out of the bag? Can you make it up and down a ski lake with 50 lb bag?

Weappa

Beneficial bacteria will "eat up" nutrients, phosphorus and nitrogen. We use it in a 40 acre lake, 6 foot average depth, and it has essentially eliminated algae blooms. Just google it. Lots of options.

igkya

@MS When I make several cuts in the bag (1 50# bag of CS) and place it in a burlap sack, it's a trip down and back before it's gone, though I usually check on it 2-3 times times. If I just dump the CS into the burlap sack, it's usually gone before I get to end of lake. I'll wait 2-3 days before using a 2nd bag of CS. Lake is ~ 8 surface acres (2,100' x 165') and about 4.5-5' deep at turn buoys before sloping up to shore line.

The_MS

Thanks

LeonL

@Weappa I'm not a math major, so forgive me if I've got the figures wrong. THe size of our lake (by my calculations about 105 acre fee) would require about $10K worth of bacteria. Just a bit too pricey for me.

Golfguy

Agree you are better off with copper. What is the pH of your water?

A_B

@Golfguy that’s the beauty of the Tilapia. They are not sterile like Amurs but they do their job and then die. You can catch them toward the end of the season and eat them. I am not a fan but many people are.

LeonL

Haven't checked the ph. @A_B what's the price of tilapia and how many are required to keep a lake clean. I understand they won't last but one season.