I fertilize my pond as recommend and it does a good job of clouding it like it should and keeps to pond scum off. I have developed something around the edges that looks like seaweed. What do you use to kill this?

It's called string algae.
Are you keeping fish?
How large is pond?
Can you rake it out.
Be careful using chemicals.

Bass and Bream, 3 acre pond. Too much to rake by hand.

Try your county ag extension office or DNR.

Or pondboss.com

Or at least pics.

First step is CORRECTLY ID' ing veg.

Attached File

Diploid grass carp is the answer.

“fertilize my pond”.

Never heard of this. What does it mean?

http://americansportfish.com/articles/48-pond-fertilization-made-simple

Proper fertility encourages the growth of algae and plankton, which are eaten by zooplankton and insect larvae, which are eaten by small fish, which are eaten by larger fish, and so on. The algae and plankton also reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the bottom of the pond which discourages aquatic weed growth.

This.

I think the rule of thumb is 1 or 2 per acre at first, not 8 to 10 as the fisheries would have you believe.

From 8 to 10 inches, they can grow to be 40lbs in just a couple years.

I forgot to ask, how deep is it?

Fertilizing just makes string algae grow more.

I used to drive past a large, nice looking lake, then we had a dry spell  and I discovered that it was only about 8 inches deep. No wonder they had algea.

I hired a pond manager when I built and stocked my lake, 4 surface acres, he fertilized the lake and stocked it for me for basically no cost other than the fish.  Over the years he has come by and checked it out.  It's considered a mature lake now and I also have some weed growth but he is not concerned.  It's habitat for smaller fishes and it will not spread to the deeper areas of the lake.  The fertilizer promotes algae bloom, beautiful green color, and besides feeding smaller fish it shades sunlight from the bottom thus slowing plant growth in the water.  Rule of thumb is to stick you arm in the water up to your elbow and if you can see your hand, its too clear and time to fertilize it.  I get a lot of runoff sand from rains that cloud my lake for a week or so at a time so I don't fertilize it.  There is chemical controls for weed growth but you have to be careful and only do small portions at a time or you will kill the oxygen levels and your fish doing so.  It will come right back in a year or so.  If you have the money you can hire a trac-hoe to dig out the banks to a 3-1 slope and that will slow down the growth of future weeds.  If it's not bad don't worry, it's habitat for the fish, enjoy...

I have good results using Dye, use it early. Pond Logic brand I believe.

I don't want the brown water in the front yard, fish & turtles  seem happy.

From the pic it looks like shallow water aquatics.
If this is the case the long term solution is dig out the shallow spots.
If the veg isn't causing to much trouble now it shouldn't get any worse if
you keep up with the fert program.

I think this is correct. This stuff is only in areas where the water is less than 3 ft. Anything to treat just those areas? Reeling in lure through them isn't ideal.

It is fascinating how the same condition is desirable in one circumstance by one group of managers and considered terrible by another group.

In the worlds of aquariums, koi ponds, and environmental water management, the conditions of a “fertilized” farm pond are considered a water quality disaster. In north central Florida one of our local springs that used to be a national attraction in the early 1900s now has high ammonia nitrite and nitrate concentrations from sewage runnoff that’s equivalent to a dirty aquarium. Its basically been “fertilized” by leaking septic tanks. But no one considers that a good thing.

I’d rather have my two farm ponds balanced with the nutrients under control and not causing massive artificial algae blooms.

Copper will kill the algae. But it will also kill all of tour invertebrates. So that’s a no go.

If you introduce plants you can manage, the plants eat up the nutrients the algae is eating and choke it out. That’s how I ridded my ponds of hair algae.

What plants to introduce? How many for a 3 acre pond?

Get a carp or two. Every pond I've built that have had carp put in them are thriving. Atleast 150 ponds*

Sounded like a good idea but not legal to introduce in Alabama.

There is a difference between proper fertility and over fertilization. A properly fertilized pond will have a balance of N,P, & K. Excess nitrogen will lead to excessive plant and algae growth.

According to THIS diploid grass carp are legal in AL. Though many states now require triploid grass carp.

There’s a bunch of considerations that go into plant selection. You want something that’s useful for cover and nutrient/waste processing, and yet something that won’t end up choking your pond out.

The best I can tell you is what’s working for me on my specific circumstances.

My homestead is in north Florida near the GA border in pine flatwoods. The soil is sand. I have 2 ponds, each about half of an acre. The ponds have thick sand bottoms with muck in some places. The shorelines are briefly a few feet deep then they quickly drop to 10 feet and deeper. Thus, its not easy for plants to totally choke the surface so long as they are rooted plants. Summers are 90-100F. Winters dip below freezing a handful of times. I have dozens of herbivorous turtles in each pond. The stocked fish are largemouth bass, various bream (bluegill, green sunfish, and hybrids), and mosquito fish. One pond connects to a drain into the surrounding swamps. The other pond is totally self contained.  Neither pond is spring fed but they may be as deep as the water table at their deepest points. The previous owner used chemicals to keep the pond plant and algae free. I ceased all chemical use upon taking possession of the property.

I allowed cattails, maidencane, and soft rush to establish in the shallow zones. This is the first season they’ve come into full establishment in the ponds. Same with the submerged grasses. There is a very short submersed weed with broad, red leaves I have not identified. There is also coontail that grows from the bottom, but it never makes it more than a foot or so high. The turtles seem to keep it mowed down.

This same year was the first year with no hair algae bloom (but I still had a green algae bloom).

Of the plants I have, there’s little reason to fear the soft rush or maidencane. Its prolific but grows low enough as to not interfere with fishing. I could see the cattail being a problem if I let it. But where I’ve let it establish, its become a nursery for bream fry and bullfrogs. I’ve seen coonstail take over roadside ditches but in my ponds I think the turtles will continue to keep it low and sparse. Because of how thick I’ve seen it grow in other habitats I wouldn’t recommend it.

I do credit the plants for the reason I do not have air algae this year. Also for getting my bass fatter. Far more bream are surviving to 1 to 4 inches, which is giving my bass lots of forage.

BTW, my new chicken run is on the hill at the top of the self contained pond. I’m curious to see what sort of nutrient seepage may occur as the months go by.

I've read where you can't use carp, so that's out.

If you could establish some kind of water lily on those areas to shade out the less desirable aquatics(looks like coon's tail from the pics, but not sure) that might be better.
I don't know of any herbicide that would only work in a small area without moving into the rest of the pond

Someone mentioned Pond Doctor earlier, that might be the place to get herbicide recs.
First step would be to positively ID the aquatics you want to eliminate.

There are granular formulations available.
Correct ID is step one.