Duckweed and algae problems are usually from excessive nutrient issues. Check where your run offs coming into the pond are coming from. You could be getting excessive nutrients from hog or cattle farms or just run off from fertilizers from the farm fields.

Time for a professional consult.

As a twenty year pond owner I’ll throw in my two cents. My ponds are 7 & 40 acres. Your fish kill is defiantly not caused by your aeration system. In fact, you should have it running 24/7 to eliminate the stratification in your pond. It’s obvious by the duckweed that you have too many nutrients in your pond. The decaying vegetation off gassing is killing the fish. Running the aeration system 24/7 will help remove the gas from your water, but you really need to take care of the root of the problem which is the duckweed/vegetation caused by the high nutrients. Long term solution would be to use bacteria (example; Pond Block sold at TSC) and run your aerator. For immediate results you can use a pond company to kill off the duckweed, but this will shock your pond and cause more destructive off-gassing and kill any remaining fish. I don’t know, but suspect your pond has allot of farm runoff, so you’ll need to keep dosing it with the bacteria through the year (2-3 times) to keep it under control. For your pond I recommend using a pond dye too which will inhibit the plant growth in the future. For now, don’t worry about the fish until you can get your pond under control. There is also no need to stock the high rates recommended. I’ve dealt with total fish kills multiple times and small stock numbers repopulate a pond quickly. I’ve had 4ld bass within 3 years, add minnows to your restocking and use a 1/2 to 1 acre recommendation. I fought the same pond battle as you for years and employed a very good pond management company $3,600 - $8,000 annually. My problems were not solved with the pond management company due to the high cost, which I couldn’t afford $12,000 or justify. I added self management with 24/7 aeration and 3-4 annual bacteria treatments and pond dye. My pond had to much vegetation and off gassing prior. It took two years to totally solve the offgassing, but now I spend about $600 annually on self treating the pond plus my electric for the aeration and my house has a beautiful 7 acre pond view finally (6 years and counting).

Evan, you are trying and learning. I love that you don’t ‘hide’ your mistakes. You own them.

This is what my neighbor did: Tie a fishnet to the end of the boat and row . Have 1 person at the shore holding the other end of the net and collect the duckweed that way. Physicly remove all the collected duckweed from the net in to buckets before going on a duckweed fishnet hunt again.🙂

We live in Illinois as well and have a farm pond. We run our our aerator 24/7 365. We had fish kills when we did not run them continually because there was so much sediment buildup on the bottom that as the leaves and stuff decomposed it basically became methane gas. I would encourage you to continually run them. Also we had a very bad duckweed problem the last several years. What we noticed is the overflow pipe that the water exits out of the pond was not working properly... once that was fixed anytime it rains now the duckweed flows out of the overflow pipe and we have literally had zero duckweed this year.

If you want to drag the pond. A hose full of water with pool noodles around it might work a lot better.

Sorry to hear about this but I think that your aerators need to be on 24/7 all year round .

Hey Evan, I think your county extension office would be a great place to start on knocking out the pond issues. They can help you solve this economically instead of fighting it.

Try your County Agent, Fish and Game Commission,or possibly a vet school in a university near you. Praying you get an answer. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Love your channel!

Maybe this can help you out, Ive had a similar problem of duckweed, in my pond up in Wisconsin. I bought 3-30 ft, minnow seine nets, tied them together ,my wife on one end , me on the other, and slowly dragged the nets across the pond. You wouldnt believe how much duck weed we pulled out, of the pond. I then bought a Koenders wind powered windmill, and thats been working for us since 2003

Pool noodles duct taped together with a rope ran through all of them might work to drag the duck weed out.

Grass carp will not control a duckweed problem unfortunately. As others have said Evan, it’s an excessive nutrient issue from run off. You should have been running the pond aeration 24 / 7 since. Duckweed is caused from excessive nutrients. 😢

During calm, hot days, the pond develops temperature layers called “stratification.” The layer of water at the surface is exposed to the sun and warms quickly. This warm layer weighs less than the cool water below, so these layers do not mix. Surface layers contain high levels of oxygen produced by the phytoplankton. The cooler bottom layers are cut off from the surface layers and their sources of oxygen, so oxygen levels drop over time because of normal biological processes. In fact, these deep waters can actually develop an “oxygen demand,” which is like having negative oxygen levels.

That dirt on the aerator is actually beneficial bacteria, you need more places for it to thrive. I found you because i have a big duckweed problem in a pond that was used as water storage for a wineyard

As long as the surface is covered in duck weed, it would seem that you’re spitting into the wind. The other culprit in many other similar situations is over-fertilizing the grass or fields within the drainage system that then runs off into the pond.

Just so you know, duckweed is an excellent protein source for livestock animals. So if you can skim it off you can give it to your cows/pigs.

LOL I like Rebecca's attitude. IE Nothing's happening until that snake pit is mowed and if the zero turn goes in, so be it.

The heavy bloom could be from high nutrient content from runoff from farm land. I would have water tested.

Evan, ponder over this suggestion: build a float to suspend the aerator below it so the aerator is not sitting on the bottom; attach an anchor (a large rock or some scrap metal) to the float so it does not wander off. I hope your pond will, sooner rather than later, give the two of you the pleasure of hours of fishing.

I saw a video a while back ...a young farmer who was using the duck weed to supplement his pigs feed.He was told his pork was very high in omega threes and other nutrients. An idea to keep the plant matter from mucking up the pond and feeding livestock free food . If you have lemons make lemonade.

We used a pond rake on our pond years ago and it worked. We pulled off so much that we had to use the front end loader and hauled it away from the pond

Have you tried beneficial bacteria? Beneficial bacteria comes in liquid or pellets or blocks for ponds. It can help eat up all the organic matter which in turn deprives algae of needed nutrients and clears up the water while also reducing the amount of muck at the bottom of the pond.

You might get a mechanical surface skimmer that floats on the surface of the pond and connects to a pump that drawa water and duckweed off the surface. The pump discharge is into a land basin with a screened discharge back to the pond. The duckweed stays behind in the basin and is periodically scooped out with a shovel or the tractor's bucket, ending up in the compost pile.

I'd recommend testing your water. I'm willing to bet your nitrite levels are high. If that's the case, there's not much you can do on a pond this size. Pray for a lot of rain.

May be cheaper to consult wit a pond/lake management consultant. That can test the water and give you real solutions to correct management of the pond so your fish will flourish. Sorry for the loss and good luck. From your neighbors

I work in wastewater treatment where we deal with nutrients. Specifically ammonia and nitrate. Nitrification/Denitrification. Of course it's similiar but different. I don't think aeration alone will help. You probably have excess Nitrate (NO3) from whatever flow is going into the pond. My suggestion is to control your nutrient loading into the pond, if you can do that. If not maybe a constructed wetland to treat water going into the pond. Wetland vegetation will consume the nitrogen. Or figure out a way to denitrify the NO3. We do that in wastewater by having Anoxic zones. But we are using activated sludge....

Another fish kill is a hard one. Sorry for your loss. The fountain idea is a good idea with coloured lights to give it a night time display. The fish will love it too with the added oxygen in the water.

We have lived on our place 33 years. We have a 3 acre pond that has always been clear enough to see the bottom. Until one of the big Mega farmers started farming the land across the road from our place . Applying tons of fertilizer and airplane spray on his crops. Now are pond is covered in duck weed and all the fish are dead. The run off from his field goes right in our pond. Says it is not his fault.( Can't do a thing.)

Use some of the duck weed in your pig and chicken feed. Mix it in, it's filled with beneficial nutrients. You can skim some off daily to add to feed and start bringing that amount down. There must be some sort of run off issue causing algae blooms. Our area is BAD for blue green algae and fish kills, and I think its one of the reason grass carp are so prolific. I would bet your carp are fine.

So sorry to hear that! I wish you good luck!

Awesome video, thank you.

I lived on a lake in northern WI that had weed problems. You need to be carefully when mowing the lawn so that the clippings don't get into the water. Also don't fertilize or put any chemicals on the lawn. They wanted us to have a grass called no mow, this is real thin blades of grass and shouldn't be mowed. A border around the pond can act as a filter. The fertility of the run off going into the pond is the source of your problems. You can make a floating barrier to coral up the duck weed using 2x4 fasten them together with something tough but flexible, heavy canvas, old fire hose sections. Look into what the cranberry harvesters use.

Appreciate your honesty. Sorry to hear your hard work has gone sour.

There are pond advisors who will come out and test your pond in different ways, then advise you the best way to get the results you want. If you had a severe illness you would not ask the local plumber how to cure it, so why not get a pro onto the problem.

Call your local fish and wildlife dept. have them check your pond, and provide their thoughts?

That’s so sad, you both love to fish, you need to do whatever it takes. So sorry. Love you guys.

Looks like you will have to get in a flat bottom boat or a skamp or kiack and take a fine hole dip net and skim the top of the pond when it gets hot in late spring and fall until winter comes back unfortunately. Hope you figure it out! Pile the duck weed up somewhere for compost! Keep your head up!

The struggle can be real don’t give up my friend thanks for showing we are all learning at the same time.

Evan you need to get a cpl fountains that work just off the surface of the water. ….. the filter is directly beneath the fountain so it doesn’t disturb the silt on the bottom

Hey Evan. Love the videos. Makes me miss growing up on a farm. Could you block your pond overflow pipe until the water level gets higher and then release it so the duckweed flows out? Just a thought!

Well that's a shame that you're having issues with the pond. I sure hope you can get it fixed, the pond sure does show case your place. Good luck with it and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.😮

Even like i said before my friend had the same problem , so he put in a fountain and hall is great more oxygen in the wather .Hope you dont loose all your fish

The State of Illinois Department of Conservation would be of great assistance. It appears that part of the problem is chemical run off or the pond is not deep enough. Even though you had a period of clear water you might have chemical contaminants in the water. The State can take water samples to determine the problems.

Thanks for video 😎

Third time's a charm!! You sure have given the pond a ton of attention..........and it can be sooo pretty!! Good Luck!

I m so Sorry for your loss. Keep trying Something will work eventually

Time to call in an expert. Seems like the more you try the worse it gets.

That's a shame Evan. Sorry to hear this. I live in a lake community with 1 big lake and 5 smaller lake. All our small lakes have been closed this summer due to bad outbreak of blue-geen algae. Once a lake gets these bad elements its a battle to get rid of. Good luck in your fight.

Just a thought: if you have a fish farm near you check what they use to air rate their ponds or maybe google. 😊❤. Love your vids

I’m so sorry guys I know you’ve tried really hard to solve this problem . Yep I think a fountain is the way to go I’m into fly fishing and one of my local lakes uses a fountain type of system in the lake to help.

Oh man I really feel for you both it’s no joke I’d feel sick not just losing the fish but the expense. I really hope you find a way to solve the duck weed issue Evan

Your frustration is so warranted, I can only imagine. I hope you get it figured out, I'm sure you will actually. Good luck.

Evan , maybe if you could find a way to suspend the aerators so They are or about 4 or 5 feet below the surface of the pond it would bring up cool water from below to mix with warm water on top , I would take the diffusers off and put short length of pipe to help aerate the water . Good luck with whatever you do

I'm so sorry about your pond problems.

I also believe you need professional help with your pond. If nothing else you should put that pump on a timer setup so when you are away you don't have to worry. I am sorry for your lose of fish. I love fishing and really love either deep fry, smoked, foiled cooked ( like steaming or poach with lemon , butter and brown sugar).

The only way we got rid of the duck weed we waited until the wind blew it to one side of the pond and sprayed it with roundup we did it just a little at a time with small amounts of roundup and dye and its gone now and haven't had it for years

HI Friend my name is Jeff and I am an angler from Great Britain here's a tip yes use your aerators but to get rid of the weed and duckweed try putting bales of barley straw maybe half a dozen and peg them in the margins of your lake so they don't float off this will clear your lake of weed and duckweed within 2 to 3 weeks put some in now and then every spring

The aerator could be kicking up H2S from the bottom muck. As the health of the pond improves, there will be less of that. For the duckweed... You should build a skimmer and compost that pondweed for your garden. Make a better version of that hose and you could clear it in chunks. Pull it to a prepared spot on shore with a mesh conveyor at the bottom of a V shaped bay. The conveyor would strain it and load it into a truck or bin without hassle, just keep pulling in the boom to keep feeding it in.. Dump it in piles to compost down a bit or spread it on the garden in the fall.

It would seem as though some barley straw bales are in order, anchored close to the shore. Consult with your extension office to determine the correct number based on size of pond. You'll be amazed at the results, work great in our neck of the woods.

Suggestion get some of them foam noodle things link them together and make a floating boom to round up bloom

If you look at some commercial fisheries they have a paddle wheel flipping water in the ponds for the aeration . Duckweed grows that well because there is no surface movement so it thrives as it loves stagnant water.

put a temp extension on the overflow pipe let it raise then remove it .flushing the pond surface

try putting floatation and weight on the bottom aerators to bring them up off of the very bottom but still deep in the pond.

So sorry about your pond and the fish. Hope and pray for a solution for your problem. 😢💕🙏

If you remember the very first time you had issues with the pond I mentioned to purchase a 1/3 horse power sump pump put the pump on the water and let the pvc 11/4 schedule 40 exstend about ten ft in the air that would put enough oxygen in the water to supply the fish in the pond. When I put mine in I got creative I pit a cap on top and drilled 1/4 inch holes in it and boy did it spray. The way way your pumps are now are not putting oxygen in the water you need turbulence mixed with air. Hope again this helps.

It was hilarious watching you row the boat at fast-forward speed!

Oh no.😢 I'm so sorry this happened again Just started watching the video.

Dang. Tough hit. Sorry to hear this. Keep after it. Your place is beautiful. Good Luck.

Good luck 🍀

I used a product called Clipper Herbicide to rid my pond of water meal (similar to duckweed). It took all summer but it never came back. Killing it could cause a lot of O2 loss. Stirred up silt causes algal blooms on the organics in the silt, depleting the O2

I had a cousin that put a fountain in there pond. It came with a solar panel to run it in the day. Needed a secondary power source to run at night. They only ran at night when they were outside. Otherwise just sun runs it.

Suggestion floating solar powered water fountains that spray pond water into a umbrella like spray Or possibly a floating raft with solar powered fountains advantage would also provide fish hiding spot if located close to middel and or a swimming

Evan you need to get someone to evaluate your pond. Contact your fish and wildlife dept.bin your area to advise you.

The thing about crap is they can come to the top of the water and breath air with out being under the water and if you use a pool noodles on a rope with a little bit of fishing weights to hold them down could work or even run the water hoses through the noodles

Sorry to hear about your fish... try some barley straw if you can get it put the bales in the water to help clear that water.. nylon rope is also very good at floating. We cleared our old pond with the gloating rope and drag with the tractor worked a treat.. stay safe .

Our pond used to get covered in duckweed also and the fix was to stop fertilizing our lawn along with aeration, it never gets covered anymore although there is a little along the far edge sometimes. Even the small amount of chemical fertilizer on a lawn migrates very fast to the lowest point which was our pond.

Maybe try call the county USDA office in your county . and they should be able to advise a solution. Or try calling Conservation in your area they might be able to help ! Thanks Lee always looking forward to seeing your videos ! 👍

So sad that this happened again....keeping my fingers crossed you can get ahead of this problem...

Try lengths of 4x2 timber connected with short lengths of rope, a rope each end and a steady pull will get it near the bank then lift the duckweed out with a leaf rake. Have shifted tonnes like this.

Positioned at the far end of the pond setup 2 wheels 2 meters big with a light chain banding them with rakes custom made to scoop up pond weeds and dump onto land powered by a motor that runs all day. Every so often use tractor to remove pile of weed from under dumping area.

The dairy industry uses slurry, (liquid manure) to enrich grass pastures. In order to prevent a crust forming on top of the holding tanks they use an aerator from mid tank level to break up the crust, it also keeps the crust away. A version of that type of system might work for you. A high energy pump with hundreds if not thousands of air outlets all facing up. It’s similar to what you have; however, the outlets are not concentrated and are over a much larger area the entire pond. The method is to cover all the pond at the same time not just small areas. Instead of breaking the crust it would oxygenate. Using pressure washing gear could reduce cost.

You may 2 of the Koenders windmill, considering the size of your pond. The windmill, even works great at preventing winter kill. My pond is just about an acre in area.

One time at Disney World, I noticed their aeration system was just under the surface 2-3 inches, nowhere near the bottom. The boom idea will work. You just need to build it right.

Thx again

Use pool tube foam floats and run a hose or rope through the middle maybe.

So many things can cause fish kills. Definitely run the aeration as much as you can. The top 18" or so of the pond is prob 25 degrees hotter than the layer underneath it. I used a duck weed killer on our small pond from lake restoration and it worked great. I wish you good luck!

I feel for ya!! Good luck sir

Alligar diuron 80 Does wonders on duckweed but would not use if still watering the garden with the pond water. Can be found and at farm stores cheaper then online.

There are mechanical duckweed skimmers. I believe that they are a version of an oil skimmer adapted to remove duckweed.

Evan I just saw a video using silt fencing to skim the top of the water. Not expensive at all.

You need a lift pump to roll the water in pond over. So lifting the water from the bottom on to the top to airate the water by. Spray does not airate but water turn over does..

Evan your pond is about twice the size of ours but we added about a 4 ft extension to our overflow pipe waiting about three weeks took it off and it got rid of about eighty percent of ours but our pond only filled up about 3 in

I had a similar looking pond 2 years ago- I put in 10 grass carp and 30 lbs of Tilapia, they took about 2 months to clear it - this year our pond is perfect- haven't added any new fish to it

Sorry to hear the fish got killed off again. Good luck in resolving the issue.

What a bummer . Good luck!

An idea. Use a tarp between 2 boats or people walking the banks. The tarp should be like 2' wide by ?' long. U choose how long. I think that might get the duck weed off.

I used pool noodles but the noodles alone set to high and are to light to drag a large amount of duck weed to shore ! I cut 4 in lengths of rebar and pushed inside the noodle to weight it down along with the rope

Wow! What a Disappointment!! I'm So Sorry!! I think your right about having fountains instead!! Have a Great Weekend!! 🙂🌻

make sure there is a current so that the water is less stagnant this can be done by making a rock formation with water to be pumped up like in a small pond