Utilizing the ProSkim system, CLEAN-FLO provides a mechanical solution for removal of watermeal, duckweed, azolla and other floating weeds and debris from your small lake and pond.

CLEAN-FLO International makes available this ProSkim system that uses technology instead of chemicals to make your lake or pond clearer and healthier. Chemical treatments will kill most of the floating weeds on your lake or pond, but they also may kill the natural bacteria and insects that help in the decay of the dead weeds that sink to the bottom. The mass of dead weed material also uses oxygen as it decays and may harm fish and other aquatic life. The decaying organic matter also provides nourishment for any weeds that survived the chemical treatment. The remaining weeds flourish and the cycle continues as your pond or lake health deteriorates.

Save time and money: The ProSkim System gives you visibly clearer results in just days and the benefits extend beyond just one season. In conjunction with the CLEAN-FLO Inversion and Oxygenation System which reduces the nutrient levels and improves the water quality, you can reverse the cycle and reduce weed growth.

The ProSkim System consists of an in-water floating collection unit that connects by hose to an onshore filtration unit. The heart of the ProSkim System is its in-water floating collection unit, a special skimmer that has been designed to extract watermeal, duckweed and organic debris that float on the surface of the water. The in-water floating collection unit creates a powerful vortex of water that draws in floating weeds and debris. The uniquely designed stainless steel pump generates a powerful flow in which water, weeds and debris are collected and pumped through a hose to the on-shore filtration unit. The weeds and debris remain behind on shore in the filtration unit while the clear, filtered, aerated water flows through the return hoses and back into your lake or pond.

Common floating aquatic weeds: duckweed, watermeal and azolla

For more information on skimmer services, rental options or purchasing the ProSkim system, please call us at 800-328-6656 or email us at info@clean-flo.com

In some cases, algal blooms are referred to as “harmful algal blooms” and are damaging to animals, aquatic plants, and sometimes humans. In extreme cases, a pond or body of water can become anaerobic and result in growth of harmful bacteria that produce toxins. In natural bodies of water, the “dead zone” refers to algae depleted areas lacking oxygen.

Popular Algae Control Methods: Why They Don’t Always Work

Algaecides: When oxygen is reduced in an aquatic environment, fish are the first to suffer. Algaecides don’t help improve the health and growth of aquatic fish nor control organic bottom sediment. If you’re looking for an algae solution or algae control method, you may have considered an algaecide. Many sources indicate that excessive algaecides can kill fish and other aquatic animals, doing more harm than good. They’ve also been known to interfere with natural fish reproduction. Algaecides and copper compounds can also kill off beneficial bacteria that help remove and control organic bottom muck. Copper compounds also add new toxic sediment to the bottom of a pond or lake.

Alum: Alum used to control algae can leave an aluminum hydroxide on the pond or lake bottom that can interfere with fish reproduction, and mess with beneficial bacteria and insects that naturally feed on lake and pond muck.

Don’t try to control algae blooms in a lake without eliminating the cause or the algae bloom will return quickly, unless your lake or pond weeds quickly absorb the nutrients before the algae grow again. Even if pond weeds quickly absorb the nutrients, weeds will multiply instead. Your best method of controlling algae blooms in a water body is to reduce the overabundance of pond nutrients with a water aerator, in combination with beneficial bacteria and enzymes that provide algae control and reduce carbon dioxide and available nutrients to low levels. This is an effective and long term way to control and naturally remove algae.

Using aeration to control algae is a natural process—in any natural pond ecosystem, you’ll find aeration. This natural process controls algae and contributes to a healthier pond ecosystem based off the natural principle that ponds are self-cleaning and can restore themselves using their own natural processes. Ponds usually keep free and clean from excess algae because they contain ecosystems with food chains to absorb excess nutrients and prevent plant growth. When runoff overwhelms delicate ecosystem balances, the overgrowth of algae is a result. Aeration is the natural way to restore natural water processes, accelerating them to keep up with today’s increasing amount of pollutants. Learn more about how to control algae, reduce pond weeds, and improve the health of your pond by aeration.

CASE STUDY: Eliminating Cyanobacteria – Blue Green Algae – in Reservoirs and Lakes

CASE STUDY: Cyanobacteria Control in a Eutrophic Water Supply

Lake Clear - Lake Clear is a proprietary blend of bacteria specifically formulated for controlling nutrients that filamentous, blue-green and planktonic algae use for food

C-FLO-6 - feeds on non-living organic matter and is particularly effective on reducing nutrients that are food for PLANKTONIC (suspended) algae.

CLean & Clear^TM CONCENTRATED ENZYMES is a special blend of non-toxic vegetable enzymes from nature that acts as a catalyst to biodegrade non-living organic matter and reduces available nutrients in the water, thus improving water quality.

Minnow Traps Enable zooplankton to feed on algae.

Duckweed was first introduced into freshwater aquariums and ponds, where the plant began to spread rapidly. Once duckweed is established in a large pond or water body, it becomes difficult to eradicate. This is because the plant is often carried on the feathers, coats, and shells of native animals and wildlife. Duckweed is spread by birds, turtles, reptiles, and aquatic mammals regularly visiting multiple rivers, ponds, and lakes in search of food. This isn’t the case for water bodies with currents and overflow — duckweed does not thrive in moving water channels. Even if water bodies experience a calm period, duckweed may grow but later be swept away during high water flow periods or rainy seasons. Although waterfowl rely on duckweed for a food source, an excess of duckweed is unnecessary and despite their advantages, they can easily overgrow bodies of water. It’s best to keep them under control.

Duckweed spread rapidly across quiet water bodies and under ideal conditions, they can double their area coverage in a few days. Duckweed is designed for rapid growth, spreading 30% faster than other water vegetation (the water hyacinth included). Duckweed is extremely resilient and difficult to eradicate—this plant keeps returning and can actively re-establish their population in a few days if a few fronds are left behind. Seeds and other submerged remnants may germinate when conditions improve. Once a water body is covered with duckweed, natural oxygen transfer from the atmosphere is greatly reduced. Many times this leads to massive fish kills.

The ideal solution is to manage duckweed without chemicals (disruptive to aquatic ecosystems and threatening to native aquatic wildlife and plants) and without the use of machines—disruptive and only temporarily effective. Aeration systems are ideal. By increasing dissolved oxygen in an environment depleted of oxygen, water quality improves and fish and other aquatic wildlife thrive. Aerobic bacteria thrive off increased oxygen levels, resulting in improved water quality and a natural decomposition of organic matter—reducing duckweed and other plant life.

Using aeration to reduce pondweeds is a natural process. This natural process reduces pondweeds and contributes to a healthier pond ecosystem based off the natural principle that ponds are self-cleaning and can restore themselves using their own natural processes. Ponds usually keep free and clean from excess pondweeds because they contain ecosystems with food chains to absorb excess nutrients and prevent plant growth. When runoff overwhelms delicate ecosystem balances, the overgrowth of pondweeds such as duckweed is a result. Aeration is the natural way to restore natural water processes, accelerating them to keep up with today’s increasing amount of pollutants. Learn more about how to combat duckweed, reduce pond weeds, and improve the health of your pond by aeration.

For more information about pond aeration, river improvement, and pond weed removal, visit our site today!

U.S. Studies
Results at Purdue University (2) Maryland University (3) and Iowa State University (4) showed that some algae species were reduced by barley straw for ponds, while other species did not respond, or increased. Species that increased were mat-forming filamentous algae that zooplankton do not feed on.

Results at the University of Nebraska (5) showed that water quality remained poor and the lake became dominated by blue green algae, a type of algae that zooplankton do not eat.

Studies at University of Florida (6) and at North Carolina State University (7) on pre-digested barley straw, which is supposed to increase whatever algaecide barley straw is supposed to release while it decomposes, were unsuccessful. Algae did not increase, but remained at the same level. The University of Florida concluded that the amount of barley straw needed to control algae in ponds is too large for practical purposes.

Faulty Tests and Misinformation
Algae are the only parameter studied by some consultants as a measure of water quality. Three tests are used: water transparency which is a measure of the amount of algae in a lake or pond, chlorophyll-a which is a test of the amount of chlorophyll in algae, and total phosphorus which is the amount of phosphorus in algae that is tested by boiling the algae in acid. These tests do not consider the quality of a lake or pond by the amount of muck or the organic matter in muck, odor, aquatic macrophytes (weeds), disease bacteria, fish health and growth rate or number of fish, or by whether one can fish, swim or boat in a lake or pond. You can fish, swim or boat in a lake or pond if it has a lot of algae, but you cannot swim, fish or boat in a pond that has those parameters that are not considered as indicative of water quality.

If a consultant can reduce algae in a lake, he or she becomes a well-paid local hero, regardless of whether the lake has fish, muck, weeds, and odor and disease bacteria or is not swim-able, fishable or boat-able. This opens an opportunity for what is called biomanipulation. A faulty test of barley straw is if you kill the fish; algae will decrease because zooplankton feed on algae and fish feed on zooplankton. If there are no fish, there are many zooplankton, so there is little algae. If there is not much algae and available phosphorus and nitrogen are still in the water, these fertilizers have to go somewhere, so they go into weed growth. Available phosphorus is phosphorus dissolved in the water. It is entirely different from total phosphorus, which is phosphorus found in algae. Total phosphorus is a measure of both available phosphorus and phosphorus in algae.

So if consultants put barley straw in a pond and kill fish at the same time, they are increasing the amount of zooplankton. The zooplanktons decrease the algae in the pond. The result is increased weeds and a lake that is not swim-able, not boat-able and not fishable.

Real Pond Restoration
Please click on www.Clean-Flo.com for a real solution to all your lake and pond problems. Barley straw for ponds does not reduce muck, disease bacteria, odor or weeds and it does not improve fishing, boating or swimming, but CLEAN-FLO International gives you all these benefits.

References:

• Newman, J. 1997. Control of Algae with Barley Straw. Information Sheet No. 3. Institute of Arable Crops Research, Center for Aquatic Plant Management. Berkshire, UK.
• http://www.btny.purdue.edu/pubs/APM/APM-1-W.pdf
• Daniel E. Terlizzi, Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program, E-mail: dt37@umail.umd.edu
• Joseph E. Morris, Iowa State University, E-mail: jemorris@iastae.edu
• John C. Holz, University of Nebraska, E-mail: jholz@unl.edu
• Kenneth Langland, University of Florida, E-mail: kal@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu
• Stratford Kay, North Carolina State University, E-mail: Stratford_kay@pclink.com

CASE STUDY: Eliminating Cyanobacteria – Blue Green Algae – in Reservoirs and Lakes

CASE STUDY: Cyanobacteria Control in a Eutrophic Water Supply

Lake Clear - Lake Clear is a proprietary blend of bacteria specifically formulated for controlling nutrients that filamentous, blue-green and planktonic algae use for food

C-FLO-6 - feeds on non-living organic matter and is particularly effective on reducing nutrients that are food for PLANKTONIC (suspended) algae.

Clean & Clear^TM CONCENTRATED ENZYMES is a special blend of non-toxic vegetable enzymes from nature that acts as a catalyst to biodegrade non-living organic matter and reduces available nutrients in the water, thus improving water quality.

Minnow Traps Enable zooplankton to feed on algae.

Eurasian watermilfoil was first introduced to a pond in Washington, DC in 1942, and to the Midwest between the 1950s and 1980s. The United States Geological Survey believes that Eurasian watermilfoil was introduced as a food source for waterfowl. It prefers nutrient-rich lakes, ponds and reservoirs. Eurasian watermilfoil forms tangled mats of weed growth both up to twenty feet below the surface and up to the surface of the water, and crowds out native aquatic plants. Eurasian watermilfoil interferes with swimming, boating, fishing and waterskiing.

Characteristics of Eurasian Watermilfoil:

Eurasian watermilfoil is a particularly nuisance weed in northern climates. Its ability to reproduce from fragments and spread rapidly, its high growth rate in a large range of temperature and environmental conditions, and its tendency to reach the surface and form extensive mats at the surface can allow this milfoil to shade and out-compete native vegetation. Eurasian watermilfoil starts spring growth sooner than native aquatic plants and can shade out these more beneficial plants. The sheer mass of stagnant milfoil can create a good habitat for mosquitoes. Milfoil mats can rob oxygen from the water by preventing the wind from mixing the oxygenated surface waters into deeper water. This can limit the growth of snails that would feed on the organic sediment if oxygen were available. Oxygen-depleted sediments release large quantities of phosphorus and nitrogen, averaging three times the amount coming in from watersheds. The dense mats of vegetation also increase the sedimentation rate.

Eurasian watermilfoil does not only receive its fertilizer from the sediment, but also from the water column, having only a filamentous thread by which this milfoil attaches itself to the bottom. This milfoil can grow just as well whether the thread is attached to the bottom or not. Eurasian watermilfoil has the ability, unlike most native plants, to reproduce from one-inch fragments made by boat motors or during weed harvesting.

Eurasian watermilfoil can extract carbon dioxide directly from the water or from carbonates in the water, which gives this milfoil a definite advantage over many other plants that can only absorb carbon dioxide from bicarbonates in the water. Other advantages are its one-year faster seed germination period than other plants. Most aquatic plants germinate after one or two years, instead of during the first year. Eurasian watermilfoil has the ability for the seeds to withstand drying for one year, compared to 3 – 4 months for other plants. Its fruits withstand freezing. This milfoil reproduces asexually. Milfoil has the ability to grow in more alkaline waters and to grow up to two inches a day.

As with other plants, however, Eurasian watermilfoil has weaknesses that make this milfoil subject to environmental remediation without the use of toxic herbicides. This milfoil must grow in nutrient rich water. It needs high levels of ammonia. The water must have high alkalinity. This milfoil also requires large amounts of carbon dioxide, either in the free form, or in the bicarbonate form. Robert Wetzel, a leading limnologist wrote in his book, Limnology, that Eurasian watermilfoil is highly dependent on light, so dark colored water limits its growth. This can change rapidly, as lakes switch every few years from algal growth to weed growth, and from weed growth to algal growth, depending on which become established earliest in the year.

Eurasian watermilfoil can grow in up to twenty feet of water. The dense weed growth prevents wind and waves from oxygenating a large portion of lakes and ponds from spring until fall. While aquatic plants exhaust oxygen into the water during the day, they take up oxygen when photosynthesis reverses at night. The presence of organic sediment in a lake or pond confirms a lack of oxygen at night and during extended periods of the year.

Environmental Remediation of Milfoil without Unhealthy Herbicide or Ineffective Weed Harvesting

Eurasian watermilfoil likes carbon dioxide and as you know, shaking a bottle of pop removes carbon dioxide; and so does the CLEAN-FLO International inversion system. Removing carbon dioxide from the water shifts bicarbonates in the water to carbonates in which the carbon dioxide is unavailable for plant growth. This controls milfoil by environmental remediation without harmful herbicides. The CLEAN-FLO system has been in Sweeney Lake in Minnesota since 1973 and there is no Eurasian watermilfoil in Sweeney Lake today, although it is most of the neighboring lakes. But if the CLEAN-FLO inversion and oxygenation system is turned off, there is nothing else that we know of to prevent Eurasian watermilfoil from coming into Sweeney Lake.

We have asked our CLEAN-FLO International representatives if Eurasian watermilfoil was in any lakes they have treated, and is it in any Clean-Flo-treated lakes now. The answer from all of them was always the same: “Yes, Eurasian watermilfoil was in several lakes and ponds that we put the Clean-Flo system in, and no, it is not present in any Clean-Flo-treated lakes or ponds now.” Eurasian watermilfoil can be controlled using environmental remediation without unhealthy herbicide. With toxic herbicides, the milfoil comes back, usually worse than before and must be poisoned again. With environmental remediation, Eurasian watermilfoil never comes back.

Before and After images:
Lake Greenwood, Greenwood New York
Before	After
Lake Collins, Scotia New York
Before	After

Eurasian Watermilfoil Prevention:: To prevent the spread of Eurasian watermilfoil, it’s a good idea to check all equipment used in infested waters and remove all traces of vegetation after leaving any lake, river, or body of water. This includes motors, trailers, boats, diving equipment, fishing equipment, and any other machinery that might have come in contact with the aquatic plants. Typical removal methods include raking and hand pulling—these plants can then be used as mulch. These methods aren’t ideal because although mechanical cutters and harvesters are an effective method of breaking up the Eurasian watermilfoil, they do damage other important native plants and result in disruption and water turbidity. These chopping machines also cause fragments and shoots, which become dispersed elsewhere and spread the plants. The ideal solution is to manage these zones without chemicals (disruptive to aquatic ecosystems and threatening to native aquatic wildlife and plants) and without the use of machines—disruptive and only temporarily effective. Aeration systems are ideal—in any natural pond ecosystem, you’ll find pond aeration. When 02 is added to an environment depleted of oxygen, water quality improves and fish and other aquatic animals and vegetation thrive. Aerobic bacteria thrive off increased oxygen levels, resulting in improved water quality and a natural decomposition of organic matter—this includes Eurasian watermilfoil and other plant life.

Using aeration to reduce pondweeds is a natural process—in any natural pond ecosystem, you’ll find aeration. This natural process reduces pondweeds and contributes to a healthier pond ecosystem based off the natural principle that ponds are self-cleaning and can restore themselves using their own natural processes. Ponds usually keep free and clean from excess pondweeds because they contain ecosystems with food chains to absorb excess nutrients and prevent plant growth. When runoff overwhelms delicate ecosystem balances, the overgrowth of pondweeds such as Eurasian watermilfoil is a result. Pond Aeration is the natural way to restore natural water processes, accelerating them to keep up with today’s increasing amount of pollutants. Learn more about how to combat Eurasian watermilfoil, reduce pond weeds, and improve the health of your pond by aeration.

Erica Ronchetti is a freelance writer working with CLEAN-FLO to inform people about Eurasian watermilfoil and the process of pond aeration. For more information about pond aeration and pond weed removal, visit our site today!

Even lake and pond water that looks clear and clean may harbor disease-carrying bacteria. There are millions of types of bacteria but only a few of these are harmful to humans. Harmful bacteria from animal feces or human sewage can wash into watersheds after rainfall and can quickly contaminate a lake or pond. Other contaminant sources include infected swimmers, sewage discharge from boats, and malfunctioning septic systems.

Bacteria can infect people if they are swallowed, inhaled, or come in contact with an open wound. Infections from pond or lake bacteria can affect ears, eyes, brains, skin, bowels, throats and lungs. One way to evaluate water quality is to measure “indicator” organisms and then estimate the amount of fecal contamination in the water. Fecal coliforms such as E. coli and enterococci are indicator organisms that can measure the amount of fecal bacteria contamination. Other dangerous bacteria like Vibrio cholerae that is responsible for cholera outbreaks can also be present in pond and lake water.

Even deadlier bacteria such as Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba incubates in the nutrients found in the mucky organic sediment at the bottoms of ponds and lakes. When the muck is stirred up, the Naegleria fowleri float in the lake water. If it swims up a swimmers nose, it then burrows into the brain and eats it within a week.

One way to reduce disease bacteria in lakes and ponds is to remove the sediment and muck at the bottom where bacteria thrive. One way to do this is to dredge the pond or lake, but this doesn’t prevent the muck from returning, and it also can be very costly. Another way is to add microbes that eat bacteria to the pond or lake. Microbial bioaugmentation is perhaps the fastest way of addressing high levels of fecal bacteria in lakes and ponds. But again, it does not provide a permanent solution.

The only sustainable solution to reducing disease bacteria in ponds and lakes is to mimic and accelerate the natural process of oxygenating the bottom to rid the bottom of toxic gases and eventually the bottom sediment. By adding an aeration system to the pond or lake, beneficial bacteria can live and feed on the bottom muck. During the oxygenation process, muck is biodegraded into carbon dioxide, water and a very small amount of inert “ash”. The muck and organic sediment at the bottom begins to disappear, and disease bacteria have no place to incubate. Adding beneficial muck-eating bacteria at the same time as the aeration system is installed can accelerate this process.

With the organic sediment gone from the bottom, anaerobic disease bacteria cannot thrive and the pond or lake becomes safe again for swimming.

Sue M. is a freelance writer working with CLEAN-FLO to promote the use of pond and lake aeration systems to reduce disease bacteria. For more information about our lake aeration systems that can improve the quality of your water.

C-FLO Phosphorous, nitrogen and cellulose – feeders consume bottom organic sediment, while insects feed on the micro-organisms and fish feed on the insects. Muck disappears while fish thrive on natural food.

CLEAN & CLEAR^TM
CLEAN & CLEAR^TM CONCENTRATED ENZYMES is a special blend of non-toxic enzymes from nature that acts as a catalyst to biodegrade non-living organic matter and reduces available nutrients in the water, thus improving water quality.

New housing developments are partially responsible for the amount of nutrient runoff into streams, lakes, and ponds.  Fertilizer, soil, and waste sediments wash into watersheds and cause pond weeds, algal blooms, lack of pond oxygen, high water temperatures, bad smelling pond odors, and dead fish and wildlife.

To combat pond weeds, we recommend an aeration system.  In any natural pond ecosystem, you’ll find pond aeration, but a pond aeration system adds more O2 to an oxygen depleted environment.  Pond aeration is the process of adding more oxygen to a pond to improve water quality, which fish and other aquatic animals require to thrive.  Aerobic bacteria also thrive off of oxygen, and can help eliminate pollution and contribute towards a sustainable ecosystem.  Once aerators and diffuser equipment is added to a pond, oxygen dissolves into the ecosystem and water quality quickly improves, allowing O2 thriving aerobic bacteria to naturally decompose organic matter, such as pond weeds and other plant life.

Using a natural system to reduce pond weeds contributes to a healthier pond ecosystem, as it’s based on the natural principle that ponds are self-cleaning and can restore themselves using their own natural processes.  Normally, ponds keep themselves clean and free of excess pond weeds because they contain eco systems, with food chains of organisms that absorb excess nutrients.  Runoff from the surrounding area can overwhelm this delicate ecosystem balance and cause an overgrowth of algae and pond weeds.  Aeration only helps those natural water restoration processes along, duplicating and accelerating them to keep up with the increasing amount of today’s pollutants.  Learn more about how to reduce pond weeds, prevent sediment build up, and improve the health of your pond with aeration.

Bio: Erica Ronchetti is a freelance writer working with CLEAN-FLO to inform people about pond weeds and the process of pond aeration.  For more information about pond aeration and pond weed removal, visit our site today!

The Solution to Lake Pollution – Lake Restoration using a Lake Aerator System

As more and more people use lakes and live near lakes, more and more nutrients and sediments wash into watersheds, and pollute lakes. Fertilizer, waste, and soil run-off wash into watersheds and lakes decreasing oxygen levels,increasing water temperature, algae blooms, weeds, harmful bacteria, nasty odors, and fish kills.

To achieve lake restoration, the lake must assimilate the nutrient load that it receives.It is possible to do this by reducing nutrient inputs, dredging muck out of the bottom of the lake where possible, and by using a series of lake aerator units and beneficial bacteria to accelerate the natural self-cleaning processes already in lakes by incorporating dissolved oxygen back into the water and allowing the bacteria to break down the lake muck.

A normal healthy lake cleans itself because the food chain of organisms in its ecosystem absorbs nutrients.All the way at the bottom of the lake food chain, beneficial aerobic bacteria eat nutrients.This self-cleaning mechanism in the lake works very well unless too many nutrients and pollution overwhelms the food chain.If this happens, the lake begins to die and algae and weeds take hold. Dead algae and weeds begin rotting on the bottom, adding even more nutrients back into the water.This depletes the oxygen at the bottom of the pond, and sets up the perfect environment for a new algae bloom in the dying lake.

The temptation in Lake restoration is to apply a quick fix by adding chemicals and herbicides killing weeds quickly.The problem with this approach is that more rotting vegetation accumulates in the bottom of the lake, further depleting the oxygen levels. If enough of these chemicals are used, they can be toxic to fish.

Applying a Lake Aerator

An environmentally friendly and more effective method of Lake restoration is to increase dissolved oxygen levels so that nutrients decompose aerobically.Adding aerobic bacteria to the lake, accompanied by a several lake aerator units providing the necessary dissolved oxygen will successfully decompose the organic sediments and allow the lake to clean itself once again. Maintaining this oxygen rich lake environment will also reduce the amount of accumulated organic sediments. With aerobic conditions present at the bottom of the lake,the food chain is restored, and algae and weeds do not have a chance to escalate.

Sue McCrossin is a freelance writer working with CLEAN-FLO to inform people about how a lake aerator system can be an environmentally sound way of reducing lake weeds,toxins & hence improve water quality.

Why Using Chemicals to Reduce Pond Weeds is NOT a Smart Solution - Chemicals ruin water quality as the dead weeds rot and release the chemicals they have taken up. As they rot, they also consume oxygen, and increase bottom organic sediment. Fish will often die as a result of the oxygen depletion. Chemicals to kill pond weeds do nothing to remove muck, fertilizer, nothing to improve water quality, reduce odors, or improve fish growth or health.

Why Adding a Pond Aerator Will Successfully Reduce Pond Weeds - Pond aeration is the process of adding oxygen to improve water quality which is needed by fish, aquatic animals as well as aerobic bacteria to decompose organic matter. Pond aeration increases the process of oxidizing or eliminating pollution. Pond aeration system works by using special equipment called aerators. The aerator adds dissolved oxygen to the pond which improves water quality, allowing aerobic bacteria to decompose organic matter which will naturally reduce pond weeds.

Reduce pond weeds by pond aeration is based on the principle that ponds restore themselves using natural processes already in the water. A water restoration process, using pond aeration duplicates those natural processes and accelerates them to keep up with today’s pollutants.

Linda Dunkelberger is a freelance writer. CLEAN-FLO pond aerator systems naturally reduce pond weeds and improve the pond and lake water quality for drinking, swimming, fishing and boating. Having more than 30 years of experience in pond aeration and lake aeration management, CLEAN-FLO believes in a customer-focused approach. For more information on how to reduce ponds, visit our website.

Order online or call us at 800-328-6656.

Around the United States and other countries in the last few years, a great number of new housing developments have sprung up to house the ever-increasing population. These developments increase the amount of nutrients and sediments that wash into watersheds. Fertilizer, improper waste disposal, and soil run-off find their way into our streams, lakes and ponds and cause the following problems: algae blooms, rooted pond weeds, bacteria, low oxygen levels, increased water temperature, nasty odors, and fish kills.

A normal healthy pond keeps itself clean because it contains an ecosystem with a food chain of organisms that absorb nutrients. At the lowest part of the pond food chain, aerobic bacteria eat nutrients. The natural system in the pond works very well until excessive nutrients and run-off overwhelms the pond’s ecosystem and its ability to absorb nutrients. Once this occurs algae and pond weeds take over. As algae and pond weeds die, sink to the bottom and rot, they add nutrients back into the water, use up the oxygen at the bottom of the pond, and increase the bottom sediment. Then, as soon as sunlight and water temperature are right again, a new algae bloom and pond weed growth occur.

The Wrong Solution to Pond Weeds

Typically to combat this cycle pond owners add chemicals and herbicides to kill pond weeds quickly. Unfortunately this only acerbates the problem by adding more muck from dead vegetation to the bottom of the pond. The decaying plant material further depletes the oxygen levels. Extensive chemical usage can also result in residual build up in the sediments and fish.

The Right Solution to Pond Weeds

The solution is to increase dissolved oxygen levels so that nutrients decompose aerobically. The bacteria and organisms that live in the pond need dissolved oxygen to decompose the organic sediments, and die off if the dissolved oxygen level decreases. A different type of bacteria, anaerobic bacteria, thrive in the environment when there is low or no dissolved oxygen, and these bacteria slowly digest the organic sediments and release toxic gases into the water that kill beneficial aerobic bacteria and insects.

Anaerobic digestion of pond sediments is 30-40 times slower than with aerobic digestion, allowing organic sediments levels to increase.

The ideal thing to do to save the pond, get rid of pond weeds and algae, and increase pond fish, is to stop the new nutrients from entering the pond. Since this is not always possible, the next best thing to do is to add dissolved oxygen to the pond, which will improve water quality, allowing aerobic bacteria to decompose organic matter. This process is called Pond Aeration.

Pond Aeration – The Solution

Pond aeration increases the process of oxidizing or eliminating pollution. The best pond aeration systems work by using special equipment called diffusers. Maintaining the aerobic environment will also reduce or prevent the accumulation of organic sediments. Aerobic conditions at the pond bottom benefit all aspects of the aquatic environment, reduce algae and pond weeds, and prevent sediment build up.

CLEAN-FLO’s objective is to inform people about pond weeds and the process of pond aeration.

Aeration System Considerations

If you are considering purchasing a Lake Diffuser or Pond Diffuser aeration system to alleviate weeds, bacteria, and other pollutants from your body of water, you may be curious about the solar and windmill generated aeration systems on the market.  They seem so environmentally friendly, and require only the initial installation cost, but are they right for your pond or lake, and will they do the job?

Electrical Aeration System – Recommended

Hands down, the electrical aeration system will achieve consistent quality results every time; cost effectively, with easy installation, a hidden compressor which will not impede the view, and very easy maintenance.  Let’s explore the reasons for this statement.

Windmill Aeration System

How effective is a windmill aeration system in circulating the critical oxygen needed to restore a pond full of muck or thick algae?  The typical windmill aeration system runs only 7 hours a day, with battery backup handling the remaining 17 hours necessary for proper aeration.  However, the wind does not blow every day, so the windmill must be capable of storing and dispensing the necessary power for several days. Obviously batteries to supply all this power will be costly. A windmill large enough to supply the necessary power over a two-day period, using battery storage is extremely large, and extremely expensive.

Even when the wind is blowing and the mill is working to send vital oxygen up from the bottom of the pond, it is still not as efficient as an electrical pump.  Some windmills create a blast of air on every full-turn of the fan and others send air on every half turn. Calculating the actual output is not easy because the wind is constantly changing, but regardless, the mill will not provide a constant flow of bubbles.

The windmill aeration system tower must be strong enough to withstand severe winds and be anchored securely into the ground so that it does not blow away. This usually requires a 20’ – 25’ tall windmill and at least a 10’ by 10’ slab of concrete to anchor it on.  Most windmills have a fan diameter from 65 to 72 inches. Almost all windmills have 12 fan blades.  Many windmill aeration system manufacturers say that the mill will operate with as little as 5 mph winds, but this is rarely the case.  The resulting structure next to the pond can look similar to the eyesore of a cell phone tower.

Installing the windmill aeration system can be very complex and require several days. The final cost in time alone can make it a better deal to hire the experts to build and install the system.   In addition, the diaphragm on the windmill aeration system will require maintenance after a few years of service requiring that the windmill tower be lowered to be able to open and adjust the windmill head to replace the diaphragm.

Windmill aeration systems do supply more power than solar systems, but since a typical solar power aeration system generates less than 5 PSI they really are not an alternative to either a windmill or an electric aeration system.

Sometimes the cost of the windmill aeration system may make it seem like the best deal.  Remember that the best deal isn’t always the cheapest. You can probably save a lot of money by buying a windmill aerator system on eBay, but you won’t get any customer support when things go wrong.

Solar Aeration System

Typical costs of solar cells http://www.wholesalesolar.com/specials.html (not counting cost of batteries & converters) needed to provide 30 kW-hrs per day or 1.68 hp (typical use by an American family) is about 14 cents per kW-hr over a 20 year useful life of the cells. We get no more than 5 hrs of effective sunlight a day here in Pennsylvania. In areas like Arizona, you can do a little better. An aeration system must be operated twenty-four hours a day to be effective, so a large bank of storage batteries is necessary, along with converters necessary to change low voltage DC to 120 volt ac power.

You may consider solar power a good enough trade for clean, “free” energy. To do that, you’d have to come up with about $30, 000 (plus installation costs) up front, instead of paying the electric bill monthly over 20 years. And a large, often unsightly surface area for the solar cells is required.

Bob Laing is an engineer with more than 30 years of experience in aeration system design, improvements & Pond weeds control with aeration systems.   He is currently a consultant for CLEAN-FLO, a leader in pond and lake aeration systems

Sky Blue lake dye is designed to filter out UV, thereby slowing algae and weed growth while transforming lake water and pond water to a gorgeous natural shade of blue. They’re designed to shade underwater portions of your body of water from sunlight, and effectively prevent an excess of aquatic plant and algae growth. Lake dye is safe, natural, and effective in preventing plant photosynthesis in bottom dwelling plants and fungi. It’s also very effective in camouflaging the unsightly growth, garbage, and debris that can accumulate in bodies of water as well. Early in the spring season is an excellent time to apply your lake dye to make the most of its effectiveness—by summer, your lake or pond will have less algae and weed growth.

If you preemptively apply blue lake dye in the spring season, you can prevent algae and aquatic weed growth before it starts and transform your pond or lake into a gorgeous body of water—blue pond dyes can be poured through a hole in the ice in late winter and can be applied immediately after ice-out. Lake dye will give the appearance that your lake or pond is much deeper then it seems, but it will not make the water cloudy, dark, or inky. When you apply the proper amount, you’ll be able to see down two to three feet—and the water will have a natural blue tint.

Who Can Use Lake Dye?

Lake dye can successfully be used in any pond or lake that has sufficient retention of water so that the pond dye is not flushed out. If the color starts to fade due to rain events, simply add more dye. Lake dye is perfect for backyard garden ponds, large business parks, residential development ponds, municipalities, and townships as well. Lake dye transforms ponds at golf courses and even farmers can use it as there are no restrictions on swimming, fishing, irrigation or stock watering. Lake dye won’t stain clothing or bathing suits, fountains, or any surfaces. It’s simple to use: the product can be poured in at the water’s edge and will last for weeks or months depending on flow through. Although lake dye cannot be used in chlorinated environments as chlorine will decrease its life and effectiveness, it’s completely safe for lakes and completely harmless to fish, pets, humans, and the environment.

CLEAN-FLO’s Lake Dye:

CLEAN-FLO’s lake dye product is a completely organic “Sky Blue” color that’s designed to enhance the natural beauty of your pond or lake. Its special formula is designed to reflect the blue of the sky and hide all plants and debris submerged in the body of water. Besides an aesthetically pleasing color, “Sky Blue” will also help keep aquatic plant growth under control when used along with CLEAN-FLO’s Multiple Inversion system. Simple to apply – simply pour in the water at multiple spots around the pond or lake and allow 24 hours for mixing.

Duckweed plants are about 1/8th to a 1/4 of an inch in width, so they are not very large. They are generally round in outline, with a single root hanging from each small plant.

Watermeal is the smallest flowering plant in existence and is much smaller than Duckweed. Watermeal plants look like tiny green seeds, which are less than 1/16th of an inch in diameter.  A handful of watermeal will feel gritty, like you are rubbing cornmeal or small seeds between your fingers.

Since these plants require a lot of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) to grow, they are typically found in ponds and lakes where deciduous trees drop leaves into the water and/or where drainage from on-lot septic systems, animal feed lots or other nutrient-rich watersheds exist. Testing water sources for nutrients often identify the primary source.

Both Duckweed and Watermeal tend to disappear from the pond surface in late fall and reappear in the spring.  In the spring and summer, the plants are photosynthesizing. This process produces food, which is stored as starch, and oxygen, which becomes trapped in the plant body and provides buoyancy. In the fall, the accumulated starch makes the plants heavier, and as photosynthesis slows down and less oxygen is produced, the plants lose buoyancy. They sink to the sediments where they overwinter, relying on stored starch for energy. In the spring, the plants start photosynthesizing again and the accumulated oxygen causes them to rise to the surface.

Given enough nutrients, duckweed and watermeal can reproduce by budding prolifically to cover an entire pond within a few weeks after coming to the surface.

Lochness Pond & Lake Dye in ether blue or black can be utilized to retard the sun’s ray’s ability to penetrate the water-body reducing the plant’s ability to photosynthesize. Dye is not recommended for fast flowing or quick turnover bodies of water. It is however suitable for use in sewage lagoons and shallow or muddy lakes and ponds.

Chemicals can be used to kill duckweed and watermeal and can be effective in clearing the pond or lake surface. However, as the chemicals kill the plants and the plants decay the process utilizes oxygen.  On the bottom, this reduction of oxygen releases additional nutrients to the already nutrient rich water-body. Thus oxygen levels are reduced and nutrient levels are increased.  This process may then lead to fish kills and/or additional algae and weed growth.

To develop a long term water quality plan to effectively control duckweed, watermeal and other invasive weeds and algae, nutrient levels must be reduced and controlled. As a part of this process both a watershed and water-body plan are essential.  Just as in the human body, it is important to control the nutrients that go into the body as well as how you process them for maximum health.  The process in a water-body is very similar, and not surprisingly oxygen is a key component.

Oxygen is the most important constituent of lake or pond health.  Oxygen is an essential element for all aquatic organisms that breathe.  Therefore, there is a direct relationship between the oxygen concentrations and exchanges occurring in a lake or pond, and the physiological status of aquatic organisms.

Without oxygen at the bottom of a pond or lake, anaerobic bacteria (those that live without oxygen) produce an acid environment.  These acids not only increase acidity, but also cause a massive release of phosphorus and nitrogen, two major fertilizers, from the organic sediment into the water column of the pond or lake.  These fertilizers feed duckweed and watermeal increasing their quantity and density.

These same anaerobes put toxic gases into the water including hydrogen sulfide (that rotten egg smell), ammonia and methane that kill beneficial bacteria and insects that would feed on the bottom organic sediment and biodegrade it into carbon dioxide, water and a tiny amount of inorganic ash.  This ash is beneficial in reducing acidity.

Lack of oxygen can cause fish kills or prevent fish from feeding on benthic (bottom feeding) insects.

Without oxygen at the bottom at all times, beneficial bacteria and insects cannot biodegrade the organic sediment.  Large accumulations of organic sediment follow.

The CLEAN-FLO Process of Water and Lake Restoration provides a custom solution for providing aeration in your water-body from bottom to top.

With the availability of oxygen, a specific combination of beneficial bacteria and enzymes are recommended to control duckweed and watermeal:

LAKE CLEAR:  a proprietary blend of bacteria and enzymes to control and reduce ammonia and nitrite in water.

C-FLO – a proprietary formulation of beneficial microorganisms that feed on organic sediment (muck).

C-FLO 6 – a proprietary formulation of beneficial microorganisms that feed on nitrogen and phosphorus in water.

After a year of testing, we are very excited to announce the introduction of Lake Clear to our product line. Lake Clear is a proprietary blend of bacteria specifically formulated for filamentous, blue green and planktonic algae control. Lake Clear is a blend of 100% natural, non-toxic, non-pathogenic bacteria.

Use of Lake Clear results in dramatically reduced growth of algae, improved water quality, odor control and an enhanced appearance of a pond or lake.

Lake Clear works by outcompeting algae for essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the water and by digesting organic sediment. Through nitrification, de-nitrification, and rapid growth on soluble pollutants, Lake Clear will out-compete the excess algae for these nutrients. Algae will starve, die, and then be digested by other Lake Clear bacteria.

Images: Before and after use of Lake Clear

Lake Clear is compatible with shading dyes. It is not compatible with aquatic algaecides or herbicides. These chemicals kill algae and weeds and also kill beneficial bacteria. When algae and weeds die, nutrients are released back into the water column and are available to be utilized again for repeated algal blooms. Repeated use of algaecides and herbicides reduces a pond or lake’s ability to regulate its nutrient level, causing it to be out of balance. If aquatic algaecides or herbicides are used, you should wait 2-3 weeks before applying Lake Clear.

Lake Clear will help bring the nutrient load back into balance and promote a healthy aquatic environment.

Understanding Water Sample Results for Oxygen

Oxygen is very important for a healthy body of water. Many times we are told that “my lake has plenty of oxygen” or “oxygen is not a problem in our lake”. Unfortunately water samples can be misleading unless you understand the dynamics of the changes in oxygen in a body of water throughout the day.

Oxygen in the air above a lake oxygenates the surface water of the lake. So do wind and waves and rain and even water runoff from the watershed. Algae and aquatic weeds also put oxygen into the surface water during the daytime through photosynthesis, but take much of that oxygen back during the night. On a sunny day when oxygen levels increase due to photosynthesis, levels will tend to be much higher than the levels in samples taken just before sunrise. Since most sampling is done during the day, the results are sometimes misleading.

For these reasons, a single surface sample means little when trying to evaluate oxygen levels.  

Let’s take sampling one step further. If you conduct sampling with a direct reading instrument, such as a YSI, you can obtain oxygen levels at various depths in the water column. In most cases, oxygen levels will decrease as the measurements get deeper, and many times will be very low or near zero 6” off the bottom. If the bottom is low in oxygen during daylight hours, chances are high that it will be even lower during the overnight hours.

The difference in all water quality parameters between surface and bottom water can be striking and is most likely linked to oxygen levels. Dissolved oxygen tends to be depleted in deeper waters because photosynthesis is reduced due to poor light penetration and the fact that dead plant materials and other organics fall to the bottom using up the oxygen as it decomposes.

This difference between surface and bottom waters is exaggerated in the summer when thermal layering occurs which prevents mixing. The surface may become supersaturated with oxygen (>100%) and the bottom anoxic with no oxygen.

Armed with this information you will now be able to question and evaluate water-sampling results on your water body.

Turnberry Lakes Turns to CLEAN-FLO & Lake Savers

Turnberry Lakes is a premier residential development in the Village of Lakewood, Illinois.

The community is built around four lakes that give this suburban community its distinctive natural character. Unfortunately, like most lakes in developed areas, all four Turnberry Lakes were suffering from an over abundance of nutrients and nuisance algae growth. Like many communities Turnberry Lakes implemented a lake management program that utilized aquatic herbicides/algaecides as the primary control for weed and algae growth.

Over several years the herbicide budget steadily increased, but unfortunately by the summer of 2008 results deteriorated to the point that mats of filamentous algae covered large portions of the lakes despite the aggressive herbicide program. At that time all lakes were characterized as eutrophic to hyper-eutrophic.

In 2009, Turnberry Lakes turned to CLEAN-FLO and Lake Savers. CLEAN-FLO completed the engineering and design work for Inversion Oxygenation Systems for all four lakes over the winter and Lake Savers installed the systems in early April 2009 and applied beneficial enzyme and bacteria treatments later in the Spring to reduce nutrient levels and organic muck on the lake bottom.

Two key factors led Turnberry Lakes to select CLEAN-FLO and Lake Savers as their partners on this initiative:

1. CLEAN-FLO’s ability to custom engineer systems for all four lakes that maximized oxygen transfer while delivering lower energy costs and minimizing the number of shore-based compressor stations.
   
2. Lake Savers innovative Full Service Leasing/Management Program that ensures that the systems will continue to operate at peak efficiency for many, many years.

Lake Savers’ development and successful implementation of the Full Service Leasing/Management Program on projects in North America is becoming a key factor in enabling larger lakes to access CLEAN-FLO Technology without having to make a large capital investment.

The approach did not result in an immediate “quick fix”. Turnberry Lakes still experienced some algae problems in 2009. However, water quality data showed that the lakes were steadily improving and more importantly organic muck reductions ranged from 11 inches in Lake One to 6 inches in Lake Three. This reduction significantly reduces the nutrient availability for future plant growth.

In 2010, Turnberry Lakes will be testing CLEAN-FLO’s new Lake Clear Bacteria Product for even better natural algae control and continue to implement shoreline and watershed best management practices as part of their comprehensive, community-based effort to preserve and improve the health, aesthetics and recreation quality of the four lakes that are the centerpiece of the community.

Black and Blue Dye Special

Has this winter been rough on you? It has probably also been rough on your lake or pond if you haven’t been operating a CLEAN-FLO inversion system during the winter.

CLEAN-FLO’s Sky Blue and Lochness Black organic lake dyes are excellent for coloring the water and reducing sunlight penetration in a water body. The growth of aquatic plants can be slowed dramatically by reducing sunlight penetration. By applying dyes in the spring, you can get a jump-start on preventing summer plant growth.

Now through April 15^th, for every quart of dye that you buy, you will receive a second quart at half price. One quart treats 4 acre-feet due to our concentrated formula, which also saves shipping space and cost.

You can view the special here:
http://www.clean-flo.com/specials/pond-lake-dye-special/

Upcoming Specials

 Watch for our popular bacteria and enzyme special starting on April 1^st. Our new product Lake Clear will be included in this special.

CLEAN-FLO Inversion – Not Just for Small Lakes and Ponds

  Images: Collins Lake restoration, before and after.  

 From time to time we will be contacted by someone looking for solutions for a large body of water. One of their concerns is that aeration will not be effective in a body of water over a certain size. All we can tell you is, properly engineered aeration can be effective on any size body of water.

Aeration technology is not new. In fact, efforts to increase oxygen levels in water bodies can be traced back over 100 years. Over this long history of experimentation and implementation of various methods of aeration there have been many more failures than successes. While relatively simple in concept, proper aeration of large open-water systems has proven quite difficult in practice.

CLEAN-FLO has met the challenge of delivering consistent results through aeration system implementation by adhering to the following key principles:

The system and equipment must be custom-designed for each water body – a “kit” approach to aeration system design is not reliable. 

Simple is better… Aeration systems must operate continuously to be effective. The fewer the failure points in the system the more likely the system will be able to perform consistently over time.

 The “devil is in the details”… where a diffuser sits in the water body and whether it sits on the bottom or 12 inches from the bottom makes a big difference in system performance and results. CLEAN-FLO offers the best combination of system design, engineering, installation and service in the industry.

CLEAN-FLO’s approach to water body restoration is based on duplicating nature’s own design for keeping water bodies healthy and in balance. It is certainly no secret that dissolved oxygen is the cornerstone of maintaining water body health and balance.

Maintaining high dissolved oxygen levels throughout the water column from top to bottom (including the sediment/water interface layer) twenty four hours per day 365 days per year, delivers the following benefits to the water body:

Control of nutrients that lead to excessive aquatic weed and algae growth (P, N and CO₂).

Prevention of the formation of undesirable toxic gases, hydrogen sulfide, methane and ammonia, formed as a result of persistent anaerobic conditions.

 Prevention of the chemical release of Manganese, Iron and other metals through redox reactions under anaerobic conditions.

Increase in biological activity in the benthic layer accelerating the decomposition of organic “muck” at the bottom.

Fishery improvement as a result of enabling fish to live and feed all the way to the bottom of the water body.
 

                    
 Image: Restoration of Sihwa Reservoir.                                              Image: CLEAN-FLO reservoir restoration.

 Given these well-established benefits, it would seem obvious that artificial aeration would be a wide-spread management tool for improving water quality in ponds, lakes and reservoirs.

Unfortunately, as simple as artificial aeration is in concept, the vast majority of artificial aeration projects fail to deliver results as expected.

Three projects that we have currently underway that involve large bodies of water include two drinking water reservoirs and a recreational lake. The two drinking water reservoirs are 3,770 acres and 11,990 acres respectively. CLEAN-FLO was retained to increase DO levels, and decrease iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide levels to improve water quality prior to the intake for treatment. The recreational lake is 1,920 acres in size and CLEAN-FLO was retained to solve weed and algal issues in certain sections of the lake.

The key to any large-scale aeration project is the work effort in the design process.

CLEAN-FLO Website Updated

Over the years our website has grown with information for education about our process and restoration of water bodies in general. We have recently completed an updating and reorganization of our site and hope that you and others will visit us at http://www.CLEAN-FLO.com.