Lake Management - Ackenberry Trout Farms

Grass Carp
Using Grass carp for biological weed control can be a very environmentally
friendly, economical and a rewarding lake management tool. Instead of dumping complex chemicals into ponds, consider using grass carp to efficiently
control undesirable weeds. We need some weeds to grow in our lakes, but it is
nice to have grass carp graze the weeds down to keep them from looking unsightly or leaving to much organic material decomposing on the bottom of our
ponds. Many of our golf course customers phone in amazement when they
see schools of these fish sunning themselves at the water surface on a hot day. Grass carp don’t eat all species
of weeds so talk to one of our experts and find out if they are the right solution for your pond or lake.
Weed cutters
To control the few type of aquatic weeds that carp don’t eat, we use the Weedrazer to cut
these down. It takes about 30 min for 2 people to cut and collect weeds from 30 meters of
shoreline (10 meters out) using the Weedrazer and Raker together. This technique
permanently removes these nutrients from your pond helping the problem instead of putting a band-aide on the problem. The Weedrazer is also great at cutting weeds near docks
and area’s used by boats and public. The WeedRaker is a great tool to remove hair algae or filamentous algae because it has 8” long replaceable tines.
Algaecides POLYDEX—POLYPRO
Ackenberry Pond & Lake
Management
Ph
POLYDEX and POLYPRO is used to control undesirable algae, bacteria and smells in lakes or ponds. POLYDEX is NSF 60 certified for use in drinking water and water treatment plants. Another product from the same
manufacture is called Polypro. This product is less expensive but not certified.
POLYDEX is a unique solution containing electrostatically charged
natural mineral ions. These ions attract and bond to negatively
charged organisms stopping metabolism, causing death. POLYDEX
is a sensible alternative to synthetic compounds that negatively impact our environment. Equally important these minerals are essential
micronutrients to plants, livestock and humans. POLYDEX is proven
in municipal, commercial, and private settings. POLYDEX is used to
kill algae, kill e-coli and other undesirable bacteria while not killing
aerobic heterotrophs and nitrifying bacteria at managed treatment
rates. It can also be used in water features to keep them free of algae
and microbial growth. POLYDEX can be used to protect water
sources for water treatment plants, processing plants and livestock
water sources.
We use POLYDEX to replace granular copper sulphate (illegal for algae treatment). In ponds treated
with granular copper sulphate (GCS) products only a
Same pond before Polydex treatment
small percentage of the copper kills the algae while
and three days later!
the rest precipitates out on the pond or lake bottom.
This excess concentrated copper kills beneficial organisms such as heterotrophic bacteria, nitrifiers, and
invertebrates at the bottom of the lake. These organisms are responsible for improving our water
quality and with repeat use of GCS products we can make the water quality of our lake deteriorate for many years.
For more information and lake management consultation please contact the POND
PRO Lake Management Team at Ackenberry lead by biologist Lorne Louden, BSc.
Call 780 878-3839 Fax: 780 878-3769 or email ackenberry1@aol.com
Check our Website at www ackenberrytroutfarms.com
Improving water quality with Lake Management
Working with nature to preserve our lakes for future generations.
Ackenberry Trout Farms
is a professional pond supply and pond service company. Our lake management team uses environmentally responsible techniques to permanently improve pond or lake water quality.
We strive to seek out the most advanced pond equipment and most researched products to service or improve your Lake. Most products are available, however we only carry quality products that we test and prove to ourselves before introducing them to you. If we have not tested a specific product and we want to use it we will tell you it is experimental. Some of our services and products include Pond Aeration design and install, Lake Fountains, Trout Stocking, Grass Carp Stocking, Weed and Algae Control, Drinking Water Improvement, Water Clarification, Lake Mapping and Consulting
Services.
Our lake management team, headed by biologist Lorne Louden, BSc. attributes our success to offering great services, great products at fantastic prices. Lorne has 11 years experience
improving lakes and ponds both for customers and on our own 6 experimental ponds at ATF. Lorne also has
25 years experience in breeding fish, designing life support systems for aquaria, and looking after commercial
aquaria. Our team uses water chemistry, nutrient mapping, and bathometric maps to design a lake management plan that works for you. We use energy efficient Robust-aire and KASCO aeration systems, biological
and chemical clarifiers, phosphate absorbers, grass carp, weed cutters and mineral based algaecides to make
your pond better.
Lake Biology
Does your lake have excess algae and weeds, dirty looking water, ever increasing sludge layer or dreaded fish
kills? If you answered yes to one or more of these problems your lake may be eutrophic. When a lake becomes highly eutrophic (water rich in nutrients) the delicate balance of phytoplankton, zooplankton, plants and
fish is changed. Nutrient
rich water from soil erosion,
or fertilizer use around watercourses and lakes speed
up the process of eutrophication. When all of the oxyEutrophic Lake: Bottom has gone anaerHealthy Lake: Many species of bacteria
gen is consumed faster than
obic. Invertebrates, heterotrophic bacteria
invertebrates and fish co-exsist at lake
it is replenished at the lake
and nitrifying bacteria die. Nutrients are
bottom. Nutrients are converted very
consumed slow and phosphate, iron and
bottom (the sediment / water
quickly and phosphates, iron and potassipotassium are released into water colum are locked up at the bottom. New
interface) it is said to be anumn.
phosphates absorbed by minerals & iron.
aerobic. In some cases this
lack of oxygen is seasonal
but because all the phosphates are released within 5 days of the sediment going anaerobic the damage for the
season is done.
Nutrients that were once consumed by bacteria or absorbed by the aerobic sediment layer are released during
these low oxygen events. This is known as internal nutrient loading (INL). New nutrients that enter the lake
from external sources is called external nutrient load (ENL). INL usually makes up 50 - 90 % of nutrients of a
Eutrophic lake. Normal lakes with healthy aerobic sediments have INL as low as 2% of the total nutrients.
When the bottom is anoxic anaerobic bacteria take over and reduce wastes at a much slower rate. Toxins such
as hydrogen sulphide (smelly water) and methane's are released. The benthic biota that once had a great diversity of invertebrates and bacteria are now lost. Less live food is available for fish. A thicker layer of sludge
is deposited at the bottom of the lake each year. Eventually blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) becomes the
dominant species mid summer, blocking light from other beneficial phytoplankton and plants. The lake is now
eutrophic and without lake aeration the process mother nature turns this pond or lake into a swamp and then
into a bog. This is the natural evolution of lakes and this is where bogs and marshes come from.
For more information call Ackenberry at 780 878
878--3839, email
ackenberry1@aol.com or go to www.
www.ackenberrytroutfarms.com
ackenberrytroutfarms.com
Lake Aeration
Keeping the bottom of the lake oxygenated is the easiest solution to stopping internal nutrient loading from becoming the dominant source of nutrients in your lake or pond. A properly designed aeration system should keep the dissolved oxygen levels throughout the water column at
7 ppm or higher. This can reduce internal nutrient loading by 98% and external nutrient
loading as well. We can design and quote a lake aeration system to reduce these nutrients. This service is free!
Fish will be able to feed on invertebrates on the bottom as well as natural zooplankton
throughout the lake. Professionals use Robust-aire or Max-air systems in water
greater than 8 feet of water, and KASCO surface aerators or fountains in less than 8
feet of water. A fountain can replace some diffusers in a lake that is any depth. The
rest of the diffusers will move enough water. For information on aeration check out
Ackenberry’s Aeration handout. It is loaded with useful information. We have sold
and helped install over 700 systems in Canada.
Biological Pond Clarifiers
One of the simplest ways to improve
water clarity and reduce organic
sludge at the pond bottom is by dosing your pond or lake with bacillus
species of bacteria. These heterotrophic bacteria work hard to reduce
organics and nutrients in your pond
naturally. These food grade bacteria
work for your pond just like probiotic
yogurt works for our intestinal tract.
At Ackenberry we sell Pond Pro All Natural Pond Clarifier bacteria that comes in easy to apply water soluble
packs (wsp’s). It only takes minutes / acre to throw these small packs in a 1/2 hectare pond. We sell only freshly
fermented bacteria each year in a 1 billion—5 billion bacteria count / gram. Our bacteria are on the Canadian
DSL list. If you have high dissolved oxygen at the bottom of your pond these bacteria can reduce and reverse
the accumulation of black muck. Even the black carbon is converted to CO2 by these heterotrophic bacteria.
Water Clarifiers & Phosphate absorbers
When solving water quality issues we
have to realize every Lake and Pond has
its own unique problems. You may have
a newly dug earth pond that has lots of
clay and dirt in the water. Other ponds
might have silt laden water entering them
in the spring. Pond Logs or Floc Logs
Before Pond Log
2 hours after Pond Log
can cure most of these problems. If your
pond is brown with tannins, one of our
flocculants can fix this. Does you’re your pond still have high phosphate levels after properly aerating your lake.
Depending on the results of your water sample we may use Phos-Gone, flocculent or pond logs. Ackenberry
staff can analyze your water and soil from your lake to determine which solution is right for your specific pond.
Ackenberry Lake Management team has helped many pond owners, golf courses, Lake associations, Hutterite
Colonys and others solve their water quality problems. We have the tools and knowledge to diagnose and fix
problems such as excess Algae or weeds, fish kills, dirty or smelly water, increasing sludge layer and other
Water quality problems.
Ackenberry only sell quality products for your aeration,
fountain, weed/algae control and water clarification needs.