Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi,
I intend to use some Glyphosate nearby my system.
My question is this: We know glyphosate inhibits nutrient transfer through the leaves, and is absorbed topically by the leaves, and not the roots. Making it safe to use on grape vines when dorman to remove the grasses and weeds.
As I have some grasses growing from some 300mm down beside my GB, they have been impossible to remove by weeding.
Will glyphosate hurt my fish? I expect any that gets in the water will harm the algae, but not the plants (unless water is splashed)
But I don't know about my fish.
What are your thoughts?
H.

Kuda i would rather mix a strong solution of salt and spray on the weeds we know that wont harm the fish

Maybe there is some information here that might be useful for you?

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1366394.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s963151.htm


Scott

The surfactants and adjuvants that come mixed with the glyphosate will kill fish...

20 years ago the organic gardners association of Australia declared
glyphosphate as a safe product to use in the vegi patch.

When they took that stand they didn't intend for us to drink it.
If you spray glyphosphate around plants and within a few minutes
decide not to kill your weeds then all you need to do is water the leaves of the plants.
It's all a matter of concentration.
If you are spraying a standard rate of 1 part glyphosphate to 100 parts water
and this became diluted by even a small spray of water or rain then it will become ineffective.
I speak from years of gardening experience.
I wouldn't pour glyphosphate into my fish tank but I don't have any hesitation in spraying it in
my garden and in close proximity to my fish.
Havn't lost any fish yet from spray.
Unless you are spraying on a windy day or being sloppy with your spraying then you would
hardly get any spray in your fish tank.
The alternative is to use one of those latest roller applicators to apply the glyphosphate.
Other than from organic farmers every vegetable and grain and even canola oil is grown with the protective aid of glyphosphate.

Definitely will kill fish and yabbys, have seen the result on my dads farm, from accidental spray drift.

If you "really" need to use it near your system, I wouldn't use a sprayer, but rather the dab approach. Mix it up in a bucket, and using rubber gloves wet a rag in the mix, and dab the weeds you want gone. There are also ready made things out there too (weed wands).

FYI, you need to mix it in water to work properly, the concentrated sray mix is not taken up as effectively as when it is mixed to the prescribed dose of water.

Thanks guys, that clears this up a lot.
a soft wicking applicator seems to be the way. A pity though... it'd be nice to have a glyphosate type solution to keeping algae down.
There is an algaecide you can get that's not meant to hurt your fish, but not knowing what that is I assume it will hurt my plants

An old paint brush is another good dab applicator...

bugger, I just threw out 4 in our spring clean on sunday

Yeah, that all pretty good advice.
Algae is best kept at bay.
Shade is the best preventer of algae.
There are reports of farmers in the middle ages who kept their ponds free of algae by putting sheathes of hay in their ponds. Those guys don't have email though.
If you can get barley straw it aparently does the same thing.
otherwise make sure that 2 thirds of your pond is covered with plants.
In the end we just have to keep that sun away from our ponds.
A friend of mine rund his water through a fine sand filter and his ponds are in bright sunlight.

What about those burner weed pole things - the ones which are essentially a small flame thrower? Fun as well as safe.

Plastic GBs...

Doesn't sound right to me, sounds like the typical sort of misnomers that Monsanto tries to spread, a little like roundup being so safe that you can drink it.

When you start to do the homework into glyphosate you find that theres a lot of information out there.

Studies in Denmark found that their ground water was contaminated with it and banned many of its uses. The US EPA claims glyphosate is persistent in the environment.

According to a June 2005 report in Environmental Health Perspectives, Roundup was found to be "...toxic to human placental...cells within 18 hours [of exposure], with concentrations lower than those found in agricultural use," and, "Roundup is always more toxic than its active ingredient." The researchers also found glyphosate and Roundup effects on sexual hormones at very low levels. This suggests that "dilution with other ingredients in Roundup may, in fact, facilitate glyphosate's hormonal impacts." Source: Organic Consumers Association.

That sounds completely evil Joel...

What alternatives are there?

Steam.