Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Zebra Mussels


YZThump

Recommended Posts

This is incredible......

During a Striper Derby on Lake Havasu last Sunday one of the anglers hooked a rod and reel some fishing fan lost a few months ago. A rod and reel covered in quagga mussels. STORY

doc483257d14a2d3579585858.jpg

Couple things from that article...

"Quagga mussels are small - about 20 cm -."

Really? That's a huge mussel. I'm assuming they meant mm.

"California Fish and Game."

Is that what they call the DNR out that way? How do you abbreviate Fish and Game? :)

Link to comment
  • Replies 138
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • WakeGirl

    12

  • Malibudude

    9

  • Chia

    6

  • NvBoarder

    6

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

This is incredible......

During a Striper Derby on Lake Havasu last Sunday one of the anglers hooked a rod and reel some fishing fan lost a few months ago. A rod and reel covered in quagga mussels. STORY

doc483257d14a2d3579585858.jpg

Couple things from that article...

"Quagga mussels are small - about 20 cm -."

Really? That's a huge mussel. I'm assuming they meant mm.

"California Fish and Game."

Is that what they call the DNR out that way? How do you abbreviate Fish and Game? :)

DFG. Whistling.gif

Link to comment

Don

Sounds like you could just put hot water in the ballast tanks. I also read a salt water solution was being recommended to kill them.

I'm not sure I'd want to put bleach in the ballast tanks. Actually, I don't trust bleach that close to the frickin boat. Just what I need is to end up with some kind of accident & have a big bleach burn out on my carpet.

Link to comment

We don't have them in most of our lakes in MN, in fact I am not sure if any of the inland lakes in MN have them. there are signs all over about the mussels and milfoil.

Milfoil has been a big problem in MN though but, it seems like it is becoming less of a problem now, at least less publicity...

As far as I am concerned, you guys can keep them all!!!

Link to comment
We don't have them in most of our lakes in MN, in fact I am not sure if any of the inland lakes in MN have them. there are signs all over about the mussels and milfoil.

Milfoil has been a big problem in MN though but, it seems like it is becoming less of a problem now, at least less publicity...

As far as I am concerned, you guys can keep them all!!!

I'm sure there are some lakes that have them. Most lakes down here in SE Wisconsin do and some in the northern lakes are starting to report them. It's only a matter of time. :(

Link to comment

Don't think salt water works. If my memory is correct. I am a old fart so memory my be a issue but I think the zebras came over in ballast of ships from the red sea.

Link to comment

I am sure there are as well, but, no 'major' ones that I know of...hopefully you guys keep them for a while at least, and I agree that it is going to be here sometime, and unfortunately probably sooner than later... Cry.gif

We don't have them in most of our lakes in MN, in fact I am not sure if any of the inland lakes in MN have them. there are signs all over about the mussels and milfoil.

Milfoil has been a big problem in MN though but, it seems like it is becoming less of a problem now, at least less publicity...

As far as I am concerned, you guys can keep them all!!!

I'm sure there are some lakes that have them. Most lakes down here in SE Wisconsin do and some in the northern lakes are starting to report them. It's only a matter of time. :(

Link to comment
Sounds like you could just put hot water in the ballast tanks. I also read a salt water solution was being recommended to kill them.

I'm not sure I'd want to put bleach in the ballast tanks. Actually, I don't trust bleach that close to the frickin boat. Just what I need is to end up with some kind of accident & have a big bleach burn out on my carpet.

Here is what my State (Utah) recommends for ballast tanks...

An effective mussel-killing solution — for each ballast tank — is two gallons of a 200 parts per million

(ppm) solution of potassium chloride (KCL). Despite the fact that it will kill mussels, this solution is

harmless to humans and to the environment. It also has extremely low corrosion characteristics and has

been used in the oil well drilling industry for decades due to these characteristics A chloride

concentration of 250 ppm is allowable for drinking water and the solution is below that level.

Potassium chloride salt crystals are used in water softener systems; people drink and bath in such

water. Conservative estimates of potassium and chloride concentration in Lake Powell with usage as

indicated above, indicate concentrations of 1 part per trillion. That is far below possible environmental

harm. In fact, KCL solution was used in Virginia to completely kill all zebra mussels in a quarry. “In

dramatic contrast, other aquatic wildlife including turtles, fishes, aquatic insects, and snails continue to

thrive in the quarry.”

Potassium chloride (KCL) solutions in concentrations of 200 ppm can be made by thoroughly mixing

one teaspoon of dry KCL salt crystals in two gallons of water. KCL salt crystals are available at stores

such as Home Depot and water softener suppliers. Morton Salt Company offers KCL in 40-pound

bags. Do NOT use any other kind of salt or solution. Potassium chloride premixed solutions are

available from suppliers to the oil well drilling industry; a Salt Lake City dealer has indicated

willingness to do so. KCL is mined in Moab and is also available in the Uintah Basin. The solution can

be provided in larger quantities, such as drums, that may be suitable for marinas and others providing

boat maintenance services.

The above text came from an article from the Utah Division of Wildlife

Hope that helps, and pass it on!

-Jared

Link to comment

They'll be everywhere eventually, it only takes a couple. We saw 3 on our raft anchor one fall and I reported it to the DNR. The next spring they were all over our boat tracks and now...the fishing rod picture is exactly what things look like.

They do make the lake nice and clear though, which is nice and bad. The lake is clear where if I cut out of the wake and look down I can see the bottom, never had that before. The problem is that there is more algae now :(

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...
Sounds like you could just put hot water in the ballast tanks. I also read a salt water solution was being recommended to kill them.

I'm not sure I'd want to put bleach in the ballast tanks. Actually, I don't trust bleach that close to the frickin boat. Just what I need is to end up with some kind of accident & have a big bleach burn out on my carpet.

Here is what my State (Utah) recommends for ballast tanks...

An effective mussel-killing solution — for each ballast tank — is two gallons of a 200 parts per million

(ppm) solution of potassium chloride (KCL). Despite the fact that it will kill mussels, this solution is

harmless to humans and to the environment. It also has extremely low corrosion characteristics and has

been used in the oil well drilling industry for decades due to these characteristics A chloride

concentration of 250 ppm is allowable for drinking water and the solution is below that level.

Potassium chloride salt crystals are used in water softener systems; people drink and bath in such

water. Conservative estimates of potassium and chloride concentration in Lake Powell with usage as

indicated above, indicate concentrations of 1 part per trillion. That is far below possible environmental

harm. In fact, KCL solution was used in Virginia to completely kill all zebra mussels in a quarry. “In

dramatic contrast, other aquatic wildlife including turtles, fishes, aquatic insects, and snails continue to

thrive in the quarry.”

Potassium chloride (KCL) solutions in concentrations of 200 ppm can be made by thoroughly mixing

one teaspoon of dry KCL salt crystals in two gallons of water. KCL salt crystals are available at stores

such as Home Depot and water softener suppliers. Morton Salt Company offers KCL in 40-pound

bags. Do NOT use any other kind of salt or solution. Potassium chloride premixed solutions are

available from suppliers to the oil well drilling industry; a Salt Lake City dealer has indicated

willingness to do so. KCL is mined in Moab and is also available in the Uintah Basin. The solution can

be provided in larger quantities, such as drums, that may be suitable for marinas and others providing

boat maintenance services.

The above text came from an article from the Utah Division of Wildlife

Hope that helps, and pass it on!

-Jared

Salt used in water softeners kills them! thats great. You can buy a 40# bag of pellets for $4.00. Just keep some in a container in the boat and throw some pellets in the bags at the end of the day. When stopped and asked to turn on the pump, have a salt test strip handy so you can show that the water coming out the drain holes is salt water. You should be good to go. That doesn't help those of us with built in ballast, but maybe there is a way to pump some salt water into the built ins. then who cares about residual water in the boat.

click for salt water test strips

Edited by Cervelo
Link to comment

Has anyone figured out an easy way to add this solutions to the ballast tanks? Assuming many of us have the Malibu Hard-tanks that are sealed....

Link to comment
Has anyone figured out an easy way to add this solutions to the ballast tanks? Assuming many of us have the Malibu Hard-tanks that are sealed....

could you keep a solution of the salt water ( dissolved water softener pellets, highly concentrated ) in a 5 gallon bucket in your garage. Then just run a hose from the ballast intake to the bucket and suck a gallon into each ballast tank.

If the inspectors are acceptable to the "salt kills em" solution, and I boated in inspected areas, I think that I would rig a "flush-pro" type of connection into each ballast tank to make this fast and easy.

Link to comment
Has anyone figured out an easy way to add this solutions to the ballast tanks? Assuming many of us have the Malibu Hard-tanks that are sealed....

could you keep a solution of the salt water ( dissolved water softener pellets, highly concentrated ) in a 5 gallon bucket in your garage. Then just run a hose from the ballast intake to the bucket and suck a gallon into each ballast tank.

If the inspectors are acceptable to the "salt kills em" solution, and I boated in inspected areas, I think that I would rig a "flush-pro" type of connection into each ballast tank to make this fast and easy.

the stock pumps won't suck from a bucket, unless maybe if the bucket was sitting on the swim deck and water was siphoned down the hose first. I think if you could find a rubber hose that would friction fit (plug) into the intake, it would make things easier. You still have to crawl under the boat to move the hose from each ballast intake to the other though.

There must be an easier way, Is there a way to have a tube come from the hard tanks that salt could just be poured down?

Link to comment

You know how in Apollo 13 (the movie) when their air filter thing crapped out, Houston got a team together and figured out how to jerry rig a system that got them home.

This is exactly (well not exactly...) the kind of thing that Malibu could help us out with, if they are monitoring this site and making requests of the owner to remove pictures, then why can't they chime in with an idea on how to retrofit an existing system. They know the setup better than any of us. Hopefully they are figuring out something for the new models.

Link to comment
Has anyone figured out an easy way to add this solutions to the ballast tanks? Assuming many of us have the Malibu Hard-tanks that are sealed....

could you keep a solution of the salt water ( dissolved water softener pellets, highly concentrated ) in a 5 gallon bucket in your garage. Then just run a hose from the ballast intake to the bucket and suck a gallon into each ballast tank.

If the inspectors are acceptable to the "salt kills em" solution, and I boated in inspected areas, I think that I would rig a "flush-pro" type of connection into each ballast tank to make this fast and easy.

the stock pumps won't suck from a bucket, unless maybe if the bucket was sitting on the swim deck and water was siphoned down the hose first. I think if you could find a rubber hose that would friction fit (plug) into the intake, it would make things easier. You still have to crawl under the boat to move the hose from each ballast intake to the other though.

There must be an easier way, Is there a way to have a tube come from the hard tanks that salt could just be poured down?

Two possible solutions... first probably the easiest, but not sure if it would work: stick a funnel in the overflow port on the side of the boat (when filling ballast on mine it overflows out one of the ports) I havn't looked at the plumbing to see if there is simply a "y" connected to the drain hose, if so that might not work.

second: the thru-hull for ballast intake is a 3/4" threaded job right Dontknow.gif I'll crawl under there tonight to see if I can feel the threads from the outside of the hull, might be able to rig up a short length of hose into bucket and thread the hose right to the thru-hull fitting. That'd get to be a pain crawling under the boat and connecting a hose to more than a couple of thru-hulls after every trip.

I like the idea they are using in California of tagging your boat, as long as your not dunking your boat in some waters that are contaminated and some that aren't you don't pay the fee or get inspected. Read about it in another post here on TMC.

just thinking out loud.

Link to comment
You know how in Apollo 13 (the movie) when their air filter thing crapped out, Houston got a team together and figured out how to jerry rig a system that got them home.

This is exactly (well not exactly...) the kind of thing that Malibu could help us out with, if they are monitoring this site and making requests of the owner to remove pictures, then why can't they chime in with an idea on how to retrofit an existing system. They know the setup better than any of us. Hopefully they are figuring out something for the new models.

Can't argue with that one. But I do think that we might have the answer here on the site in the tech section. Take a look at this:

6.jpg

If you tap into the overflow line on each tank with a tee fitting that you can close off either with a cap or valve, then you can easily use something like this to put whatever chemical into the tank that you need to. I think that the tanks are the easy part, the engine....not so much. Getting all of the water out will not be an easy thing, & if they're concerned with that....I'm not sure what can be done.

Link to comment
Sounds like you could just put hot water in the ballast tanks. I also read a salt water solution was being recommended to kill them.

Salt used in water softeners kills them! thats great...

These creatures came from a salt water environment (the Red Sea, IIRC). Where did the opinion that salt water kills them come from? Dontknow.gif

Not saying it won't...just doesn't seem to make sense. :unsure:

Link to comment
Sounds like you could just put hot water in the ballast tanks. I also read a salt water solution was being recommended to kill them.

Salt used in water softeners kills them! thats great...

These creatures came from a salt water environment (the Red Sea, IIRC). Where did the opinion that salt water kills them come from? Dontknow.gif

Not saying it won't...just doesn't seem to make sense. :unsure:

UteBu found these 24 pages on a Utah site, here are two of those pages the rest can be found here:

Utah Division of Wildlife article

here are the two pages that deal with ballast tanks and salt.

boat_inspection_Page_04.jpg

boat_inspection_Page_05.jpg

Wakegirl, the same article says the mussels cannot survive in temperatures above 104f, so the water inside the engine should not be a problem as it is heated to 160f.

Link to comment
here are the two pages that deal with ballast tanks and salt.

Thumbup.gif Just to be clear...they are talking about Potassium Chloride Salt Crystals...which is nothing like regular salt. It even points out "no other type of salt is to be used"

Not implying you didn't know that Cervelo...just wanted to make sure that everyone caught that distinction. :)

Link to comment
You know how in Apollo 13 (the movie) when their air filter thing crapped out, Houston got a team together and figured out how to jerry rig a system that got them home.

This is exactly (well not exactly...) the kind of thing that Malibu could help us out with, if they are monitoring this site and making requests of the owner to remove pictures, then why can't they chime in with an idea on how to retrofit an existing system. They know the setup better than any of us. Hopefully they are figuring out something for the new models.

Can't argue with that one. But I do think that we might have the answer here on the site in the tech section. Take a look at this:

6.jpg

If you tap into the overflow line on each tank with a tee fitting that you can close off either with a cap or valve, then you can easily use something like this to put whatever chemical into the tank that you need to. I think that the tanks are the easy part, the engine....not so much. Getting all of the water out will not be an easy thing, & if they're concerned with that....I'm not sure what can be done.

That looks familiar... Whistling.gif (And yes, it is definitely Jerry rigged :) )

Link to comment
Wakegirl, the same article says the mussels cannot survive in temperatures above 104f, so the water inside the engine should not be a problem as it is heated to 160f.

Ah, gotcha. So with that being the case, you could pretty easily & cost effectively make the mod that I talk about above & it should work. The only thing about it is proving that you've done it. As far as bleach goes, in a bleach/water solution it's completely safe on the carpet. That's the only way to get the mildew smell out, I've used it on all of my boats & it works great for that.

Jerry-rigged....nice. Thumbup.gif

Link to comment
Are they doing checks at or around Shasta? I will be going down next week.

They might not be checking for mussels but they're probably on the look-out for pastey-white Oregonians. Whistling.gif

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...