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Quagga and Zebra Mussels


RyanB

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We have a houseboat moored at Lake Powell.  Within the last couple of years, the lake has been confirmed infected by quagga mussels.  They are now working their way to the north end of the lake.

 

Just wondering if others boat on lakes that are infected, and what precautions they have taken to protect the engines on their boats?  I am not concerned about my Malibu, as we only go to the lake for a week at a time, and I will be required to decontaminate the boat prior to launching on a clean lake.  I am worried about the houseboat, that historically has only been pulled from the lake ever 3-5 years (it costs over $1000 to have it launched and retrieved).  The boat has twin MercCruiser 3.0 sterndrives with Alpha out drives, if that matters.

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We boat on Minnetonka and a couple other bodies of water that are full of them.  If you have a trailer boat that is not left moored then the only real concern is cleaning them up so that you do not transport them to other lakes, although I did actually have a few of them grow and jam up a thermostat in my Bayliner. 

For stuff that sits in the water like docks, boats, etc they are terrible and grow like crazy attaching themselves to any solid surface - mostly metal stuff.   Cleaning off a shore station that we pulled out of Prior Lake took hours and even then you are not allowed to put it into another lake for 3? months to make sure that they all die from being out of the water.

There is a company selling an AIS filter system, but last I checked their model was not supporting home users they were locking people into having dealerships do the filter replacements.

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Biggest thing is going to be keeping the water intake clean on the out drive as my lakes have them they do get plugged up by zebra mussels but haven't had any further damage than that

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I think your only concern for the engines would be the water intake. That it not get blocked off from growth. and maybe the output as well.  The water temp should kill any being ingested.  I am using zebra mussels as my info. They are what we have. I thought the size is the big difference looking at it from a simple snapshot. Other then that they are going to add a lot of drag after they start covering the bottom. So bottom painting might be the answer.  

 

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We have to scrape the pontoons heavily every year. The more you use that boat at speed the less of an issue we will have. Case in point: my pontoon gets 3-9 hours of use every friday-sunday at 9-11 MPH. My neighbors gets at best 1 hour of use per weekend. My pontoons were nearly clear while hers were definitely caked in a layer of zebra mussels.

As for intakes, I dont know of anyone on our lake who has taken permanent precautions. If it were my boat I would just check the temps more often.

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I installed the WakeWorx mussel mastr filter system on my 15' 23LSV. It however only protects ballast not motor. I had to change to pumps to speed up fill and drain times. My only issue with them is do to my body of water being mountain run off and debris. The filters were developed at lake mead and I used mine at Havasu with great success last year. I really enjoyed the AIS checkpoints on the way home. They checked my hull, flushed my motor once and I was quickly through the following. I know this won't help your house boat but AIS is not going away anytime soon. Last point on putting filters in my boat, resale, my boat has been kept clean inside and out.

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Our houseboat will be pulled out every year to have the motor intakes cleaned and the hull scraped.  We're at wahweap and only had a few this year on the outside.  But they will only get worse.  

 

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  • 4 months later...
On March 11, 2016 at 9:11 PM, alpensurf23 said:

I installed the WakeWorx mussel mastr filter system on my 15' 23LSV. It however only protects ballast not motor. I had to change to pumps to speed up fill and drain times. My only issue with them is do to my body of water being mountain run off and debris. The filters were developed at lake mead and I used mine at Havasu with great success last year. I really enjoyed the AIS checkpoints on the way home. They checked my hull, flushed my motor once and I was quickly through the following. I know this won't help your house boat but AIS is not going away anytime soon. Last point on putting filters in my boat, resale, my boat has been kept clean inside and out.

So, off topic, but how much did it cost for the WakeWorx install if you don't mind me asking?  I looked into it on my '14 LSV, and was quoted over $3000 for the install because they would have to take the helm apart to install the filters.  They said they would need to do the same to change the filters every 6 months (and I have no idea how they would actually inspect them at check stations if that was the case).

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Colorado requires them to be filled between 1/3 - 1/2 full (as measured by the gauge) by water above 140*F.  Not sure if it works, but that is the procedure.

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7 hours ago, hethj7 said:

How do you all decontaminate ballast tanks?  That would seem nearly impossible. 

Only required to pump dry in MN, clearly an easy way to transport them. Hot water can kill them, but with so many lakes it is not possible to place decontamination stations to make any sort of difference on a big scale. Some small lakes with owners associations have funded stations to protect individual lakes.

Other way that they can get transported is when weeds they have attached to get trapped between boat and bunk. I know there are some on my trailer right now and need to make sure I can get it loaded clean before we go on vacation. Otherwise we always use same infested lake.

 

Edited by oldjeep
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In my area, there are no decontamination stations despite a few contaminated lakes. I don't know how I would get hot water Into my tanks.  Maybe some chlorine or softener salt will do the trick as I have been reading on this some and that seems to be an option for killing them.   Lots of spots on our boats for a little water to hang out at though.  

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Hat to say it but 99% of the people could take all the precautions to stop things like this but in the end the one guy who does not give a poop can override everyone's efforts.  I have also seen some study's showing some of the evasive spices being moved through waterfowl. We are watching a plant now and it is moving in the very same pattern as migratory waterfowl.
 The good thing is it seams mother nature seams to adapt. Our zebra mussel problem is not nearly the issue it was when it first hit. The lakes can not support the population it once was. So now we have less mussels but clearer water. And with that we have weed in deeper water. Might just be something we need to deal with with such a global world?   Still think most of us need to work at this just that its not going to stop it.

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On 7/13/2016 at 7:15 AM, hethj7 said:

In my area, there are no decontamination stations despite a few contaminated lakes. I don't know how I would get hot water Into my tanks.  Maybe some chlorine or softener salt will do the trick as I have been reading on this some and that seems to be an option for killing them.   Lots of spots on our boats for a little water to hang out at though.  

I am taking my boat this week from a lake that DEFINITELY has them to one that MIGHT have them (table rock lake in missouri). There is no way to completely drain the hard tanks in the MLS system. I am taking boiling bleach water in buckets and sucking it in with a fake a lake. The dumping that water into my garage drain (hooks to sewer) It is heavily diluted bleach and I am being very careful to wait to ingest the water until it's around 180 degrees so it is less harmful to impellers and fittings. The boat has also been dry for 5 days...

 

Edit: the point I am trying to make is that bleach will kill them, but no state website will recommend it as it is harmful to lakes. You need to drain it at home.

 

Second edit: I called my local dealer (tommy's) and they said that they do it often in colorado. You need to hear the water much higher than a typical water heater will go so special equipment is required...

Edited by 95echelon
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I've heard that bacquacil (bromine based pool water treatment) will kill them if you flush everything with that water. I don't know what concentration you need, but have to figure it would be fairly strong or the residence time would be pretty long.

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vhyfxm.jpg

 

I measured the standard water temp on my GE water heater (4 year old house) at 130 F, so I just cranked it up almost all the way and hoping for 150 at my tap in the garage so it will be 140 at the end of the hose (thankfully have a hot water garage). Putting 1 tbsp of bleach in each ballast tank as well but I am unsure it it will help or not, just a precaution. Same process with all ballast bags. We will kill the little buggers one way (heat) or another (chlorine bleach).

I have found a million uses for my 13 dollar amazon infrared thermometer. Suggest you guys grab one too! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CVHIJDK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

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On 7/14/2016 at 1:19 PM, 95echelon said:

I am taking my boat this week from a lake that DEFINITELY has them to one that MIGHT have them (table rock lake in missouri). There is no way to completely drain the hard tanks in the MLS system. I am taking boiling bleach water in buckets and sucking it in with a fake a lake. The dumping that water into my garage drain (hooks to sewer) It is heavily diluted bleach and I am being very careful to wait to ingest the water until it's around 180 degrees so it is less harmful to impellers and fittings. The boat has also been dry for 5 days...

And we thank you for taking precautions to prevent the spread.  You are correct, currently Table Rock has no Zebra mussels (or that anyone is aware of).  The lakes downstream, Taneycomo and Bull Shoals, do and I'm sure that it is just a matter of time with a boat or two not taking precautions and they will be here too.  

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30 minutes ago, blk93jeepzj said:

And we thank you for taking precautions to prevent the spread.  You are correct, currently Table Rock has no Zebra mussels (or that anyone is aware of).  The lakes downstream, Taneycomo and Bull Shoals, do and I'm sure that it is just a matter of time with a boat or two not taking precautions and they will be here too.  

all of my ballasts and my bilge are currently full of 150 degree water with a light concentration of bleach in them. Plus the ballast bags and the internal cooling system. I got my money's worth from my new fake a lake today.

Here is my recommended procedure:

  1. Remove ALL drain plugs when you leave the lake with zebra mussels.
  2. OPTIONAL: Crank the engine over while still on the ramp but exhausts out of water and let run for less than 20 seconds to drain the cooling system as much as possible.
  3. Once you get home if you know you will be going to a lake with inspections do all of the next steps right away (lots of states want the boat 100% dry.
  4. Replace drain plugs and fill bilge with a couple of inches of 140+ degree water. I spray the water in from the engine compartment, transmission compartment, and the center access panel. I do this with the boat both downhill and uphill. If you turn up your water heater at the house to max you can get 150+ degree water easily.
  5. Open all drains and let the bilge drain. Keep access panels open so the bilge evaporates. Wipe with microfiber to keep extremely dry. You can use a leaf blower in the walkway access by the drivers seat to encourage water to go the back. Due to our boats angles you should be on a steep incline, or just drive up your favorite steep hill.
  6. Attach your fake a lake and hook it up to your water intake. While you are hooking it up inspect the strainer for zebra mussels and other hitchikers, while you are under there take a good look at the trailer too for hitchhikers. Run the hot water hose with the motor running for a minute or so. Then disconnect the hose and start the engine dry for less than 20 seconds to get the most water out of the exhaust. I recommend doing this with the boat parked uphill.
  7. Go ballast by ballast (they should be empty to begin with) and fill them each at least halfway with 150 degree water from the fake a lake, let it sit 20 minutes (or longer) and then fully drain the ballasts. Do the same for any ballast bags and also any throw over pumps. Empty ballasts when done
  8. Inspect all anchor and docking lines for zebra mussels, dry them completely
  9. Dry ALL lifejackets and really anything in the boat as completely as possible
  10. Wash down the hull from the rub rail down with the hot water
  11. Let it all dry for at least 3 days.

 

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42 minutes ago, 95echelon said:

all of my ballasts and my bilge are currently full of 150 degree water with a light concentration of bleach in them. Plus the ballast bags and the internal cooling system. I got my money's worth from my new fake a lake today.

Here is my recommended procedure:

  1. Remove ALL drain plugs when you leave the lake with zebra mussels.
  2. OPTIONAL: Crank the engine over while still on the ramp but exhausts out of water and let run for less than 20 seconds to drain the cooling system as much as possible.
  3. Once you get home if you know you will be going to a lake with inspections do all of the next steps right away (lots of states want the boat 100% dry.
  4. Replace drain plugs and fill bilge with a couple of inches of 140+ degree water. I spray the water in from the engine compartment, transmission compartment, and the center access panel. I do this with the boat both downhill and uphill. If you turn up your water heater at the house to max you can get 150+ degree water easily.
  5. Open all drains and let the bilge drain. Keep access panels open so the bilge evaporates. Wipe with microfiber to keep extremely dry. You can use a leaf blower in the walkway access by the drivers seat to encourage water to go the back. Due to our boats angles you should be on a steep incline, or just drive up your favorite steep hill.
  6. Attach your fake a lake and hook it up to your water intake. While you are hooking it up inspect the strainer for zebra mussels and other hitchikers, while you are under there take a good look at the trailer too for hitchhikers. Run the hot water hose with the motor running for a minute or so. Then disconnect the hose and start the engine dry for less than 20 seconds to get the most water out of the exhaust. I recommend doing this with the boat parked uphill.
  7. Go ballast by ballast (they should be empty to begin with) and fill them each at least halfway with 150 degree water from the fake a lake, let it sit 20 minutes (or longer) and then fully drain the ballasts. Do the same for any ballast bags and also any throw over pumps. Empty ballasts when done
  8. Inspect all anchor and docking lines for zebra mussels, dry them completely
  9. Dry ALL lifejackets and really anything in the boat as completely as possible
  10. Wash down the hull from the rub rail down with the hot water
  11. Let it all dry for at least 3 days.

 

This is all good stuff and thanks for being so diligent.

The lakes in my state (ID) are currently clear of mussels but just south of us in UT there are infected lakes. All boats crossing the state lines get inspected and if mussels our found your boat is impounded for 30-days, no argument. I was talking with one of the inspectors last weekend while they were checking my boat and he said the last boat impounded was due to mussels being found in an anchor rope... so check everything. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we get hit, but I won't put my boat in any lake that's infested just so I don't have to deal with the mess.

A friend that lives in Whitefish, MT told me there are rumors floating around the Flathead valley that there is talk about banning boats with ballasts (and I assume live wells) on some lakes in their area. Aquatic bastards!

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To address the Mussel Mast'r filter system installs. #1 I spent close to that amount stated when you also include high pressure pumps replacing stock ballast pumps. My install did not appear to be as invasive. Two filters under the driver dash and front of engine compartment. :salute:

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