My pond is 1 1/2 acres and I put agricultural lime in it in January to raise the hardness.

I have fertilized every 2 weeks for the last 6 weeks and my water is still pretty clear. I can see the bottom at 5 feet. I am using Perfect pond plus fertilizer as recommended by my consultant. I had the water tested and it said that my hardness was 28.

I asked my consultant what to do and he said that I should just continue to fertilize until I get a bloom. I asked another guy at the DNR and he recommended that I not continue fertilizing but that I should add 100lbs of hydrated lime per acre. He said that even though my hardness numbers ore good that it sometimes takes the addition of hydrated lime to give it a "kick start" to get the bloom going.

My consultant said that I do not need hydrated lime because my hardness is good and that I should just keep fertilizing.

Can anyone tell me what I should do because I am getting conflicting info.

I live in middle Georgia.

What has the temperature been there??? Maybe it needs to warm up some.

Mostly in the 70's but we have had some cooler days also.

About to start fertilizing mine and so I was doing some research today. Came across this page. Can't speak to the accuracy of the info, but the last paragraph might be of some help. Talks about the rate of fertilization if you aren't getting a bloom.

http://www.suttlefish.com/fertilizing_pond.html

The people who gave you advice are both right technically. You can keep fertilizing, but liming works in conjunction to make the bloom happen.

From reading here I would say first know your ph/alkalinity/hardness numbers and make note of what you are doing.After confirmation,evaluate risk/benefits of fertilizing and proceed slowly.Empirically treating your water can lead to consequences only you will have to bear.Lots of archived info here if someone doesn't specifically address your concern.I'm also waiting my first bloom in my new pond

Boatman, what is your pH and alkalinity? What time of day was the water sample taken?

I don't know what the ph was but the alkalinity was 28. The guy at the DNR said the water was " good ". I took the sample about 10:00 am.

What is your water temp ? That is a key. Often spring blooms start slow. You don't want to over fertilize at the start. That can result in you going to 8 inches of visibility in a few days. - not a good thing.