Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization Serious Ammonia problem

Hello fellas, First post here.

I have a new/ small pond, about 60,000 gallons 30x100 5' in the center. The pond was filled for the first time mid june from my well and is aerated with a bottom diffuser.

I fertilized with 5 lbs cottonseed meal and 5 lbs of 5-20-5 within the first few days. My plan was to let the pond mature a season before introducing fish.

The water had a nice bloom about 16-18" for the first few weeks but now things have fallen apart. visibility is 8-10" and there is 4-5ppm Ammonia showing on a test.

My well has 320ppm hardness 170ppm alkalinity and 40ppm Nitrate.
One strange thing is the Nitrate has tested 0ppm in the pond for the last couple weeks.

Any ideas where the Ammonia is coming from?

Travis

Welcome, tnoble.

What is our pH. Take readings at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. This will have a drastic effect on ionized vs. unionized ammonia.

If you test as per Bruce's post and have a problem then see these.

If you test as per Bruce's post and have a problem then see these.

http://srac.tamu.edu/index.cfm?catid=25 water quality

Ammonia in Fish Ponds http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/1852089-463...21136335f353513

Managing Ammonia in Fish Ponds http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/1852089-SRA...21136335f353513

The ph of my clear water pond is always a steady 8.3, so I assume with this strong of a bloom the ph is in the 9's or higher. I'll check it out. But where would the ammonia be coming from? algae die off??

perhaps a result of yer fertilizing?. maybe good place for a discussion of the nitrogen cycle.

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9s.html

and an expert to tell you what happened in yer pond (not me).

The ph test were 8.8 at 730 pm and 8.5 at 7 am. I have a good grasp on the nitrogen cycle because I have several lined & filtered ponds for koi.

I'm wondering why the ammonia is so high with no fish present and this being a new pond. Could it be from the cottonseed meal? also, why would the 40 ppm Nitrate from my well be consumed in this pond? I have read that most types of algae and water plants would consume ammonia before nitrate. Not sure if that was correct info..

I was hopeing that letting the pond mature for a season whould build a good amount of zooplankton for next year but with the ammonia present will any of those survive?

Travis

FWIW, most aquaculturists only let their zooplankton mature in a new pond for a few days to a few weeks, depending on the size of fish they plan on stocking.

I've also heard of an interesting theory that if you have a neighbor with a pond that you particularly admire for it's water quality that you should innoculate your pond with a five gallon bucket from the other pond.

Funny how the little buggers are so ubiquitous that they just "show up".

Thats what I though but, I stumbled across a study paper written by a scientist at a university (that I can't find now) that said a new pond/ with new soil, never being filled with water or exposed to the elements. will be void of the cysts or eggs of any zooplankton. The paper went on to say that these cysts are mainly brought into new ponds by birds, either stuck on their feet or carried in by their feaces.

I thought about bringing in a bucket of water from a nearby stream but was afraid of bringing in unwanted parasites.

Travis

Yeah, I totally agree with that. That's why I said (meant to say more clearly) to take it from another established, similarly sized pond if possible, that has a track record of good disease control. I'm sure that even with caution, there is still an inherent risk.


...now back to ammonia.

I have an algae bloom that is going out of control in a pond I originally fertilized with cottonseed meal too. I will never again fertilize with cottonseed meal. It's all alfalfa meal from now on. Initially the cottonseed meal turned the water brown and Bill Cody believes the fertilization is catching up with me.

You do know why your PH is pretty stable through the dial cycle right? It's due to your high alkalinity buffering any PH changes. I have the same situation in my ponds.

Is your groundwater so high in nitrates due to lots of agriculture in your area? Is it possible you ground was tilled originally or worse yet was a hog lot?

Ya I know the high alk. and hardness helps temper the ph swings, but the high ammonia has me wondering?

My home sits on a large area of limestone with about 6" of black dirt over it, as far back as I could find this small 2 acre parcel has always been grassland but, there is cropland all the way around me within a few hundred yards.

The pond was dug out of the side of a limestone hill and burmed on the other. I hauled in about 1' of good clay and also tilled in 1.5 lbs. per sq ft of bentonite.

I had a serious water test done a few years ago when I started the lined koi pond, and besides the high Nitrate I have some Pesticides and Herbicides.

Travis

Do you have ground water coming in to the pond ?

Firstly are you sure that your ammonia test kit is accurate? Does water from another normal pond test normal for ammonia? If so then your test kit is probably fairly accurate.
High concentrations of ammonia could be coming from lots of bacteria decomposing organics. Although as you mention a dense phytoplankton bloom should be utilizing lots of the ammonia.

ewest: The only groundwater that made it into the pond is from my well when I filled it.

Bill: I used 2 different tests in that pond because I didn't believe the #'s And also tested another puddle. The test was accurate.

do you think it was from the cottonseed meal? Was 5 lbs. too much for 60,000 gallons? being a new pond there probably isn't a big enough Nitrosomonas colony to convert the ammonia but why is there ammonia and the pond removed all 40ppm Nitrate.

maybe the initial bloom removed the Nitrate and as the cottonseed meal is decomposing and the bloom gets stronger it can't keep up with the ammonia?? At this point im just thinking out loud
Travis