Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry seeking advice on struggling pond

Hello, Im new to this forum. I was reffered to it by a contact on the Iowa Sportsman. Im looking for some advice about one of my ponds in Southern Iowa. It is about 4 acres in size, about 20' deep and was built in the mid 90's. It was stocked by the DNR with thier recommendations of species and quantity. It seems as though this pond has never produced fish of any size. The bluegill are all about 5", the bass are about 8" and the crappies are all but non existent and all of these fish look pale, almost transparent in some cases. The water seems kind of milky-stained color year round. The soil of the bottom is clay and this pond is fed by an underground spring, and it is surrounded by over 100 acres of CRP. Im wondering if anyone has experienced something like this, and thoughts on what I can do to determine whats going on. I attached a picture of the stuggling pond that you will see looks kind of white/milky looking and an adjacent pond that is healthy which you can see the water is much darker. Thanks for looking
[img:left][/img]
[img:right][/img]

The fish are pale because of the water color. Do you have a list of all the fish that were stocked (species and quantity)?

When you can, take a mason jar to the pond, fill it with water and set it on a shelf for a week. Don't move it. Let us know if the water clears and a if there's a thin layer of stuff that settled out of the water.

Thanks for the response esshup. I will do the mason jar evaluation and post an update. The fish that were stocked were largemouth, crappie, bluegill, catfish and a couple grass carp. I dont recall how many of each were originally stocked but it was as per the guidelines by the DNR for the size of the pond. I also think some large catfish and bass were transplanted into it by some neighbors early on too.

I believe I would get a water test done to identify what the spring is adding.

If there's still a lot of catfish in there, they could be contributing to the turbididy of the water. The jar test will tell us that.

Read about using alum to clear muddy water. You might have to go that route, but we should be able to determine that after the jar test.

Has the pond been a C&R pond, or catch and keep?

I will checking into alum. We like to think it has been managed by selective harvesting over the years but something tells me the locals might have had thier way with taking what they want and throwing fish from other waters in thier was they wish as well....at least that seems to be the trend in this neck of the woods ( always has been ). Im rarely there so I cant really say what all has been removed or thrown in there.

Regarding the jar test.... should I capture water from the surface or should I get water from a certain depth under the surface?

Surface or mid depth, it doesn't matter if the water is turbid.

I will get some water next time Im down there and do this test. will go ahead and get the water anlaysis done while Im at it too so we have that data to consider. I probably wont get back down there for a while so please bear with me. I will update this post as soon as I do. Thanks again.

The CRP surrounding is actually a plus.. No fertilized field runoff or herbicides/pesticides.. My ponds watershed use to come from almost all CRP now only 1/3 of it is still CRP so I've noticed a increase in vegetation and FA, could have been the weather last year but I'm not betting on that..

No rush, just post the results when you have them and we'll do what we can to help.

hello again. I have the pond water samples. here is a picture of the water unsettled and one of it settled. Looks like a lot of green matter in the water. This water was taken at the surface level after drilling a hole through the ice and dipping the water from the first +/-2 foot of water. I am taking it in for water analysis now. what are your thoughts about what you see in the pictures? [img:left]http://[/img]
[img:right]http://[/img]

Most of the solids are a type of algae probably one or a collecdtion of individuals of the Chlorophyta - green algae group that must have some sort of bouyancy keeping it in suspension under the ice. It does settle out when in the jar for how long? It will be interesting to hear the analysis results. It is rare to have such large algae particles that are suspended under ice cover conditions. I am not familiar with any species that have this ability. Many water analysis labs do not have the ability to identify the names of the algae. It takes a specially trained person to do that and it is not what a chemist normally does. So don't be surpised if they don't tell you specifically what the green "stuff" is. Also it often takes at least a week for most labs to get your sample analyzed. Some algae will be decomposed when stored a week or more in the dark/light at room temperatures.

Listen to Bill. What he's not saying is that he's one of those trained people to identify the algae.

I'll bet that if you PM Bill you could work out a deal with him to have him identify the algae.

thanks for the feedback. I took the sample last weekend. when I returned to my office today it was settled out. I noticed when I shake it, it quickly settles to the bottom again in about 15 minutes. I wonder if the algae died making it settle that quickly?

I checked the pH here in my lab at work. it is 7.65. Sending the water off for the analysis now.

Natural pond water seems to have a unique feature that when it sits in a jar or bottle for 5-7 days something biochemical happens and the organics and maybe some of the solids tend to form larger particles (clump) that settle relatively quickly. Why is still a puzzle to me.

Greetings Buffo:

As a matter of curiosity, where did you set the jar for the 5-7 day period? What were the light conditions? Most all algal cells will settle out once in a jar. Photosynthesis (the production of oxygen from light and carbon dioxide) often affects buoyancy of these microscopic plants...(phytoplankton). Most definitely looks like a nutrient enriched pond. As others have stated, bottom dwelling fish that constantly stir up the nutrient rich sediments will create this kind of problem.

I agree with Bill Cody, only an algal taxonomist will be able to help identify the particular phytoplankton sample to genus level. I personally use a "tri-nocular" (photographic) microscope to record and identify these types of samples. The main advantage of knowing which genus/species phytoplankton you have is that biological organisms are excellent indicators of water quality. By knowing the particular ecology of the organism, you can come up with some general idea about the quality of the water. Biological indicators are sometimes preferred to water samples due to the fact that aquatic organisms are present in the water 24/7/365 days/year. A water sample is only a snapshot in time...