Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Can a Pond be to clear ??

My lil pond has a great population of cc , fm , cnbg , hbg , and a few grass carp . It also has quite a bit of watershield , I can see 3 to 4 ft deep and see lots of fish and submerged cover .
Can a pond be to clear ??

Probably indicates a shortage of phytoplankton. You may need to fertilize. Do a test to get the alkilinity level. If you are in pine tree country you may have to add lime prior to fertilizer.

No, but it can be "too" clear:) The grammar police strike again...

Maybe it depends on your goals for the pond? Swimming, fishing, a natural environment, or heavy on the management?

Dave nailed it, a clear pond is usually considered to be less fertile than one with a nice green tint about it. Aesthetically, I think most would like a clear pond. For the benefit of the pond and it's inhabitants, a bloom that limits visibility is often preferred.

Guys, take a look at the first post and re-read the "quite a bit of watershield".

If it's fertilized, and that's put on top of plants that are already growing, there's a good chance that the plants will utilize the fertilizer and not the phytoplankton......

I'd be willing to bet that if a majority of the macrophytes are killed off, then a bloom will start on it's own. If there's a lot of plants in a pond, the water will be clear because the plants are using the fertilizer that the phytoplankton would be utilizing.

Just like John Monroe's pond with a lot of plants in it. He probably has clear water and not a lot of FA in it.

Read through this thread for more discussion about clear water in ponds.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=402392

"Clear" water is a relative term. Some think clear water isanytime that you can see deeper than 18" to 2ft which is the best water transparency with a plankton 'bloom' for growing optimum amounts of fish. Clarity of 3ft to 4ft is due to less plankton and suspended particles in the water and the beginning of having clear water.

Note there is a big difference in what is causing the water cloudiness or lack of it. Water clarity can be reduced due to planktonic organisms and or suspended very tiny, microscopic silt, mud, and detritus particles in the water column. Preferably for pond fish production one wants more plankton particles than particles of suspended organic detritus/silt, muck, clay. Typically in the best situation,, plankton colors the water a greenish hue compared to water the color of a silt/detritus hue characteristic of the bottom sediments.

For clear water for domestic water use, swimming, and aesthetic uses, then a desirable water transparency is 5ft to 7ft and even better clarity is 8ft to 12 ft. The clearer water produces fewer fish pounds per acre and tends to allow more submerged vegetation to grow on the bottom. Different management methods are needed to maintain each water clarity situation.

I'm not advocating he fertilize, as to be honest, I never do. The idea of adding nutrients to try and encourage a bloom is so far removed from my thought process that I never considered it. Around here, we just don't need to do that. I agree with esshup in that the existing plants probably have the nutrients tied up for their own utilization, leaving little to establish a bloom.

Whether or not the water can be too clear? I still think a lot depends upon the goals for the pond.

In a way, you are/do, but not the way you are thinking, and maybe not per se, but by what you are doing. You are fertilizing most of your ponds now.

Feeding the fish is adding nutrients to the pond. The poorer the grade of food, the more passes through the fish, and more nutrients end up in the water. The nutrients that pass through the fish are a type of fertilizer.

Think of it as feeding your pet a good quality food vs. a poor quality grade of food. Now think of what the amount of poop you have to pick up after them is like.......

This is true. I was speaking in terms of fertilizer added with the express purpose of encouraging a bloom.

And if you're suggesting I follow my bluegills around with a pooper-scooper, I have a few choice remarks that I will save until our next meeting.

Ditto.

You mean you don't?

Many people don't think that they are fertilizing their water if they are feeding. But, that's exactly what they are doing, albet in more gradual doses.