New pond dug, clay bottom, 6.5 feet deep in middle, about 50' x 75' in size. Couple things I'm thinking about adding ahead of filling it with water:
1. an aerator in middle (close to deep center hole) that would run all year. I have my diffuser in 5 gallon pail and will have a DC powered Air Pump on shore with solar panel.
2. I may add a pump to add a small current around the pond. I would also like this to be DC so I can hook right up to solar and battery. This current will help keep from stagnant.
3. good to know I will have to add some supplemental water via sprinkler in summer. I plan to have that on edge of pond which will also help a little bit with stagnant water.
4. I plan to add sunfish and bass at some point, which is why you see the logs in bottom to provide structure.
Don't run the aerator in the deepest part of the pond all year. You could get the water too cold and stress the fish. I'd put the diffuser at 2' depth max for the winter, maybe even a little bit less. You only need 5%-10% max open water.
If you didn't compact the dirt after you dug it out, I'd fill it completely with water before adding any fish. That way if it leaks you can drain it and address the issue without losing any fish. Being that shallow, you need to ensure that it doesn't leak or you might have too low of a water level for the fish to survive the winter.
