Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss No Comment

Tick tick tick

In the upper left you can check how your state is doing.

That is a lot of numbers. Debt per person is an eye opener.

You guys don't make this political just enjoy the link and keep comments within the rules.

That's a whole lotta numbers moving quick! Food stamp column seems to be the quickest moving one in that catagory.

which one represents pond construction and development debt?

I have no earthly idea how not to make this poL*&&%#%CAL. I cannot imagine what Dwight wanted to get started with this clock? But in a desperate attempt to stay focused and keep the moderators at bay...here's a relative parallel query. I have about 600 acre feet of water in the 50 acre pond that I told yall about last week..who could venture a guess as to the total weight of bio-mass this pond could support...best and worse case scenario.
Oh and one more thing "they: used to say back in the 70's and 80's that a good rule of thumb for a pond construction budget was $1000.00 an acre???????....WHAT A JOKE....maybe in BIZZAROWORLD.

I've totally gave up on all government and politics.. And honestly since doing so I fell alot better. The fact that I don't give a sh$t might annoy people but why care when it's pointless

Well that's fairly depressing hey!! Could have gone all day without seeing that! LOL!!

FFF, It depends on what species of fish you are talking about. For instance, Tilapia and CC are raised in some very dense conditions.

For a normal pond, best would be 500# per acre (not acre foot).

Worst would be 0 of course, but 200#/acre would be a low number.

It depends a lot on fertility, aeration, available food, etc.

FOR CLARIFICATION DO YOU MEAN SURFACE ACRE? WHETHER THAT ACRE SITS ON TOP OF 3FT OF WATER OR 20FT OF WATER? THIS IS A "TYPICAL" CAROLINA POND..NOT FERTILIZED BUT NATURALLY FERTILE. NOT AEREATED BUT GOOD DO. LMB WITH GOOD BG POP.

Yep, surface acre. Have you taken any O2 readings down at the bottom during the summer in deep water? (thermocline) When aerating the fish can use the whole water column, where in ponds that aren't aerated, the fish usually stay above or slightly below the thermocline due to the lack of O2 near the bottom.

No but last summer I could see a very clear thermocline on the sonar at 12 ft. This would eliminate about 40% of the total water. However during a recent conversation with the builder he said ther were no less than 7 active springheads scattered around the bottom. This confuses me, there is another pond that I have access to about 5 miles from this one that also has springs...I almost never see a tcline form in that pond. My thinking was that they (the springs) must be pumping enough water into the pond that it created some kind of a psuedo-current? Is there any DO in ground water?? There are major differences in these two BOWs. The big one is 50 surface acres and apprx. 600 acre feet the other one is 18 acres and only about 150 acre ft. The big one was dug in 98 has good water color and water level Never varies by more than 6-8 in -has absolutely no wood or vegetation-the bottom was just scraped clean with a dozer blade and allowed to fill up. The small one was built in 58 always has crystal clear water which will vary by as much as 5+ ft during the year-has tons of lilly pads and milfoil beds that cover 90% of the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 the water column-also has countless mussells. Any thoughts on why or why no thermocline in these two neighboring ponds??? Need more data?...I've got it or can get it thanks. Ken S

When I checked the water that I was running into the pond from the well, it had minute traces of O2 in it, not enough for fish to survive. But, once it mixed with the air, it quickly gained O2.

The pond that has a lot of spring water coming into it, does it have a stream leaving the pond?

No just a little dried up feeder creek that never holds water anymore but will bring in some fresh water after a good rain.

Are the springs putting water into the pond, or are they at a state of equilibreum? If they're dumping a lot of water into the pond it's gotta be going somewhere.... Maybe one of the "springs" is really a drain?

I'm sure that the big pond is getting plenty of inflow because every single time I've listened to the drain I can hear water running over(it's covered so you can't see it) whether it just rained last night or hasn't rained in a month. I suppose that's why the water level is so constant? The water level in the "little" pond is tied directly to rainfall amounts. A "drain" is possible even though I don't really know how that works. Somehow I feel like I'm hijacking my own thread! Started out curious about carrying capacity which led to a discussion of thermoclines now I'm baffled about water clarity and fertility? Obviously I'm no scientist but I would think the 50+yr old pond would be showing signs of eutropication but no. Why? Millions of mussells? TONS of milfoil? Constant influx of spring water? Like I said this pond has unbelievably clear water (imagine Glen Lau Crystal River vids) yet somehow is amazingly productive despite having many oligatrophic "sterile" qualities, in the 10+ yrs I've been fishing this pond I've caught several double digit bass and many 50+ fish days. Strange? or am I just overthinking this as usual?

All good questions that I really can't answer!

Regarding the large LMB, I wonder how old they are. Fast growing fish generally live shorter life spans than slower growing fish.

Science lesson for the day.

Oligatrophic - An ecosystem or environment is said to be oligotrophic if it offers little to sustain life. The term is commonly utilized to describe bodies of water or soils with very low nutrient levels.

That does not fit the rivers and adjacent/connected phosphate pits used by Glen Lau in making the Big Mouth videos. Those areas are jammed full of life and nutrients. Verified fish carrying capacities in the several thousand lbs of fish per acre and full of fish. Yet still very clear – a real inigma.

Rainbow River, the river where Glen Lau filmed Bigmouth Forever and the Beneath The Rainbow program of Quest For Adventure, is crystal clear and abundant with fish and vegetation throughout its five mile journey to the Withlacoochee River. Due to clarity and year round 68 to 72 degree water temperatures the Rainbow River is a popular destination to swim, snorkel, canoe or just relax and enjoy the many plants and animals that abound. Located north of Dunnellon, Florida (southwest of Ocala).

Part of Bigmouth and Beneath Still Waters were filmed on the Silver River.

In 1889, phosphate was discovered in the area, leading to an expansion of the area until the early 1910s.[4] The original mining took place in and around the Rainbow River (formerly called 'Blue Run'), using the river's natural flow to transport phosphates.

Seven artesian springs feed the bulk of the ten-mile Silver River which flows into Ocklawaha River, the St. Johns River and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean. The largest of the springs, Mammoth Springs, pumps 550 million gallons of water from its source every 24 hours keeping the river at a 74 degree temperature. The 99.8 percent pure springs harbors a wide assortment of underwater life including alligators, turtles, gar fish, mullet and largemouth bass, while nurturing the ecosystem along the river banks.

Those springs come through limestone which makes up the base of peninsular Fla. ( see sink-holes – limestone caverns that have been eroded by water) . Also geologically phosphate (P is often the lacking element in waters that are unproductive) deposits are there with the limestone and constant water temps of perfect range (70F) for LMB/BG etc. A perfect combo for clear but highly productive waters with tons of fish.

Great info, Eric. I took a cavern diver certification course down in the Mayo, FL, area many years ago and spent a lot of time in the rivers running from those springs as we worked our way into the cavern and cave systems. Uniformly, those rivers and pools coming from the springs were pristine and teeming with diverse fish life in the crystal clear water. Truly amazing environments. I also dove in one around St. Petersburg, FL, one time that was in the middle of an ocean bay area. The water around had some aquatic life present, but not a lot. When we got into the zone of the spring, the schools of fish were so thick that you couldn't see through them at times. Fish, manatees, etc. all hung right around at the springs consistently. Neat stuff.

Hey Eric Did I say "Crystal" I meant Rainbow... duhh... I spent the first 30 yrs of my life fishing and poking around N. Fla from Steinhatchee on the gulf to the St. Johns then down to Kissimee and everywhere in between. Spent many days snorkeling the many springs and their outflows. There was a theory put forth back then (70's-80's) that the next World Record would almost definately be caught from somewhere between Macon Ga. to the north and Lake City to the south. They( MAG WRITERS) said that was the only place in the country where Pure Strain Fla. LMB and Northern LMB could naturally mix and produce what I think they called "integrade" ? some type of hybrid vigor sort of thing??? Anyway me and a couple of my friends believed it and for about ten years we were obsessed...kinda like those Castaic guys! We caught LOTS of big fish but of course OLE G. Perry is still the Man. Current thinking is Japan?
SO I'M GATHERING FROM YOUR POST THAT YOU REALLY CANNOT USE WATER CLARITY AS A RELIABLE GAUGE OF ANYTHING.

SO I'M GATHERING FROM YOUR POST THAT YOU REALLY CANNOT USE WATER CLARITY AS A RELIABLE GAUGE OF ANYTHING.


Not saying that. Water clarity usually is an indicator of certain factors. But it depends on a lot of elements. That area of Fla is an exception to the general rule. Only place I know of like that.