Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions To Lime or not to Lime...that is the question.

I am renovating an 8.5 acre lake which is currently drained down to about 2 surface acres. I had my water tested and know that I need to add lime. When talking to local fish breeder - he mentioned that adding lime to the bare dirt (as opposed to filling the lake and dumping lime into the water) was much more effective way to apply lime. IE - he said the goal is to get the lime to cover the bottom, so adding it directly to dirt before I fill the lake is the best way to go. This made a lot of sense to me.

Can anyone comments on the above method of liming vs. adding lime to the water after filling the lake? Is one method more effective than another?

darnold :

Did you get a soil analysis of your pond bottom? That would provide important info including how much lime to add . When applying lime the more of the pond bottom that you can apply it to the better. Some people have it done by barge or boat when the lake is full. There are pond management companies that offer this service. Others have it done by spreader truck when the lake is down and somtimes by the same method when full. If you are not going to have it done by boat then it is easier to cover a larger % of the bottom by spreader truck when the water is down. After you cover as much of the bottom as you can you may want to put more lime at the point where the water comes into the pond. The least effective way is to just dump it in the pond at one place when the pond is full.I hope this helps. ewest

Alligator,

Take it from me, the very best way to lime is to call the local feed store or coop that does pasture liming and schedule them out to spread the lime in and around the drainage of the pond. This way is completely easy, totally effective and long lasting. Do not fool with the expensive barges and jury rigged methods of spreading lime into your water...it is a waste of time and money. Get a lime truck out and spread whatever number of tons you need and then forget about it for many years. Do it now, while your water level is down. You won't regret it.

ewest and Meadow,

Thanks for the replies.

I'm have been somewhat confused about this whole liming business, well, actually, I'm confused about a lot of things...buts that’s another story.

What is me confusing to me is that in my 12,500 gallon cement pond (pool), I perform tests – then add chemicals to the water to balance everything.

I (incorrectly) assumed that adding lime to a lake was a similar process. I thought that the lime was actually dissolving/changing the water vs. going to the bottom, then dispersing into the water. I’m sure it is much more complicated than that, however, I now understand lime in soil = good, lime in water = lots of waste.

After applying the lime – does it need to be “disc-ed in” or left on top?

Sounds like I need a soil test in addition to the water test.

Liming is one of the best and cheapest things you can do in East Texas to improve your pond/lake. What ever your alkalinity test showed that you need - put 2x that amount - especially while you have your water pulled down. If you have any questions regarding this answer - contact Dr. Billy Higginbotham at Texas A & M University Research Station in Overton, Texas at 903/834-6191. He and I regularly speak to pond management issues here in East Texas. We will be speaking tonight (Thurs 5/19) at the Texas Fresh Water Fisheries Center in Athens.

Thanks Texas.

BTW, My place is down HWY 19 in Blackfoot TX. I have a combination of red iron ore + sand on my place.

Here are the results from my water test:

(Thanks to Bill Mingo of Magnolia Fisheries in Coppell, TX)

pH 6.6
Total Alkalinity less than 1 drop = less than 17.3 ppm (goal is 25)
Hardness 103.8

Bill recommended adding 2 - 4 tons per acre to start. I am planning on 22 tons in my 8.5 acre lake. The local ag supply shop has a 22 ton hauler.

Am I on track with a 22 ton application?

Sounds "right on target" to me. Bill Wingo is a good customer of ours and has a tremendouse businessin the Dallas/FT Worth area

Alligator,

Just throw it out there with the truck's spreader and let nature take its course.

Will do Meadow - BTW how was the Tarpon fishing?

Way cool! Posted a couple of tarpon pictures on another thread "they're everywhere, they're everywhere". I'm haunted by water turkeys.

Come on ML, Fess up. They were in the travel brochure and you used tarpon as an excuse to go visit them and maybe to learn more about improving your rookery.

guys. if total alkilinity in my 3 ponds is 52, 86, and 141, (i know that it has to be over 20) would it do any good to add more lime or does it not do anything if it is that high. the one i care the most about (my new one) is the one that is 86.

darrell stringer

Darrell,

What issue are you attempting to correct?

Alligator

Ok, I have a new question...my lime has arrived, "20 tons" according to my lime guy. It sure looks like a lot less than 20 tons to me - is lime really, REALLY heavy?

My experience is with "hydrated" lime, one form used for agriculture. It is very finely ground, resulting in almost no airspace in between particles - as a result, rather dense.

A 50 lb bag of lime is maybe a fifth the size of a 50 lb bag of fish feed. It is only about half the size of 50 lbs of the minerals I give my cattle.

Alternatively, a 20 ton pile of limestone is not all that big; a 20 ton pile of lime would be smaller since it has smaller particles & almost no air.

You can, however, make 20 tons of either limestone or lime MUCH bigger by spreading it by hand.

Meadowlark and all,

When I finish my pond, should I apply lime to the bottom before I fill it? Should I use the coarse "ag lime" or the powdery hydrated lime?

Should I disk it in?

Or, as Meadowlark says (I think!) should I fill the pond first, then spread lime on the water catchment area and let it settle naturally on the pond bottom?

Or... does any of it *really* matter?

Thanks,,,

bobad,

Use ag lime, not the hydrated lime. I've built two ponds now and in both of them when they were about half way full and muddy as coffee, I called out the lime truck and the spreader put some in the water, some on the remaining pond bottom, and some in the drainage into the pond. Both ponds cleared easily within a month in spite of rains and have stayed clear except for the occasional frog strangler.

I haven't tried just putting the ag lime out on the dry pond bottom but believe that would be equally effective....disking not necessary. The only concern I've had is to make sure if you do have water and fish, that you have the pond at least half full so that you don't alter the pond chemistry too radically all at once for the fish...maybe others have tried this on empty ponds?

Theo,

Correctamundo! They spread my lime last week. That stuff is everywhere! I had doubts that the little pile was 20 tons, but, after seeing the coverage area - WOW did it cover a large area.

Gator,

What was this operation? Did they just deliver you a 20 ton pile of lime and then spread it with a dozer or load it back onto trucks that had a spreader?

The standard technique around here is they bring out about 23 to 25 tons in a large truck and transfer about 7 or 8 tons at a time into a truck with a spreader...the big truck has the capability to dump compartments of about 8 tons into a spreader truck. Then the spreader truck spreads it where you want it. They can put out 25 tons in about an hour, very efficient operation.

They hauled in 20 tons in a truck and dumped it. Next they used a loader to transfer it to the spreader truck. It took about 8 hours for the whole operation, inlcuding getting the spreader truck unstuck once or twice.