Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations the beach clean-up and Lake Georgetopia

Brian, I forgot to ask. How's the plans for Aluminum Sulphate in the forage pond coming along?

I think I need to get on that asap so I can get the phytoplankton going!!! The jar test showed some success, but there is still some clay in suspension in the jar after three weeks, and the pond still looks cloudy!!

I am also going to put in a level gauge so I know how deep the water is at any time. PVC I think is the way to go for that issue, with a good wide foot.

More alum is needed. Keep applying it until you see the clay particles start to form clumps and settle out to the bottom of the pond. Keep an eye on the pH.

Brian, in my pond I drove a galvanized pipe (3/4") into the pond bottom. Then I bought a 6' powdercoated aluminum "ruler" from Lowes. I zip tied it to the pipe. It reads backwards, but I can tell how many inches the pond raised or lowered. It does get some growth on it, but a white non-scratching scotchbrite scrubbing pad cleans it off easily when it's still wet.

In my pond, a 3' yardstick isn't big enough to measure the water fluctuation.

I love brood/forage/grow-out ponds and I love Georgetopia!
We dug our BFG pond in 2004 and it has been a work in progress and contributed to success of our main pond.

Ours has always been in a transition stage from forage to brood to grow out, depending on ever evolving plans. Some may recall our successful grow out program of CNBG and HSB that encouraged Overton to adopt the experiment that resulted in his grow out operation. As a result Texas farm pond owners now have adult OTS CNBG and HSB available for stocking without risk of predation.

Since Brian and I are near neighbors and good friends, we have spent literally hours if not days discussing forage and lake management.
He has abundant forage in his big lake and I have provided 18-20 pure Florida LMB IIRC, so he will get a good F1 spawn this year, so forage from G-topia is not a major issue – but having the new resource he will be able to up grade his genetic base to predominate OTS CNBG.

Brian has the option to stock fingerling Camelot Bell LMB in his little pond and retaining brood stock in the future if he elects to go this route.

He has such flexibility with his BFG pond, being at water edge to drain and refill that the opportunities are outstanding.

I am the observer – ever watchful for problems and opportunity!
Brian is very patient with me and I try not to meddle, but gosh, he named that BFG pond Georgetopia!
Thanks Brian.
G/

In a small growout pond (GT) really watch the alkalinity when using alum. You want the alkalinity as high as possible (within limits) prior to starting. Small waters can change quickly causing stress. Avoid quick changes as they cause death.

Have hydrated lime on hand and use it as directed during the process. However that is not what I am talking about above. Start ahead of the change curve by having good alkalinity before the fact by adding ag lime well in advance if needed to raise alkalinity. The best results would be an alkalinity high enough before hand that the alum does not cause a change. Also ag lime will sometimes clear turbidity or at least lessen the amount of alum required as it is also a flocculent.

I have pvc depth gauges marked with lines with a big black line for full pool.

"ag lime will sometimes clear turbidity"
AGREED!
I have a lot of experience with this soil type in N.E. Texas - looks normal for new pond to me.
I saw clearing on Monday that I would not jump the gun on alum treatment - patience is a virtue!

IIRC, Brian limed the basin before it filled with water.

Scott, I did not add any aglime, the total ALK in the water was already at 65ppm before adding the CNBG and FHMs. Sorry if I caused any misunderstanding.

Eric, the goal is to have a great forage/growout pond. I made it a little deeper because of the Texas heat and because I will not be there all the time to monitor, so a little more water was added for insurance reasons. The gauge allows for a quick look. I am planning on a PVC based gauge that is easily removable when I am netting fish for transfer to the big pond.

Keep the thoughts coming, I am way happier to learn before I make a mistake!!

Of course, the ones you learn from the mistakes are valuable too, they just cost more....

Removable is nice, but it's gotta stay in the same place to monitor the level. It's easy enough to seine around it, we have to do that in Cecil's pond. He's got a stake holding up the outflow of his geothermal.

Brian, if actual numbers aren't important, just put a brick or rock on the bank at the current water line. If the water's below the rock, add water. Works for my CNBG pond because a quick drive by tells me what I need to know.

Allen, I'd like to know the numbers, but I like the way you think

Scott, I'll see what I can come up with. If I can leave it in, all the better.

I'll go with that if it's important to you, but numbers confuse me. As you well know, I still can't figure out how an airplane wing works. It's some kind of magic.

Allen it is simple, thrusties=good, lifties=good

Drag is only good when ATC tells you to expedite your descent due to traffic...

Impossible to understand. All that is derived from technology recovered from Roswell in 1947. Next thing you know, you'll tell me the Wright Brothers weren't the first ones who flew.

Allen, sssssh, area 51, just saying.

Okay, I got to go to the farm yesterday and move the fish feeder to Georgetpoia. I added AM 400 and 500 and set it to go off three times a day for now. When it heats up, I'll change the settings but for now three times a day seems to be right.



Here is a picture of them feeding after testing the feeder in its new location.




And wouldn't you know it but I found this guy trapped in the erosion netting at the water's edge. He was trying to get out so that part was good, but I don't think he made it. I have to figure my CNBG may have spawned? I would love to hear from the experts on that idea. Remember the CNBG have only been in Georgetopia since early March.




In sort, Georgetopia looks good for now. I have an aerator on request and it should be here soon. I'll post more about that when it's time. I think some of you are going to be very interested.



The beach area is also coming along. I continues the burn process and made some real headway, but I still have a long way to go before all of the trash trees and bushes are recycled.



As I burn the wood, I'll have to remove the embedded dirt. It is a slow process, but I can see the progress.

I have also decided to name the beach area as "Area 52" in Allen's honor ( Area 51 was already taken). This is where my experimentation is happening right now, so it only seemed right to give it a name....

Brian, it depends on how large the CNBG were when they were stocked. BG have been reportedly able to spawn at 3 inches in the South.

That one had to come from another source. DD1 is right they can spawn in short order. But any new spawn yoy would not be to that size from spawn to 1 mth.

Dave, a lot of the CNBG from Todd were right at 3 inches when stocked. Todd supplied us with very nice fish!!

Thanks Eric, I'll try to figure this out. I did pump big pond water into Georgetopia to get the level up before stocking, but it was before the BG seemed interested in spawning. The pond temp was 59 degrees the day we pumped. I hope I did not do anything to corrupt Georgetopia. If I did, I'll have to live with it for now.

On a side note, the Tilapia in the big pond are already starting to build nests!! I have seen them in five or six areas fanning away!!

Well I got my new 12V DC aerator this weekend and I had the time to add Ag-lime to Georgetopia as well, so I figured it would be one long day, but it would be worth it!!

As it turns out, it was a very long day but I made a lot of progress out at the farm. First off, I got the burn pile going again and I then turned my attention to Georetopia. It needed some ag-lime and since the day was beautiful, I figured that should be first on the list. I got about 700Lbs of ag-lime and got busy. I had to use a shovel to toss it into Georgetopia because I can not maneuver the tractor very well around the new pond. It took a while, but I got it all mixed in to the pond.

I them turned my attention to the new aerator. I think I may be the first one to get Kasco's new 12V DC aerator. It is based on their 12V emergency aerator, but I plan to use mine full time to grow lots of CNBG and Tilapia in Georgetopia. It did not take long to assemble the unit, and soon I was off to Georgetopia with my new aertator. Installing it in Georgetopia was pretty easy. The first thing I did at that point was to run it off of the tractor's battery both with the engine running and with it turned off to see how much water the system would throw.




Here you can see how much water the aerator is throwing and how little action makes it to the shoreline. I believe I should not have an erosion issue running this aerator.



After getting the aerator up and running, it was time to get the solar system set up and get it charging the batteries! It took four trips to the barn to get everything needed out to Georgetopia, but after some needed prep-work the system started to come together nicely.

I then tried the aerator with the batteries in a very weakend condition to see how much water it could move when the batteries were nearly flat. Here is what I saw.



As you can see, even when the batteries are nearly dead, they can still cause the aerator to move enough water to make a difference.

The last two pictures have to be viewed several times to grasp the real issue I am fighting. Here you can see the mirror smooth surface of Georgetopia while the big pond has a lot of wave action due to the +10 knots of wind blowing from south to north (right to left). While the big pond is being naturally aerated, Georgetopia is receiving none of that natural goodness.






All in all, even though the solar system is setup in a temporary configuration, I should be good to go until I can make a more permanent install. All of the panels are zip tied together on top and bottom and they are tied to the containers of dirt weighing around 70 LBS each.

I'll be back to the farm in a day or so and I'll let you guys know how the water quality has improved.

On a side note, I have asked Kasco if they would make a three bladed prop for the 12V Dc aerator. I believe it would be more efficient and could make this system even better. I'll let you know how that goes.

Brian, about how much did that cost(if you have trouble adding, remember to start at the far right and work to your left). Yes we know that you have a built in counting system that goes to twenty. However, this is not 100% with loggers and woodworkers. I am so glad you figgered out how to get back to your pond. Have a good day. Your friend,Ken.

Nice work Brian. Neat setup . Results will be interesting.

Brian, if the lime doesn't clear the muddy water, you going to go the Alum route?

Ken, built in, I can count to 23, just saying. The cost for the aerator and float system may be in flux as I have made a few suggestions to the kasco guys so I will let them speek to that point as appropriate. I find it to be reasonable for Georgetopia. When I talk to the Kasco guys again, I'll let them know there are people who are interested in the price.

Eric, thanks!! I'll be sampling the water this weekend for sure. I'll also be trying several run times to see how the system holds up. I may also add better (bigger) batteries if I have the time. More panels are in my future as well....

Scott, If the lime does not clear up the water, I might go for the Alum, but only after very careful consideration, and maybe with some help because I do not want to harm George's grand-babies!

I think I might raise the total ALK to as high as 200 to see if that might clear Georgetopia some more before going to the Alum. It is just too easy to cause a crash with Alum if you are not careful, and I do not have any experience using it, so I am going to stay on the "be careful" side of Alum for now.

Besides, I can always pump water back and forth from the big pond to Georgetopia using the filters Todd recommended to clear up the water if I need better secchi readings or a better phytoplankton bloom. For now, I am going to use aglime and see how it goes. The CNBG are getting bigger and the FHMs are attacking the AM500 every time it hits the water.

Soon it will be time for George to fly fish Georgetopia and catch some data points!!

Scott, quit messin' with my pond....
Visibility is as good or better than needed...

G/