Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,899
Posts557,082
Members18,451
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,414
ewest 21,474
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,110
Who's Online Now
8 members (homewardbound, Justin W, Sunil, DenaTroyer, Freg, Donatello, jludwig, catscratch), 756 guests, and 207 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 317
F
Fatih Offline OP
OP Offline
F
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 317
Hey guys,

You know i don't have a real pond yet, since it is very unusual to have one, in my country. I am still struggling to have one.

In the meantime, i use every chance to learn something about nature of ponds ands its residences. I have a cement pond, that can get only 1000 gal of water. No filtration, no chemicals, no management. I have some little Tilapias inside it and i add some water occasionally. That's it!

And since i don't interrupt the water, and i don't keep Kois, i guess i can be considered as a pond owner smile .

Here comes my question: There are backswimmers and fly larvaes in the water. But they will disappear a couple days after i put the fishes. Fishes will eat them all. They will also eat all the algae in the water, and in a couple weeks the water will be out of any kind of food source. However, i want a self sustaining little pond. I don't want natural food source to just disappear in a couple days


How can i do that?

PS: I got only a couple fishes in the pond.

Last edited by Fatih; 04/21/14 04:05 PM.
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,414
Likes: 792
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,414
Likes: 792


www.hoosierpondpros.com


http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 317
F
Fatih Offline OP
OP Offline
F
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 317
An interesting topic. Thanks Scott. I know, with fertilizers i can increase the amount of the algae but what about insects? Will fertilizing the pond also help increase their numbers?

I wanna use something natural. What kind of natural or homemade substance can i use to fertilize my pond?

Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,315
F
Offline
F
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 2,315
How about one of those lights to get more bugs over the water at night?

Then there was that fly breeding box--- what was the name of it? You probably don't have that type of fly there, but check into it.

heres the link.. http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=351428&page=1

Last edited by fish n chips; 04/22/14 05:06 PM. Reason: added link
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,414
Likes: 792
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,414
Likes: 792
I'd think that you might have fertilizer for plants there. You want something with higher "P" (the middle number) for instance instead of 12-12-12 use something like 10-34-5.


www.hoosierpondpros.com


http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 317
F
Fatih Offline OP
OP Offline
F
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 317
Fishnchips , i gotta read that tomorrow, and write back.

Scott, i don't know a lot about farming. Can you give me a specific name for that fertilizer? What is that middle number? smile

Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,414
Likes: 792
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,414
Likes: 792
Originally Posted By: Fatih
Scott, i don't know a lot about farming. Can you give me a specific name for that fertilizer? What is that middle number? smile


Me either. wink It's more of what NOT to do thru trial and error.

Here's some reading. If you can, get water soluble fertilizer. Fertilizer for plants is made to dissolve slowly over time. Fertilizer for ponds is made to dissolve rapidly.

You can use fertilizer for plants, but instead of just throwing it into the pond, you need to make a platform that is submerged, and place it on that platform. Make a few and distribute them around the pond.

http://www.ncagr.gov/cyber/kidswrld/plant/label.htm


www.hoosierpondpros.com


http://www.pondboss.com/subscribe.asp?c=4
3/4 to 1 1/4 ac pond LMB, SMB, PS, BG, RES, CC, YP, Bardello BG, (RBT & Blue Tilapia - seasonal).
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099
Likes: 22
R
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Hall of Fame
Lunker
R
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099
Likes: 22
Fatih, if your fish are Tilapia, not Koi, they will eat almost any vegetation from grass and leaves, to table scraps after a meal.



Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 908
Likes: 8
D
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame 2014
Lunker
D
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 908
Likes: 8
Fatih, a few of the members on this forum sell pond supplies and advertise in the Pond Boss magazine but don't toot their own horns on the forum. Some of them might sell water soluble pond fertilizer. You'd have to search it out by going to their web sites.


A regular garden fertilizer can be used in a pond, 13-13-13 for example, which is probably not the best formulation for ponds, but it will create a bloom. Place the bag in shallow water and slit the top of the bag.

Water soluble fertilizer is a powdered fertilizer that is simply cast upon the surface of the water. One brand that I know of is called 'Whopper Grower' and has a formulation of 10-52-4.

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110
Likes: 478
A pond of just about any size can be managed numerous ways using numerous types of methods. Ones Goals and knowledge about the workings of aquatic ecosystems are key items for good management using natural methods.


aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
I just want to say that I do not consider low-input management of a pond natural. Natural is no human input. Managing pond with low input is like agriculture with low input, yields of harvestable product are typically lower and management is harder and often less effective. As someone that practices low input pond management and high-intensity farming, I just wanted to point this out. For me, the pond is hobby and I enjoy the process as much or more than the result.

Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Offline
Hall of Fame
Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043
Likes: 1
I will tell you from personal experience fertilizing small ponds is very tricky. My ponds are a little bigger at 1/10th acre and I still have to very careful. Typically I can't get a bloom going early and when I do it really goes to town! I would not recommend fertilizing a pond of that size if it's a recreational pond and would instead go with Aquashade!

The bloom can get out of hand very quickly or you can get copious amounts of filamentous algae. In fact my yellow perch pond goes soupy green by mid summer with oxygen issues at night, and I have to seine the fish out. However they are hatchery ponds and I would do that anyway.

I would also keep the fish population very small and monosex if possible. Hybrid bluegills, and two or three monosex bass. Even feeding can cause problems in small ponds if one gets carried away or has too many fish.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
On the low-input side, I have never fertilized or used any "chemical" input in the pond. I do feed just under 25 lbs of pellets per year so that I can watch fish. My pond is just over an acre though. I think the addition of lots of emergent plants and ornamental water lilies contribute to my lack of "weed" problems. We pull volunteer cattails and nuke willows. I have no problem with others taking a more intensive approach to their ponds, but I enjoy playing with the idea that he pond is more natural the way I manage it - An illusion of course.

Last edited by RAH; 05/11/14 08:33 AM.
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
Originally Posted By: RAH
I just want to say that I do not consider low-input management of a pond natural. Natural is no human input. Managing pond with low input is like agriculture with low input, yields of harvestable product are typically lower and management is harder and often less effective. As someone that practices low input pond management and high-intensity farming, I just wanted to point this out. For me, the pond is hobby and I enjoy the process as much or more than the result.


"Natural is no human input".

You make a good point. Most people do not really want natural. Natural involves things like poison ivy, itch weed, etc. Most people want "faux" natural. Or whatever their personal perception is of what "natural" should be.

Which is fine. After all a pond is a completely unnatural BOW. A BOW did not just "materialize" in its specific location naturally. Before it was created there was a pasture, woods, ravine or whatever. So what is natural for a pond is really in the eyes of the beholder. The owners of the pond become the "great creator" of that particular pond and natural is what they perceive and desire natural to be.

And it is good.

Last edited by snrub; 05/11/14 09:06 AM.

John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
Faith, after reading all the above posts I think Rainman and Cecil have come closest to explaining what might be most useful to you.

First of all, 1000 gallons is not much water. That is the size of a cattle watering stock tank on a cattle farm "here". My mom raised goldfish in our cement stock tank (that was probably 500 gallons) when I was a kid so I'm pretty sure you can raise tilapia in a 1000 gallon tank there. As Cecil alluded to, managing this small body of water is going to be infinitely more tricky than managing a large body of water, like say two acres that contains tens or hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. In your case a tablespoon of commercial fertilizer might be too little and five might be way too much. Between the sun, wind and temperature you could have algae swings that vary wildly, along with water conditions for your fish.

Rainman points out that tilapia will eat about anything including grass clippings and table scraps. That might be your best source of adding some additional nutrients to the pond. But do so starting out with very small amounts, see what the fish will eat, and don't go overboard. With only 1000 gallons of watter, adding a little nutrients will go a long ways, particularly if you have no means of aeration or ways of changing out some of the water to get rid of the things that you don't want building up in the water. Cecil along with some of the guys here on PBF that raise fish in closed aquaponics setups can tell you about the things that build up in concentrations in water that are bad on fish. Things like nitrates.

My first impulse to address your description of the fish over eating their available resources and you wanting it to be sustainable, was to recommend reduce stocking rates. But when you are already at a stocking rate of two fish, you can't reduce too much. Maybe go to smaller fish, but they don't tend to stay that way.

Whatever you do, good luck with your pond in Turkey.

Last edited by snrub; 05/11/14 12:59 PM.

John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
At 1000 gallons, you are talking about a backyard fish pond. I think that is a different beast from a larger earthen pond. There is a lot of literature on backyard ponds. My wife and I managed a pond about that size almost 30 years ago. We built it of concrete. It had potted water lilies in the pond and hibiscus planted on the bank around the edges that had roots that would droop into the pond's edges. We had a breeding population of goldfish, and neighbor's cats to keep the fish population in check. We channeled water from out gutters through a pipe into the pond and had the overflow water the surrounding gardens. The water stayed very clear and we enjoyed sitting by it. We fed the fish cat food.

Last edited by RAH; 05/11/14 09:43 AM.
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
You bring up several very good points RAH, and one sparked a thought in my mind.

When others talk about adding nutrients to create more food for the fish, I come back to the fact that Faith does not have reasonable ways to exchange water. To me, that brought up thoughts of nasty buildup of problem waste in the pond.

You may have said the key to the best bet to increasing pond carrying capacity. That is adding plants. Plants will help purify the water. By adding the plants as you and your wife did, the plants would aid in the natural regulation of the pond nutrients and take out unwanted excess nutrients. He might even be able to get some useful plants out of the deal.

So maybe a combination of adding some food for the fish and plants to remove excess waste????

Last edited by snrub; 05/11/14 01:00 PM.

John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
R
RAH Offline
Lunker
Offline
Lunker
R
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 5,714
Likes: 281
I now recall that we built a shelf around the pond also, where we put in pots of bog plants. On that small of a scale, you can even have tropical or subtropical ornamental plants that can be placed in the basement during the winter. I seem to remember that we had a plant with the common name elephant ear.

http://www.pebblepathgardens.com/water-gardens/


Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
Bob Lusk, GaryK, GrizzFan, PhotographerDave
Recent Posts
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by Sunil - 03/28/24 12:39 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by Sunil - 03/28/24 12:39 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 11:01 AM
Paper-shell crayfish and Japanese snails
by esshup - 03/28/24 10:39 AM
Brooder Shiners and Fry, What to do??
by Freg - 03/28/24 09:42 AM
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by esshup - 03/28/24 08:36 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by Justin W - 03/28/24 08:19 AM
Reducing fish biomass
by FishinRod - 03/28/24 08:18 AM
Questions and Feedback on SMB
by Donatello - 03/27/24 03:10 PM
2024 North Texas Optimal BG food Group Buy
by Dave Davidson1 - 03/27/24 08:15 AM
Freeze Danger? - Electric Diaphragm Pump
by esshup - 03/26/24 09:47 PM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5