Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain This weather is pushing my hurry up

Here in the Ark-la-tex the weather is in the 70's and my water temp @ 4:45 pm yesterday was 53. Would you even consider fertilization or addition of Alfalfa pellets now? This 3.5 are pond has been stocked with forage, do they need me to create food now ? (zooplankton, etc)? Water is still a little cloudy with 12 " of visibility and a water sample was put in a dark closet for 4 days with little to no change. In my younger years and kept a fishing journal fishing nearby lakes, and I learned that sometime around Feb 15 to Feb 25th the lmb moved up to look for spawning beds and I would catch my largest fish of the yr, where the water was protected from a NW wind and where the shoreline would get the most sun. So I am saying we get some 70 degree days in early February here and this yr it looks like it might be one of those early yrs. I mention this fishing journal just as a way to point out our normal weather patterns and how it might relate to fishing and fish feeding. And our white bass start there river spawning runs now also.
The only vegetation in the pond is FA and I understand some of the forage fish will feed on this, but my TSH, FH and Golden shiners need the plankton don't they?
Another question comes to mind here. The pond is still rising and lacks about 1 foot or so to be full. I have access to gypsum at wholesale pricing in 50 lb bags and it would be easier mixing, than adding bulk into a sprayer, Anyone have a recommended treatment on clearing up lightly cloudy water using gypsum?
Thanks
Tracy

Tracy:

Before fertilizing I'd see about doing something to clear the water from the clay turbidity. I would use alum vs. gypsum to clear the turbidity. Then the phytoplankton will have more sunlight to grow. Phytoplankton could be considered the base fo the food pyramid in the pond, so getting a good bloom will help your pond.

If turbidity is causing the poor visibility, then fertilizing won't have that much effect - you might have enough N and P in the pond now, but you can't get a bloom going because of the turbidity issue and water temps.

Find the "alum kicks clay's butt" threads in the "muddy water" area of the forum and see how it works.

Thanks for the recommendations, I did a closet test and after 4 days of setting in a dark space I had very little clay on the bottom of the jar. Almost none, maybe a trace. Water is pretty clear and I get gypsum at wholesale pricing as I sell gyp in the oil and gas business. And gyp will increase the hardness of my water which is real low. If I have a clay problem in the future , I will add alum after I have full vegetation around the shoreline and along the edges of the water.
Thanks
Tracy