Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry Another lime question

See if you think this link is the plant.

http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/water-primrose/

I am not sure you have an alkalinity problem. The swing you reported with rain is not that big. Is there anyone around you with a pond that you could test against?

Those look like BG beds.

Yes, thought about that last night. There are probably 10 within a mile of my house. Will probably test them also.

So that much of a swing is not that big of a deal? Why do you think the alkalinity tab on the test strip is lighter than 20? Have you ever tried those? I can have the water alkalinity tested at the UofA for 10 dollars but have to find a place to send it from and find a container.

I was thinking those were bream beds...there aren't many...but thats a good sign...at least I have some life cycles going on.

I thought about the primrose at first but then didn't think so until looking at the other photos. I'm pretty sure thats it. Have never seen it flower though. But this is the first year I've seen it.

THanks alot!!

Finally was able to lime. I had 8 tons spread around the pond. He backed in multiple places around the pond, and drove around maybe 6 times around the shore. He also drove up all the watersheds once. I concentrated the lime in the pond. I'm 4' down right now, maybe a foot lower than the picture in this thread. I had a good south wind, the pic is from the south side of the pond. It spread out nicely.

Should I wait until spring to test water again?

Do I have time for a bloom?? Or to late in the season?

What if anything should I expect to see from the lime? The spreader got a great spin on the lime and threw it 20 feet or so when he was driving the banks.

Thanks again for all your help guys! Maybe I won't get the pH fluctuations now. Everytime we get a good rain the fish would slack off eating for a good bit..maybe a week or so...then slowly come back to hammering it. I'm sure they were getting stressed.

Here was my analysis from July

[img:left][/img]

It took mine a month or so to start helping things mainly vis. I was told that it takes a bit to change the ph, month or so

Thanks pat...thats what I had read. Just didn't know if I might see a change with fall and winter coming on, or if it would be spring warming when I would see a change. Did the water change color? Or did the visibility just get less?

Please keep us posted on what you see/results.

From your report you really needed ag lime. In the spring keep a close eye out for any sign of a bloom (any decrease in sechi reading). I think you will need some fertilizer with low N like 0-46-0 (high P) to kick things off. See these links for more analysis.

Plankton -- http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=20172&Number=259527#Post259527

Water quality -- https://srac.tamu.edu/serveFactSheet/262

Lime & water -- https://srac.tamu.edu/serveFactSheet/112

See test results with scale below and compare to yours.

Thanks for the reading ewest! Very informative! I agree, I wish I could've limed alot earlier. I'm curious about if I'll need to fertilize. We live on a peach orchard that has been an orchard for over 50 years. We have converted most to pasture and hay now. We have spread chicken litter on some, and commercial fertilizer on the rest. My watershed is not all our land, wish it was...but the fertilizer on it will effect what watershed we do have. I hope I'm not too nutrient rich in the spring and not be able to control it.

One plus that I have seen from the lime that I never thought about was being able to see fingerlings so well. I used to only be able to see the water movement as I walked the pond and fed. Now I can see hundreds of fingerlings moving all over since you can see them against the lime so well. Kind of a neat deal.

Thanks again! I'll try to get some pics of the water and color now...then we can compare as spring approaches.

That is exactly why I said 0-46-0 (no N). Well before that you need to watch very closely your sechi readings to see if visibility is decreasing. You may not need any fertilizer. If you do it is going to be the P that is the limiting factor not the N or K. FYI fertilizer's 3 numbers are N first , P second and K last.

Thanks again ewest!!

I do know about fertilizer..I taught agriculture for 10 years, but the pond is a new thing. I know the litter will be mostly nitrogen, but the 17-17-17 on the rest was what really concerned me.

I need to build a disk, I know its easy, just getting the few minutes to do it. I know its pretty clear though...I do have some FA, but no bloom.

Here is a technical question for you, why is it that phosphorus is normally the limiting factor in ponds? Does it get bound up for some reason? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read that lime will release phosphorus if its bound up in the soil? Is that why many times you will get a bloom after adding your lime? Is potassium and nitrogen not as important to aquatic plant life as it is say forage or ornamental plants...or do they not get bound up like phosphorus does?

Sorry for all the questions...but love to learn.

Thanks again for taking all the time you and so many others do to answer all our "rookie" questions!!