Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Oak tree cover Dyeing the water

Hey I had a seasoned guy, pond owner and has built a hundred ponds, tell me that he had a problem with oak trees left in his own pond for fish cover, turned the water brown from dye properties in the oak, to the point that even after 10 to 12 years later him and his dad drained down a 16 acre lake to remove them, I just left a good bit of oak stumps and brush for cover in mine, was wondering if anybody had experienced this?
should I be trying to get more of them out before they are all under water? TIA

What is your alkalinity ? You can add ag lime to offset the acid (tannic acid) from the oak. Others have had the problem you noted. I have not and have been using oak for years.

I did it and killed everything in a new pond. Admittedly, it was a lot of green oaks. To test, cut a piece of green oak, put it in a bucket and add small fish. The results are fairly predictable. Tannins are pretty lethal. I much prefer cedars but doubt that a small amount in a lot of water would be a problem. However, I doubt that it would be utilized until all the tannins had disbursed.

Something to think about.....there are several lakes in canada that are heavy in tannins and have brown tea water all the time - they have very healthy fish populations, likely due to some adaptations in the fish over time

I have a dead fall oak in my pond, thats been there long before I came along. The trunk is 4' around and the canopy is 80' passed what is left of the stump. It has had no impact on the fish or water quality long term - though it may have after it just fell. That canopy holds walleye and crappie year long and the trunk is a favorite ambush spot for my LMB

3 of my 10 acres around the pond consists of protected old growth oaks - never harvested. I had a live oak fall after a windstorm last spring which fell into my main feeder creek which hasn't caused any problems with tannins

So I possibly need to test for alkalinity in my water, and when you say use ag lime, as in how much or how do you disburse it int the water, does it need spread or can I just add some piles in areas that will eventually be covered with water? (it is just starting to fill up).

Thanks

Our central Missouri soils tend to be quite acidic. Five ton/acre spread in the pond before it fills wouldn't be too much, but to know for sure how much to apply have a soil test done on the clay from the pond basin.

If you control pasture or crop ground in the watershed lime that too.

Or make it easy and just dump a load in the inlet ditch and let Mother Nature do the work of spreading it.