Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Sediment pond

I have a sediment pond that sets just above my bigger pond. I had to do a clean out because the small pond was full of sediment, sand etc. It's a small pond about 15' deep at its deepest point and I think it's about 20 yds long and 20 yds wide. It catches sand etc during big rain events and will muddy up for a week during those events. So, in the past I would throw in some FHMs or Rosey Reds where they would breed and during the large rain events some of these bait fish would enter the big pond. I also added 3 cnbg last time at or around 3" and they grew to about 6" and were added back to the big pond at clean out. I am guessing they lived on FHM's. I was not so impressed with there growth and I saw no reproduction (I did not ck the sexes prior to adding them). so I most likely will not add and bg to the cleaned out pond. Any thoughts or suggestions on what I might put in this sediment pond other than the fhm's?

I have a 40 x 50 ft pond above my main pond, and only FHM in it. That's all it will really support well.

Anyone have any thoughts on growing out some Golden shiners in a small pond like this one. Maybe to breading size and then released into the larger pond? I was thinking of picking some up at a local bait shop if I could get some growth from them in a pond like this. Might make some larger forage for the hsb and lmb in the bigger pond.

Sure!! Just have grassy areas for them to spawn on in shallow areas (less than 24" water depth).

Any thoughts on the GSH ovarian parasite and managing a forage pond?

My only thought is if you see reduced production, wipe the slate clean, putting EVERYTHING into the main pond and start fresh.

You could keep rotating stock if you seine it with a slightly larger mesh seine, taking out the bigger, older ones along with some of the bigger younger ones. Still, once production drops off, push the reset button.

esshup Thanks, I was thinking there would be no reproduction in this sediment pond when I mentioned this. And there are a few lizard tail plants and a very small patch of American pond weed veggies to speak of in the larger pond, but really, very few plants for natural reproduction so I was thinking what if? So some questions?

How many 2" sized would one add to this 20 yd by 20 yd by 15' pond? 1# or 4#'s or etc? and the pond could be 15 yds by 15 yds, I have not measured it recently.

Any chance of passing along any disease from diseased fish to the main pond, since the rain water passes through this sediment pond and someday the gsh will be added to the big pond?

Would it be necessary to reduce a 1/8" sized pellet or will they feed off the pellet as it becomes wetter and softer? Much like a fhm will do?

How fast does a gsh grow when hand feed most every day? Will this 2" grow to 6" or larger in a small pond like this and in what time frame?

I did some reading and it sounds simple to raise some with little cost for the fish but in a sediment pond I was not sure I could grow out some to a nice size for feeding some hsb and lmb.

And it's no big deal if they don't reproduce if I can raise some good numbers to a good size.

Pond will have no aeration but I do have a water well to keep it full

Thought or suggestions or recommendation not to do it?

Thanks again

O.K., but I've got some questions for you then.

How many 2" sized would one add to this 20 yd by 20 yd by 15' pond? 1# or 4#'s or etc? and the pond could be 15 yds by 15 yds, I have not measured it recently.

How many pounds are you looking to transfer to your main pond per year? Are you planning on adding any spawning cover or just planning on growing them larger, then transferring them to the main pond? Are you sure of the pond depth? A 45' x 45' pond is almost half the size of a 60' x 60' pond. Go measure it.

Any chance of passing along any disease from diseased fish to the main pond, since the rain water passes through this sediment pond and someday the GSH will be added to the big pond?

Do you trust your fish supplier? What are the chances of getting diseased fish from your fish supplier?

Would it be necessary to reduce a 1/8" sized pellet or will they feed off the pellet as it becomes wetter and softer? Much like a fhm will do?

They will push a pellet around and peck at it until they eat it. Anything smaller and it will sink unless you go with Optimal Jr.

How fast does a gsh grow when hand feed most every day? Will this 2" grow to 6" or larger in a small pond like this and in what time frame?

That is a loaded question because you didn't define "most every day" and what food you are feeding. Is "most every day" the same as every other day or is it 4,5,6 days a week? How much are you feeding "most every day" and what is the quality of the food? What does the phytoplankton bloom look like in the pond? What is the pond clarity?

I did some reading and it sounds simple to raise some with little cost for the fish but in a sediment pond I was not sure I could grow out some to a nice size for feeding some hsb and lmb.

It is possible, but the amount that is grown all depends on a LOT of variables, and it could vary from year to year too. Water temp, amount of food available, stress on the fish (will you have a heron or two visiting the pond every day?), etc.

And it's no big deal if they don't reproduce if I can raise some good numbers to a good size.

Pond will have no aeration but I do have a water well to keep it full.

If you add well water, you have to add it to the pond in such a way that you add O2 to the water at the same time. How much water can you add per day (gallons)? IF your pond is 60feet x 60feet x 15 feet deep, you have roughly 2:1 slopes and almost 400,000 gallons of water in it. Without aeration, the fish will only be able to use the top 10' or so of water during the summer.

Thought or suggestions or recommendation not to do it?

Thanks again

esshup, thanks, I have used gsh for fishing but have never raised any and I am still not sure I can in a sediment pond that might get a lot of colloidal stuff during a nice rain event. But thinking I might give it a try. Another thing is since I cleaned it out I have a leek in the top 3' around the pond and will be adding some bentonite to reduce the leaking. Pond will drop 3' pretty fast and then it holds so plans are to add some bentonite clay to the shore line where it looks to be pretty sandy. Pond did the same when I dug it originally but I used some of Tj's additive and it sealed it ok. I just thought I would try the bentonite this time. it's easy for me to get and I thought my experience with the bentonite might help others who experience such things. I may play around with the bentonite additions and see what amounts might seal if not disked in but added as a clay liner. I can adjust water levels pretty easy in this pond through water well at 50 gpm +- or Honda pump to reduce water levels. Oh, water well tubing now has a pipe that sucks air into the water flow to add air into the well water. I have a DO meter and might just pull it out and see where O2 is when adding the well water. I may add some fertilized water from the big pond to get plankton growth kicked off prior to adding the gsh.

When all that is said and done, I will add the gsh to this 15yd by 15yd by lets say 10' depth pond. Will hand feed 1/8" Cargills 4512 @ 42%protein 6 to 7 days per week except for when I am away at such things like the upcoming PBC or vacations and or Sunday church.

I am looking for numbers to stock for growth, not looking for reproduction in this sediment pond but if it happens, it happens. How many would you start with? I'm hoping to feed some of the HSB and LMB with these larger GSH. Another thing is the big pond has good numbers of TFS but we know that will not last where I am and I expect them to die out some cold winter, hope not, but it could be this upcoming winter. It might be nice if the gsh could replace the tfs someday. I was also looking for time it takes to grow some out but I know it depends a lot on food availability, water conditions etc. I'm guessing will see

I'd throw in 10-15 pounds and see how things go.

Thank you sir