NancyGa...please don't stress on post size....you really can't give too much info!!! And we LOVE the pics!! I sent you a private message on siphon installations....they are part science and part art...for 5 acres, you'll want it done right!! Especially since you will likely need to breach part of the damn to seal off the old culvert drain that has rusted. You have a real gem there and as an investment, it should be kept as viable as possible.....a leaking or ugly pond can hammer the value of a property, or really increase the value when pristine with lots of life in it! Bodies of water like yours usually become the centers of most activity on the property.

Since you said you are still needing the drain repaired, and considering adult fish are difficult to source at times (I have some sources) and are much more costly than smaller fish...You may find it is easier, and less expensive to kill off the pond and start over. It will lower costs on pipe repair and siphon installation as well...plus, you will know what is in your water....Crappie are quite often destroyers of a pond under 50 acres in size....What is the source of water for the pond? Just runoff from your watershed or is it stream/spring fed? Do you own all the land in your pond's watershed? If not, do you know if other ponds upstream will drain into your pond? If a pond above drains into yours, you WILL get some of all the fish species in that pond that will be established into your pond....that will need to consider when developing a restocking plan. Killing off everything in the pond is pretty easy, but is not a DIY project for that much water....the fish that get killed off will get cleaned up pretty fast by all those turtles you dislike, along with loads of scavengers like coyotes, opossum, raccoon, fox, etc....The turtles will scatter for a while till pH returns to a point the turtles can swim in again.

You will really want to have a site visit by someone familiar with all the work and options, and have the engineering plans checked/modified for you particular pond....

Last edited by Rainman; 02/22/19 08:49 PM.