Background: New 1/2 acre pond 15ft deep on deepest end in Alabama, dug last year. Finally filled but was losing water at 2in per day. Applied soilfloc in March. Reduced leakage to 1/2in a day. Applied another dose 3 days before stocking last week. Reduced leakage to 1/4in a day. Pond is surrounded by food plots that get fertilized and limed twice a year. Soil test for food plots stated the ph was at 6. I used a ph test strip for the pond water and it reads 7. Pond is muddy. Always has been. Around 10in visibility. Stocked 500 BG, 50 SC, and 1200 FHM. Bass are coming in June. I need help figuring out what is killing my fish before I stock the bass. I see schools of FHM in the evening at the surface. They don't seem to be affected or I can't see the dead. Pond is full of tadpoles. No turtles or any other fish in pond. I have an aerator system on order. Yesterday I put a hose with 1/16 inch holes drilled down 25ft of it and sunk it just to get some movement and air in. I don't know if I have an oxygen problem, just wanted to try something while waiting on my system. Water seems healthy except for being muddy. No scum or vegetation. I scoop the dead fish out daily.
I'm clueless. All I can imagine is the soilfloc is killing a few a day. Any ideas?
