Originally posted by Michael Ebaugh:
Paul is my brother and we are jointly working on this trout pond mentioned in this thread. . . Let me join the discussion and fill in the blanks. . .
The 1/3 pond in Michigan is in West Branch, MI, about an hour north of Bay City / Saginaw area or 130 miles north of the Detroit area - little more than half way up the lower peninsula.
Temps in West Branch do reach the high 80's and occasionally the low 90's, though nights tend to drop 20-25 degrees in the summer.
The question about plants had more to do with created more O2 / D.O. We both recall my Grandfather possibly planting some kind of "weed bed" back in the 60's when this was first built (though at only 6-8 ft. deep. Also, the artesian well (actually delivers 15+ gpm) and drops about 2+ ft. out the end of a 2" pvc pipe hanging about 4 ft. over the pond.
Yep I know where you're at. Graduated farther north from Alpena Community College with a fisheries degree way back in '78' Have a friend that lives in Gladwin.
My air temps can get even higher down here in Indiana, but the 38 gpms of 51.6 F. aerated well water keeps surface temps from rising higher than the mid 60's all summer long.
Plants can create D.O. but they also use D.O. at night, and if they get thick they can also create shallow water that can raise your water temps which you don't want with trout.
15 gpms does not sound like enough cold water to me. Sorry.
If you can't get the flow to jump via the artesian with the help of a welldriller, chances are your flow is so close to the surface, so you may be able to put in a well and pump it cheaply as you don't have to raise it very far. Stoney Creek in Grant, Michigan sells some pumps that will do that for you.
