Originally posted by Bender:
Great! I think that will handle the water flow I need. What water temperature should I start running from the well? Can I run the well water through the 80' stream or will the water warm up too much?
Not sure I understand you question about what water temp you should start from the well? You won't be able to control the temp of your ground water when it first comes out of the ground. It will be constant year around. Mine is 51.6 F., your's is probably a little lower as you are farther north --maybe closer to 50 F. The farther north you go the colder the ground water. Northern Wisconsin where I get my brook trout from has 45 F. ground water!
I do have an individual on another board that claims there is a 48 F. aquifer in your area that is tied into Lake Michigan but I'm not sure if he is bsing or not.
As far as running the water through your 80 foot stream it will depend on how fast the water is moving and how deep it is. The deeper and narrower your stream to some extent the less the warming along with movement. I still say you need to go by the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principal. That's my opinion anyway. But then again you could be breaking new ground. Who knows? It just seems like even if your more complex approach works, you make be looking at higher utility costs than just running a well 24/7.
All I can say is for me a pond no bigger than 1/10th acre with steep sides and an aerated flow dumping into it at about 40 gpms allows me to grow out trout year around and essentially grow them out as large as they have genetic potential to. Carrying capacity is about 12 pounds per gpm or about 500 lbs. of trout. This is not original stocking density but estimated maximum weight before harvest.
Three things you need to grow out healthy trout: correct temps, good dissolved oxygen, and low ammonia. I acheive this with the areated well water and enough exchange of water to dilute waste buildup. I also believe the natural bottom is condusive to natural nitrification, which I'm not sure would be as optium with a liner. However soil on top of a liner would probably be the same as a natural bottom.
One more thing to consider on trout: Only get them from a disease free certified source. Not sure about Michigan but I have no choice here.
