Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations My Pond - Had Salt Water Dumped In It

Ok a few years ago the O&G Company had dumped Salt Water in one of our ponds.

Now you could tell the difference in the water, and of course I was young and stupid at the time and tasted it.

Now not sure of the amount that was spilled in it but it did kill all the vegetation and I believe most of the fish. The LMB seem to have weathered it the best where the GSF or HBG took it the worst.

We caught one that literally had no scales and the eyes were bulging out.

Plus I remember seeing 2 grass carp that were in there swimming together that were 3-4 feet long but of course could never catch them.

Now this happened about 15 years ago and I have since added some BG and have caught a decent bass and HBG from there. It seems to have a nice population of Tadpoles, Crayfish, and some sort of mussel, plus the Water Primrose has come back.

Should this pond now be safe to stock fish or harvest them?

What if any steps should I take to correct problems I may have?

Unless there were a lot of chemicals in the water that was dumped which have then settled on the bottom, I would think that after 15 years, the water may have recirculated or refreshed enough to not be an issue any longer.

But salt would be good for the pond I heard? All of the plants died? The fish suffered and died? That's just amazing who would have thunk?

Check your PH. Some plants are a bit resistant to high salinity. Don't taste the water, but after time with water exchange it may have dissipated, but just like with the old style evap ponds, usually salt is all that is left. I would put some test fish in, after very thorough water tests. Or get tilapia.

I have put about 50 BG in this year and I believe they have spawned as well. Of course I have dipped up some GSF fry as well which are not what I wanted.

We also caught a nice LMB and a few HBG about 10" that were real thick.

I know many may think that this means the fish are in there and are fine but I just want to make sure before we start eating them.

Is there a way to have the fish tested for salt, chemicals, etc.?

I still need to send in water samples from all 3 ponds to see what the test come back with.

Also would it be worth digging some much from the bottom to be tested, if so how deep should I dig?

I may actually put some tilapia in next spring either as a bonus fish if we are lucky to catch them back, or to help clean up the muck.

Thanks for the info

Depends on the amount of course. If it was over 10 gms/l then of course the fish would have been stressed and probably die. But that's a hell of a lot of salt. No comparison to what we use in aquaculture for freshwater fish.

I have no idea how much was spilt but the Oil and Gas company has Saltwater Disposal wells on our property and one apparantly leaked or dumped into it.

Needless to say the courts found them not guilty and they never fixed the pond, which is all my inlaws wanted was to have it dug out deep enough to remove the salt and let nature fill it up.

I am sure they spent more money fighting it than it would have cost to fix it.

There are fish farms raising fish in saltwater brought up by wells in your part of the country.

mr hello start by having the salinity levels checked. The water sample will be represntive of the soil in the lkae basin. If you have fish growing and plants growing sounds like all is well. In fact the pond might have been well not too long after the fish kill. The amount of salt in solution was obviously very high but will not remain that way with water influence.

I argue if your salinity is slight 2-3 ppt it is better than no salinity at all and your fish will thrive- just ask Condello or you can hundreds aquaculture research papers indicating that it benefits fish in many ways.

Cecil,

Do you happen to have more info on this or maybe some links on the web, I am not aware of this, but may be good info to know as we have a few friends building ponds and having issues with Salt Water.

Thanks

Greg,

What would be my options for containers to collect water for samples? I have heard that glass jars are best but it is not always easy to have them around, so what would you recommend I use? I plan to get a sample from each pond and maybe even the wet weather creek.

If this is the case it may not be as bad as I was thinking; now I only wish it was much deeper. I tried to do the Cork and Sinker test and came up with about 5 feet. I think it could have 1-3 feet of muck on the bottom as it is some nasty stuff you can dip up with a net. It is actually the oldest pond on the place which I would guess it to be at least 25 years old. We will probably have to have it dug out in a few years if funds allow but for now I just want to try to grow whatever I can in it at this time.

Like I said it has at least one LMB about 1 pound, 4 HBG @ 1/2 pound, and we added about 50 4-8 inch BG as well as some shiners and FHM. (Some GSF sneaked in there some how but hope they get under control). After using a dip net it appears that the BG have pulled off at least one spawn since being added in June.

Would you recommend any other type of fish for this depth of water?

There were 2 large Grass Carp in it about 15 years ago, I wonder if they could still be lurking around?

Would you recommend adding some more vegetation to the pond if so what types? It currently has Water Primrose.

Plastic sample bottle will work just fine, check with lab to make sure they can check salinity. Fish stocking is more abotu goals than what can live at these depths. Doubt you have the grass carp. I do little plantings. The right environment then aquatic vegetation shows up. Artiifical is easier to manage. Please let us know the resutls.

Why do you think the Grass Carp are gone, would they have died of old age?

As far as goals go I really do not have any at this time for this pond, that is why I am curious as to what could live in this water.

Is there any fish that I should not even try to stock in this depth?

Ok hope to be out there in a week or so once these temps get down and will get some samples.

I wish you had the kits as I am in the process of catching and moving LMB to another pond that is full of GSF and I wanted to tag them just to see if all the forage will kick their stunted bodies in gear.

I am also looking for a directional feeder to hang from a tree so the cattle will not knock it over.

Thanks

Yes that is longer than lifespan of grass carp. You can have lots of fish that will live maybe nto thrive in the water depth so define goals on what you want to catch and stock accordingly.

I really think we can ship out the kits by tuesday at latest. Contact us to discuss feeder options, greg@lakework.com GL