Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization Fertilizing/Liming using a platform

I've got a pond in east Texas of 8 acres,2 years old hopefully with some rain it will be 13 acres. I had 20 tons of agricultural lime spread around the banks when it was completed. PH is about 6.9. I plan to build 3 fertilizing platforms and was wondering along with the bags of fertilizer slit open, would bags of lime pellets or powdered lime be helpful. How far below the surface of the water would be ideal for the platform?

Not really you are liming the pond bottom more then the pond. Also look into water souluble fertilizer the days of the old granular and cutting open bags placed on platform is out dated IMHO.

LakeL :

We use fert. platforms. I often will take a bag of pelleted lime and pour around the platform (not on) to be sure that I neutralize any hot spot that may happen from fert. getting off of platform and to the bottom. I also pour pelleted lime on my fish strcts. to make those area less acid than the rest of the lake. It seems to aid growth on and around the stcts. and attract small fish. Like Greg says we use mostly water sol. fert. but we also use some pelleted fert. on platforms as we have found that the 2 together work better in our ponds. Using a platform also gives you a way to slowly introduce fret. into the pond by placing on a platform as opposed to all at once by just throwing out water sol. We start by putting out water sol. around the pond and place some pelleted on platform. Then based on results we either add water sol. to the water or on the platform or pelleted on the platform to try and keep an even application going. Trying to avoid the boom and bust cycle and uncertainty of throwing in water sol. and hoping for the best wrt the application rates and effect , waiting a month and doing it again. We put our platforms away from shore (in deep water) and they are about 2-4 ft under water depending on pond level.

We have not used slow release fert. as it is much more expensive. Our best results on both a cost and effect basis have been a mix of pelleted (cheapest) and water sol. (quicker ,costs more and easier to apply)

ewest intersting stuff. I mihgt have to try that. We always have a pond or two not wanting to bloom.

I used this platform to lime one of my ponds. I thought it worked pretty good. What do you guys think?