Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry New pond water quality ?'s

Hello all. First just a little background info.

Pond is about 5/8 surface acre. Depths are from 5' -9'. It's is in central Ohio. Plans are to stock this spring if everything goes well with it through the winter. Construction was completed in July. One spring was hit during construction that pumped clear cold water the entire time.

I have been running an eBay soaker hose style aerator 24/7 for about the last month.
2000 fathead minnows were put in August I believe they have spawned since I have seen several smaller fatheads in the last few weeks. There are also tons of frogs about 12 ducks and a few turtles that have migrated from my neighbors pond.

Well I think I made a big mistake. Two weeks ago I put down 3 acres worth of grass seed and starter fertilizer. We have had very wet wether since and I believe some of the fertilizer got washed in turning the water lime green after the first two rains at that point we were about 4' from being full. Before the rains the water had a chocalate milk color to it .Last Tuesday we got 5" of rain and it raised the water level almost 2' . At this time I am about 18" away from being full.On Wednesday I took a water sample to my local water treatment plant for a test in there lab. Here are the results.

pH - 8.94
Total Alkalinity- 92 mg/L
Total Hardness- 126 mg/L
Calcium Hardness- 82 mg/L
Calcium- 33 mg/L
Magnesium Hardness- 44 mg/L
Iron- 0.13 mg/L
Nitrate- 1.10 mg/L
Turbidity- 140 N.T.U.
Conductivity- 305 uS

I am a total newbie to all of this. I have tried to read as much as I can and have learned a lot from this forum. I guess my questions are

1) how do these numbers look?

2) from what I understand the phosphorus in the fertilizer has caused the water to turn green. Is this something that should correct itself or will I more than likely need to do some type of treatment?

3) anything else you would like to comment on

Thanks for your time Kenny

Haze, weekends can be a bit slow. Patience is a virtue, and I'm sure an expert will come along soon. Welcome to the forum. I'm sure what has happened is not total catastrophe. Just some of the things that go on with a new pond. I always have to tell myself, when you start doing something like building or renovating a pond, a total new "climate" if you will begins. Sounds like you have an algae bloom going on.Some people fertilize to get algae bloom. Anyway, Have fun on the forums!

Two items got my attention when I read this post.

1. pH is quite high, bordering on toxic.

2. No test results for Ammonia and/or Nitrite.

The phosphorus and the nitrogen in the fertilizer will greatly increase the chances of and support an algae bloom. Do you presently have any plantings? Marginal emergents? Lilies? Submerged plants?

Any fertilizing should be kept to a minimum of 30' from the pond's edge.

The ducks can create a lot of toxicity problems. I would keep them away. 12 ducks in 5/8 acre is an awful lot of hot manure. I really think that may be a big part of the problem.

Thanks for the replies. The pH level is what really concerns me but this was the only number that i new was high right away when looking at the report. I'm not sure if they test for ammonia where I took my sample but I will ask. The nitrates came back at 1.10 mg/L. I do not have any plantings at this time that is something I will look into for sure. It just didn't even cross my mind with the fertilizer but it is something that won't ever happen again.

I was affraid the ducksmight pose a problem. It will be hard for me to make my kids understand the ducks might have to go.

Thanks Kenny

Welcome to Pond Boss, Kenny. Some pics of your pond would be great.

As you seem to know, the fertilizer appears to have caused a bloom from what you describe. A bloom can certainly be a good thing as it provides food for the smallest fry in the pond and is a key part of the food chain. However, it can also get out of hand and cause a variety of issues depending on intensity of the bloom and length of time it remains. Definitely avoid the fertilizer bit again and, as Dave mentioned, those ducks could be a bad element, too.

I have a 1/2 acre pond that gets marauded by geese each year and they have absolutely loaded it up with nutrients (I hate to even give them credit for their actions by using the word nutrients! I hate them with a passion!) and it has caused a lot of problems in terms of water quality and bad vegetation growth. I've owned the farm just a couple of years and have been trying to take steps to limit the geese and control any other sources of the nutrient loading, but birds like that can do some real damage. Get rid of the ducks and tell your kids they flew south!

Good luck and, again, try to post some pics for us.