Howdy folks,
Just stumbled onto this site today - searching around for a bit of information on aeration/water diffusers. But first a little introduction.
Live in the dead flat part of Michigan. In general we have 1' of black sand then 2' of yellow sand then as much blue/grey clay as you want (historically was all lake bottom back when last glacier left town). It floods every spring & then dries out every summer.
Dug a small pond (110' by 110'; ~1/4 acre or so) where I had a mudhole & poor drainage back in 1990. When originally dug it was about 16 feet deep and then sloped up to where they pushed the clay. It filled fast - apparently there was a small spring . The pond is full full every spring & then maybe will drop 2-3 feet max in summer.
I have a grass lined ditch feeding run-off water into it from a hay field and then have an overflow to a much smaller "pond" that is 30' by 30' and was 5' deep now is 3' max (water hole for cattle many years ago) and from there I have a tile that runs to the county drain... So the level in the bigger pond stays pretty constant. (And my fields dry out a whole lot faster.)
Stocked the bigger pond with bluegills, catfish, perch & a few 12" bass from a neighbors in the early 90's. Also had ducks & geese etc. No pond management to speak of. No real fishing pressure either. Around 2001 the pond flipped & I lost most the fish. Made me sick - 24 inch catfish the size of softball bats. Pulled the ducks & geese (we moved) and the last 10 years trees have grown up (20' tall willows & etc) Get a duckweed bloom bad every summer. Now I am getting back there & trying to see what I can do to bring it back to life - fish life that is & also use it for irrigation of garden / fruit trees.
Current state: Its grown a bit - sides slumping in. Last summer when at its lowest (down 2-3 feet) the water for 6' out on all sides was very shallow. Not sure how deep it is anymore - waiting for the ice to thicken so I can get out & measure.
I am going to install a small irrigation system (~1hp pump) to water an extensive garden. So will have 110/220V power & an idle pump (should run 2-3 hrs max for irrigation - in all I shouldn't need more to pull more than 18 inches of water for a full summer) at pond side for the first time ever...
Goals: Not algae covered all summer, "healthy" pond, good bluegill fishing for the kids & clear water for my irrigation system, keep the wild life (ducks & herons use the pond, saw a muskrat last fall, also lots of frogs - still has some fish - not sure how many or types). Main emphasis is the "big" 1/4 acre pond. The little one appears to be so slumped in as to be irrecoverable without digging...
Constraints: Prefer not to drain & re-dig - especially the big one.
Any ideas from the community to help me think through an approach for 2012?
Thanks,
all_wet
