Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Dazed and confused - I need HELP

DL, I'll probably miss some points, but I'll give it a shot.

What fish are legal to stock in your area of Nevada? That might help direct our suggestions.

As for stocking Koi, it depends on how many. If only a few, say 1/2 dz or less, and the reason you're putting them in there is for ornamental viewing, then I'd say go for it. I wouldn't stock goldfish, they'll muddy the water from rooting around in the pond bottom.

Are you 100% sure that it's coontail?

One last thing, then I'll try to hit your questions. The bloom (green water) is normal and a sign of a healthy pond. It's caused by Phytoplankton, and that is the building block of the food chain. A good water clairty is being able to see a secchi disk at 24" depth. But, it sounds like you want the water to be clearer than that. That's O.K., we'll just have to work at getting it clearer for you. The color is caused by nutrients in the water, which feed the phytoplankton, algae and other plants (such as coontail). Remove the nutrients and you'll reduce the amounts of plants, algae and phytoplankton.

The biggest contributor to the problem is Phosphorous. Unfortunately, a little goes a long way. IIRC there was a good article in the last issue of PB Magazine about managing Phosphorous. If you don't subscribe, call the office and get that issue.

Some of the nutrients could be coming into the pond in the form of dust on the wind.

In Nevada, Tilapia is illegal for stocking in ponds. But if large Gold fish or Koi can be used as an alternative, that option is available. It might even be desirable. But what additional food would be required to keep them fed? More fish = more nutrients that have to be managed. If you grow and remove fish, then you're removing nutrients. Adding food will contribute to more nutrients in the pond Where do I find Bluegill to use as forage for the LMB? See adding legal fish above. Is it possible to have a shallow stream running with clear and clean water? Just thinking out loud here. It might be possible to put a filtration system between where you suck water out of the pond and where it enters the stream if you just want the stream to be clear. Or is it destined to fail because of the shallow depth of the water? It's not so much the depth, but if sunlight can reach the bottom of the ponds. Would using a filtration system help the stream for clarity? Possibly How do I get both pond sections working together and consistently? Time will balance them out if the channel stays full of water. Do I need to drag the coontail plants from the old pond to the new pond for balance or oxygen production? Only if you want weed problems in both ponds. Most of the O2 gets into pondwater from water sucking O2 from contact with air, or phytoplankton. Both plants and phytoplankton add O2 to ponds when it's sunny out, and use O2 when it's cloudy or at night. Or should I use Gold fish and/or Koi to try to control those plants in the old pond? I think you'll have more problems with them than they'll solve. If I use the Reward Herbicide on the coontail, do I need to remove the dead plants afterwards, or let the Micro-Lyfe Digester or Complete products decompose those plants? http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/coontail/ What to do in the new pond section? It was clear, but now it is not. Is the green tea color algae or a combination of dirt and dust being held in suspension too? It's the bloom that you are seeing in both ponds.

There are products on the market that are supposed to "lock up" phosphorous making it unavailable to plants and algae, but I have no first hand knowledge how well they work. You can and should also rake out the FA that is there. That will remove nutrients from the pond too. If the LMB are skinny, take a bunch out. I mean a bunch! All sizes that are skinny.