I know water circuilation is a big deal for disolved oxoygen and nitrates, and lowest flow rate for water this sumer was 2 gpm could i ad a water feature to circulate the water for better water quality nothing fancy just a pump to circulate the water through some buckets back to the pond would this help. also i stocked the fish a month ago and i'v seen 1 in of growth allready and i feed 1/2 to 1 pound of food a day how much food will they eat when the water gets to optimum growth temperature i'm currently feeding 2 to 3 times a day and i cant afford to be feeding more than a 50 pound bag a month.
Nitrates, the final product of the nitrification cycle, aren't too much of an issue in most ponds. It's the ammonia and nitrites you have to worry about.
Boy I don't know, your flow seems awfully low for survival as Bill says. Not sure which will come first ammonia and nitrite issues, oxygen issues once the water warms up, or gill infections from suspended solids. You should only be feeding a max per day of 2 to 5 percent of total body weight of the trout. This time of year if water temps are low only every few days.
The rule of thumb I use for carrying capacity for trout in flow through earthen ponds is about 12 lbs. per gpm of flow.
