Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry What do these numbers mean to my pond???

I just got the results back on the first water test for my new pond. The pond was completed in August 2004 and hit full pool in January of '05. It's just under 2 acres surface area. Not sure what these numbers mean but maybe someone can help decipher them.

Total Alkalinity: 15mg/l
Total Hardness: 39mg/l
Ph: 7.11

The water has a light green/slightly cloudy look to it and about 15 inches visibilty.

I haven't stocked it yet, but would like to in the next few weeks provided those numbers are ok.

Also, will the low visibility hurt the developement of the fish that are stocked? And will adding ag lime clear the water up some and if so how much should I add?

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

Finally, someone closer to me than Baltimore! You live in Nerk, your pond out in Marne? I grew up in Nerk, went to school in Heath, farm and pond in Granville Township.

The Pros or more dedicated amateurs can assess your alkalinity and hardness. Your Ph at 7.11 is middle of the road and should cause no problems.

Water visibility of 15" (I'm assuming this is a more or less standard Secchi depth reading) indicates slightly "thick" water, but in a pond as new as yours there a probably a noticeable amount of suspended solids due to runoff from areas around/upstream from the pond which were denuded during construction and haven't had good grass cover regrow yet. So your Secchi depth is probably lower now than it will be the same time next year. My SD is running 1'9" to 2' right now.

The fact that your cloudiness has a greenish tinge is a very good sign, it means there is a significant amount of zooplankton in the water, providing the basis for your food chain. Stocked fingerlings should be able to do OK in the pond (I don't think the suspended solids in the amount you may have will hurt them at all).

I do not believe adding lime is called for very often here in central Ohio (nor that it is usually prescribed as a cure to cloudiness) but lots of folks at the forum know more than me about this, and can advise based on your water test results. In case you wonder whether or not to fertilize (lots of posters from down South do this due to their frequently poorer soils), soil fertility here is usually sufficient enough to give you good productivity in a pond without fertilization. Watch your Secchi depth this year and you will likely see no need to fertilize.

What is your stocking plan and who do you plan on getting your fish from? What kind of pond do you want, fishing-wise?

Thanks Theo for the info. I'm looking at stocking 300 BG per acre, 200 Redear per acre, and somewhere around 20lbs. of fathead minnows per acre in the next few weeks. Then in Sept/Oct i'm looking at stocking about 75 smallmouth bass per acre and 25 largemouth per acre.

I have hundreds and hundreds of large boulders and numerous smaller boulders along one side of the pond along with several pea gravel spawning beds in hopes that the habitat will encourage smallmouth survival. Probably a pipe dream though I've read the articles in Pond Boss about largemouth taking over eventually.

I'm looking at getting my fish from Fenders Fish Hatchery outside of Coshocton.

As far as what type of fishery I want from my pond, I would like to have a nice ballance between big smallmouth and big largemouth. The kind of pond where you never know what you might get on any particular cast. Might even add 20-25 wipers based on what Bill Cody said about them and how they fight.

I've thought about stocking yellow pearch, but not sure if they would mess up the predator/prey balance.

How are you managing your pond?

Just a quicky on the total alkalinity and total hardness. Typically these are reported in mg/L equivalent calcium carbonate. I am assuming that this is how these number are reported.

Total alkalinity, by textbook definition is the total titratable bases in the pond. There is no real alkalinity that is in a pond, it is rather an index. There are two main reasons to have alkalinity in ponds, the first is to provide a source of carbon for primary productivity. This is much less of importance than the pH buffering capacity of the water which is the second. If you have no alkalinity in the water the pH can undergo dramatic swings from day to night. Phytoplankton will consume CO2 (acid) during the day and produce O2. During the daylight hours, also, there is production of CO2 and consumption of O2 by bacteria decomposing organic matter. So the result in the day time considering photosynthesis will be greater than respiration by bacteria is that CO2 is used up. That means an acid is taken out of the water. The pH will then rise. At night however there is no photosynthesis, but respiration still occurs not only by the bacteria, but also by the plants which were conducting photosynthesis in the daytime. The result is acid is put back in to the water and the pH will decrease. Now the alaklinity. The alkalinity will tell you how much capacity your pond has to buffer against wide swings in pH. Generally, waters can be up to 200 mg/L total alkalinity and even higher and cause no problem so too much is not really a bad thing. Too little, however, can result in the large pH swings. I would apply lime to get the total alkalinity up to at least 30 mg/L in a sportfish pond. I would suggest higher for a aquaculture pond. The total hardness is the sum of the divalent cations in solution. This basically means the amount of calcium and magnesium. This is important they are essential plant and animal nutrients, but there is an indirect effect on pH also. In order for the total alkalinity to buffer against the highest pHs you need to have calcium. As bases increase in the pond the buffering capacity of alkalinity will cause calcium carbonate to precipitate (form a solid) and sink to the bottom of the pond. If there is no calcium in the pond, high pHs might be a problem. Although many natural ponds don't exhibit this high of pH. Magnesium behaves similarly to calcium, except calcium carbonate will precipitate before magnesium carbonate.

Another benefit of adding calcium carbonate (limestone) to your pond is that in recently excavated ponds there may be some acidity in the soil that the limestone can neutralize.

While you may not need fertilizer, you may want to think about lime. Studies have shown that there is a dramatic difference in pond primary productivity when the total alkalinity is above 20 mg/L.

Good luck, sounds like your pond is in pretty good shape

Aaron gave you some good info. Usually you have to pay someone like him to give you such a thorough response. Like he said you alkalinity is quite low and if it was my pond I would add lime too.

Addtionally harder water is better for fish and fish grow the fastest in harder water all things being equal.

MM:

I have a one acre pond that I am currently trying to turn into a big BG/big RES fishery (with lots of LMB towards that goal) with a few large catfish.

Pond was finished Sept 2001, filled up Nov 2001. We stocked 20 lbs each Fatheads and Golden Shiners (and 100 Bullfrog tadpoles) in June 2002. Put in 200 BG, 200 HBG, 200 RES, 100 CC, and 5 Grass Carp in May 2003 with 200 LMB going in June 2003.

The original stocking of sunfish were up to 7" - 9" last fall, the CC left range from 3 - 6lbs, and the LMB are running from 11" to 15". And we had one "surprise" show up in the stocking, a HSB that was 18 fighting inches when last caught two weeks ago. Wipers are indeed a blast!

My mistakes: Should have just used all BG instead of BG/HBG mix, but I'll manage that. On my goal of a large BG/RES fishery, I should not have put in the GShiners, as they are currently hogging too much biomass (although I think they are good forage to have if you are concentrating on big bass). But the LMB, CC, and I are working on reducing their numbers and making room/food for the 2003/2004 YOY sunfish that have them way outnumbered (the 2003 YOY RES were 6" last Fall!). Professor Cody has stated that I shall surely triumph over the GS given time, and I would not bet against anything Bill says. If I get a successful LMB spawn this Spring I will feel very confident on how things are going.

We got all our fish from Jones Fish down by Cincinnati. They will free deliver any fish order over $150. But I don't have anything against Fender's at Baltic; I heard (Steve?) Fender give a talk on Grass Carp 3-4 years ago and he knows fish (and llamas, apparently). You can keep Jones in mind if you ever want to restock LMB/SMB from a different source for genetic diversity.

Your stocking plan sound good to me and with all the rocks your SMB should have as good a chance as they're going to have mixed in with LMB. You can always stock more if they don't successfully reproduce. Based on what I've read here you should hold off on the YP until the rest of the fish populations are stable and reproducing (if you decide to go with them).

-Theo

P.S. The Pros showed up with good advice as expected.

Thanks for the replys Aaron,Cecil, and Theo, they are very much appreciated. So if I add ag lime, does anyone have an idea about how much I should add to get alkalinity up above 30ppm?

Also, is the total hardness number in acceptable range?

Theo, do you feed your BG and RES? If so, what do you use and where do you get it?

MM:

I feed Purina Game Fish Chow (32% protein) which is about $15 a bag at the Granville Mill (don't know if the branch in Little Granville on Cedar Street has it - we get ours at the main mill).

I fed moderately in 2003, heavier last year (4 lbs a day 6-7 days a week). So far the CC have gotten most of it, with the GShiners picking off most of the rest. Occasional we see a BG get a piece, but I think so far the (relatively few) big BG have lots to eat and aren't hungry enough to learn to eat pellets. I doubt I will ever be one the the few, the proud who feed-train RES successfully.

I will start feeding this year in a week or so; I have waited until the water temp is consistantly over 60 deg F so the CC will take the food well. I started in March last year to see when the CC would begin eating - a few would show up at 55 deg but they didn't get serious until it was over 60 deg (by the book). I will probably not feed as much this year, because 1) I want the CC hungry to help prey on GShiners and 2) I estimate after pulling out some CC to eat this year I'll have about 30 left, and I don't want them weighing 10 lbs each.

When I get the BG/GS ratio I want and the BG start eating pellets I will probably feed heavier. I should be down to the target of a few big Cats by then. I do not plan to restock CC for some time, but think I will add some HSB in the future (2-3 years?).