Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization fertilize or feed ?

Ok first off, sorry if I've been asking too many questions. I've never owned a pond before and I'm trying to do everything right and I'm pretty exited.
So here is my dilemma...My new pond (2 acres) is muddy and I have copper nose bluegill and fathead minnows coming (which will be the only fish in my pond right now) on 8/13. I bought some Perfect Pond Plus and I'm wondering if it will just be a waste to fertilize my pond with it being muddy? Do I need to fertilize right now if I'm going to feed? I have some Aquamax on the way and two feeders out in the middle of my pond that I'm planning on throwing twice per day.

Have you had the water tested to see if it needs fertilizer? I have neither experience with nor knowledge of Perfect Pond Plus.

If your CBG are fingerlings you might want to use some small sized feed. They will eat the larger feed as it softens up, but smaller more fitting for their mouth size would be better. Might even consider crushing some feed and hand feeding for a while (maybe along side the feeder) to help get the fish taking feed quickly.

If your pond is devoid of much natural fertility then some fertilize will get a plankton bloom going, which should help start the natural food chain. Just be aware of nutrients you may already have in the pond (from topsoil for example) and any that might run into the pond such as from animal or agricultural watershed runoff. Too many nutrients can cause you lots of other problems with undesirable types of algae blooms and weeds.

I ordered the Aquamax 400 I think it's a small feed around 1/16-3/32 and has 45% protein is that to big for them should I get a bag of something else for the first month?

Check your alkalinity. Feed only for first 2 weeks and try to start a bloom very slowly. See this from the archives.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=96127#Post96127

Test Results
pond pH (1:1 Water) 6.88 Optimum Phosphorus, ppm 6.86 Very Low Potassium, ppm 208.18 Calcium, ppm 2,498.39 Very High Magnesium, ppm 880.78 Very High Sodium, ppm 174.21 Sulfur, ppm 4.80 Low Copper, ppm 0.52 High Zinc, ppm 0.38 Low Value Element (Mehlich3)
Date Received: 07/15/2014

Not sure what all this means but was told I didn't need to lime
But don't know if I need to fertilize

ewest thanks for the link too. I hope cwadeer gets what you are saying. I had a friend that thought he was helping me last year and put 6 pounds of a super pond fertilized in my pond last year when I asked him to turn off my well water(I was out of town) and the pond went crazy to say the least. I have never fertilized my pond (except for that accident) and do not plan to mainly because many have said here it is not necessary the vast majority of the time when one feeds. I do feed and it has proven true to me that the feed, additional fish waste have kept my siski disk readings where I like them.

If I were going to ever fertilize and feed I would feed first and then if needed depending on water conditions and siski disk readings. Am I looking at this right? Not really trying to make a judgement here but trying to interpret others past experiences to get it right the first time.

In one of your other post there was a light-bulb moment for me in that you has indicated killing some plant will provide nutrients for other growth... etc. I had never thought of it that way with plant and I thank you again fort that incite.

I have wondered about weed/algae/plant removal via mechanical, chemical and fish (tilapia/carp) and what that does to the BOW. I have not read anything comprehensive on the processes being integrated, although there may be some written material somewhere. I currently use a mix of all three to hopefully have a balance even if it does break my back so to speak, when I physically remove material from the pond.

I guess in short the feed and extra fish poo provide most if not all small ponds with adequate material for plankton growth for the very little ones and minnows.

I did not mean to high jack here, just read all the different links and post and it says again to me "It depends" and go slow with powerful things like fertilizers.

Thanks I appreciate all the information like I said I'm new at all this

You will never do everything right for a pond. It is way too complicated and complex. However you can avoid doing some really dumb things if you first ask for advice from knowledgeable people. Well then who is knowledgeable? Good question. This is sort of like asking if your family doctor is knowledgeable about treating pancreatic cancer, but he probably knows where to send you for good answers - treatment.

Sometimes in many cases, just feeding the fish good quality pellets will do as much as needed for growing great fish and keeping things relatively simple with very good results. Correct fertilizing can be pretty tricky if not problematic. The other item for growing good fish with the pellet method is to keep the numbers from being too abundant where too many fish do not get enough food. It is very important to harvest middle and smaller sized fish to keep the total number similar to the total number stocked. More is not always better regarding a healthy balance.

Think of it as body weight once you become a mature adult, adding more body weight usually fatty tissue is rarely good and healthy. More weight (and fish) can often cause direct and indirect health problems and is very similar to what happens in a pond. Keep the body weight and fish numbers in check and both systems function at their best.

Bill, I'm saving this one. That may be the most concise statement I've ever read about successful pond management.

Both feeding and fertilization are tools to be used to match your goals and water. You don't use every tool all the time when you are building - you use the one that matches the task (need).