Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions lime question

First a little hx about my pond. It is 3/4acre (new) relatively deep. When I first stocked my pond (bfpb) all my fish died. I later discoverd that my soil was 4.05 which I am sure killed my fish. So I added 2500lbs of Dolamite and 2 bags of hydrated lime. I had my ph upto 7. And my second stocking of fish are doing fine, eating fish food and seem quite happy. Well we have finally started to get some rain and the pond is up about 3-4ft. it is within two feet of going out my overflow. I have been checking my ph and is is back down to atleast a 6 that is as low as the test kit I have will go. Can I go ahead and add some more dolamite or should I just wait until the fall? I am not sure what the total alkalinty is. Should send the water off for another complete water test? The fish still seem quite happy. My question is after all that rambling is can I lime my pond with the water temp in the low 80s or should I wait till fall? Thanx John

Temp is no problem with adding lime. Buy a few bags of ag lime from your Co-op and add it as needed. But a pH of 6 does not necessarily mean you need lime as pH changes during the day/night. Alkalinity is the best thing to monitor. The new water plus the fact that hydrated lime wears off in a few weeks probably means you could use a little lime. I would suggest that since you added 2500 lbs (it takes a while to work fully) that you buy a couple bags and dissolve it into the water (rather than let it sink to the bottom. In your current situation treat the new water not the pond bottom dirt.

Thanx again Ewest, I will do that. I was thinking the same thing. I plan on doing another complete water test through the University of Florida to find out where I am at now that the pond is getting close to full pool! Thanx John