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Joined: Jan 2014
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OP
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 35 |
Everything I thought I knew before building my pond now seems much more complicated! I had basically learned that a pond will support more & bigger fish if it is fertilized but some posts indicate fertilization is not always a good idea. Thus, I would love some expert opinion for my situation: 1.5 acre pond built Fall 2015, clay bottom, in the woods, filled by 55 acres (according to NRCS survey) of runoff via a feeder creek that has a spring in it that always has trickled some even in drought in Longview, TX. Stocked with 150 LMB, 2000 CNBG/RES, & 6000 FHM in Nov. 15 with goal of biggest LMB I can manage but balancing that with numbers for good catch rate. Feeding bluegill high protein food 4 times/day. Water is tannic, 26 inches visibility, alkalinity=25(that's after 9 tons lime before it filled and another 1.5 tons after!), pH=7.2, calcium hardness=20. Water has been flowing out of an overflow pipe 4 feet from the bottom continuously since it filled in Novemeber but I expect that to stop soon with summer. On that note, should I do anything about too much "flushing?" More importantly, should I fertilize? Thanks for your help.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Educate yourself well on how to fertilize. The flushing is almost always a good thing. Fish really like fresh water. The flushing could make fertilizing a bit trickier, but since you are feeding 4 times a day, I'd wait on fertilizing. (fish feed becomes a fertilizer itself)
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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If it was my pond I would somehow, someway add another 10 tons of agricultural lime and not add any fertilizer until the alkalinity was up over 40.
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Joined: Jun 2007
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
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Adding a few tons of Ag lime to the old stream bed will help a lot. The ag lime needs to be in as much watershed area as possible, not just the pond basin.
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 35
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OP
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 35 |
Added another 8 tons of lime, alkalinity came up to 55, pH 7.8, and hardness 45. Put in 4 gallons on 11-37-0 liquid fertilizer on 6/23/16. On July 5, visibility on Secchi disk had actually gone up to over 40 inches, added another gallon and on 7/11/16, visibility about 32 inches without much green to the water. How long should I wait on a bloom or do I need to add more? I diluted it a lot in a bucket over and over, through it out in the pond, and agitated it a bit with an oar.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Did you have the water or soil tested? Sometimes fertilizer and alkalinity are not the limiting factor to a plankton bloom.
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Joined: Jan 2014
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OP
Joined: Jan 2014
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I only had water tested. No soil tests done.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Can you post the results ?
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Joined: Jan 2014
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OP
Joined: Jan 2014
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Results are there in my earlier post.
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Joined: Mar 2005
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Is that all that is in the tests ?
It sounds like you have had some decrease in visibility from 40 to 32 is that continuing?
I don't think alkalinity is the problem at 55 and 45. Keep checking for decreased visibility for the next week and report back.
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Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 35
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OP
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 35 |
Well, what do you know? Went down to the pond and noticed a distinct difference: the water is green! Measured visibility and, sure enough, down to 25 inches! Thanks for advising me to hang on. Now, I guess I just monitor and add more fertilizer when visibility becomes greater than 26 inches again?
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,537 Likes: 279
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Yes keep checking. Watch for stabilization . Keep good records of what you did and rates and timing , and results. In the meantime learn all you can about the subject .
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