Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations New pond owner

Rookie pond owner needing some advice. My pond was just dug and is almost full. The pond is surrounded by woods. Fall is here and the pond has alot of leaves in it. My question is, what do I need to do? Do I need to put in a treatment, or just let all the leaves settle to the bottom. I want to start out on the right foot. I did install a Koenders windmill. No fish in the pond yet. Is there a way to keep a pond from getting a mucky bottom? Please let me know if I should add any treatments to a pond and if so how often and with what. I appreciate any help on getting me started out on the right track. Thank you

backabit,
You didn't mention the size of your pond but if you have the energy removing as many of the floating leaves as you can will help your pond. Leaves in too great a quantity are never a good thing. If the pond does not flush very frequently they can do great harm. Aeration & liming will counter the leaves. Liming will counter the acidity though you need to test the water to see how much lime & aeration will help decompose the leaves though it has been debated on this forum how much benifit you will get from a windmill.
As a note it is very helpful when posting questions to give as much info on your pond's charateristics as it will generate more specific responses.
Ric

Thanks for the input. I have been netting leaves out of the pond. Of course it is impossible to get them all. As far as the size, it is about 200' X 100' and 12' at the deepest end. Once I get my water tested and everything is in check, when is the best time to start introducing fish to it? I want to put in large mouth bass and bluegill, with flathead minnows. Is there an order of which fish to place in pond first? I have alot of learning to do yet. Thanks again for your pond wisdom...

Do a search of most every main Topic for fathead minnows. Note it is fat head not flat head minnow. Read all these and you will get a good idea of the stocking sequence. Come back and ask specific questions if necessary.

I think a good microbial product will help with decompostion of the leaves providing there is adequate oxygen at the mud water interface.

I question the wisdom of adding lime to a new Indiana pond to help decompose the leaves. Many of Indiana waters are relatively hard, well buffered and do not need lime. Most of the processing of the leaves will be primarily by invertebrates for the coarse grinding then bacterial action for the final stages. See my recent post in the Question & Observations about Willow Trees.

backabit,
Most of my pond wisdom comes from this site and it's magazine. You can get pretty much any question you might have answered here by using the search feature. Also I would advise clicking the upper right corner & subscribe to Pond Boss mag. since it will help support this site & you will get good advice within it's covers. If you don't get an answer on this thread search for stocking bass & bluegill. There have been lots of posts on the subject.
Ric

backabit,
Take Bills advise. He's one of the guys who knows what he's talking about.
Ric

Thanks for the information. There is a bundle of knowledge here to go through. WOW. I definately found the right site to come too. I appreciate the help. I will keep on reading. Thanks again