Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond restoration questions

^^^ What he said.

If say 2 years down the road, the spillway gets washed out and all the fish in the pond go downstream, then what? How much $$ have you lost?

As for cover in the pond, roughly 20% - 25% of the surface area of the pond should be cover for the fish, from shallow water to deep water. So in a 3.5 acre pond that is 7/8 of an acre of cover or roughly an area that totals 182 feet x 182 feet...........

Not a small task at all.

But if the pond was drained, the overflow pipe fixed, then almost if not all of that cover could be placed by heavy equipment and not by hand from a boat..........

The fertilizer won't react with the lime, the lime will just make the fertilizer available to the plants and algae. Don't add any more. Wait until the lime is added. Or if you DO decide to fix the pipe, don't add any lime at all until the pipe is fixed.

If you have noticed any fish in the pond that have yellow or white grubs in the flesh or on them, or any fish that has what looks to be pepper sprinkled on them that is an indicator that there are many snails in the pond. It might be a good idea to get a boat in there that has a depth finder and make a tour of the pond checking all the water depth. Newer models can also make a map of the bottom of the pond. If it is a LOT shallower than you thought that is another reason to kill it, drain it, fix everything and start over.