Jpsdad
You are talking my language but my vocabulary is limited. I am very interested in listing and semi-quantifying all of the nutrient inputs and nutrient harvesting in my pond. You mentioned a rule of thumb range for Phosphorus dry weight percent. Where did you get this? It is very difficult to find this kind of information without getting lost in AI circles referencing vendor advertisements! My pond is about 1/4 acre in a wooded rural area filled by groundwater and occasional runoff from non-agricultural properties, and is bordered all around with 20-50 ft of wetlands vegetation. I believe the major source of nutrients to be leaf fall. The only nutrient losses are any vegetation I harvest and any fish (I hope!) that are caught. Is that P content good for dry leaves? What would you use for fish harvesting? It is a new pond(4yr). It sat idle for those four years and has already accumulated leaf muck which I am working to remove by perimeter raking, diffuser aeration, and aerobic bacteria treatments. The bacteria treatments, however just release nutrients back into the water and have resulted in a major duckweed bloom. I am setting up a duckweed skimmer using a 2” semi trash pump and dewatering bags. This seems like a necessary follow on activity to get rid of muck and extract phosphorus, as duckweed is said to be rich in Phosphorus. Is Duckweed within the range of you rule of thumb? Have I missed anything?
