Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Alkalinity Control

I recently made a land purchase that has a 4.5 acre lake on it. My first water sample showed alkalinity at 4. I added approximately 3 tons of ag lime. amendment based on The report showed alkalinity of 4. Neither the lake nor land had been managed, although the lake is overpopulated with bass.
The property is located in the piney woods of east Texas. The lake is completely surrounded by pine plantation. The water for the lake comes from runoff, primarily from one feeder creek. Being located in east Texas, I estimate that their is a fair amount of water flow through the lake at times. Right after the lime addition, we received almost 4 inches of rain. This has me thinking about methods to buffer the alkalinity in some way.
My question is, what can I do to help maintain the alkalinity in a desired range, short of draining this lake and starting over.

I plan to reduce the pine trees around the lake. Will that help?

I was also thinking of lining a long stretch of the creek with limestone base. I know ag lime is used to raise alkalinity, but lining the creek with it is not really an option. Would lining that feeder creek with limestone base be a waste of time and money?

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks

Alkalinity charts
See the second chart showing large pH swings in daily pattern with low alkalinity.

Update on my approximate 4.5 acre lake project and the alkalinity. The 3000 pounds of ag lime raised the alkalinity to 15-20 range. Can’t be more precise on that result due to the test kit I’m using. Added another 1000 pounds of ag lime in July and that barely made a difference in alkalinity. Sampling results with my field test kit showed alkalinity over 20. Maybe a little over.
Then the drought set in and my lake is down to about half its normal size. Water depth is down about 7 feet. My deepest area is now 15 feet. I have ran ph and alkalinity a few times over the last few months. The alkalinity has dropped a little but not more than 15. Ph still swings thru the day, but not as much as before. Ive gotten 7.8 to 8.5, 8.5 was during the hottest days when the lake was at its lowest.
I have not added any thing else since late spring out of concern that it would do more harm than good. The lake has taken a hit to the fish in it and I removed a lot of small bass throughout the summer. Despite the culling, I believe I had some die off and what survived did not grow much due to the conditions.
My short term plan is to continue raising alkalinity next spring once the water level rises hopefully. I would like to add about 5000 pounds of ag lime based on last years addition and result.
I know it’s not optimal, but if I can achieve a consistent alkalinity of 40-50 without ph swings, I will be happy.

It is easier to spread lime in pond basin when water is low, assuming you are not using a boat. Put most on the bank where water will be 2-3 ft deep when full.

Recommend you take several soil sample from the watershed and send to TAMU for testing.
The 3 ton of ag lime you applied sounds way light to me. Generally you'll want to add lime at the same rate called for in your soil sample.

In my part of the world that amounts to 4 ton/acre repeated every few years to maintain pH around 6.

If it's possible for you to purchase and apply limestone cobble in the 4"-12" size range in a few place around the waterline
that will be long-term help. Doing the same in the stream bed that feeds your pond would also provide benefit long-term.

Stressless made a good point of differentiating between alkalinity and pH, and provided a couple links to reference material.

Anthropic, although the lake needs some help it is actually not a bad fishery. I have caught two largemouth over six pounds this spring even though the majority of fish caught do not show size distribution. The majority of fish appear stunted due to over population. All of that to say I hate to drain the lake and start over. Finances are definitely a factor. My first priority has been to reduce the number of lmb, and restore the forage base and forage habitat.
I may just try adding a few 100 pounds of ag lime to the feeder creek periodically as it washes out or is absorbed. Then in a few months , have another sample ran just to see if t is making any difference.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Not an expert here but lime is used in dirt to RAISE the PH, if your PH is 8.2 then it’s too high. 6.5-7.5 is the number most people strive to hit.

Adding this for folks that look up 'Alkalinity' on the forum and find this thread - as well as TP.

Alkalinity – excerpt from “Interactions of pH, Carbon Dioxide, Alkalinity and Hardness in Fish Ponds” by William A. Wurts and Robert M. Durborow, Southern Regional Aquaculture Center 1992

Alkalinity
The quantity of base present in water defines what is known as total alkalinity. Common bases found in fish ponds include carbonates, bicarbonates, hydroxides, phosphates and berates. Carbonates and bicarbonates are the most common and most important components of alkalinity. Alkalinity is measured by the amount of acid (hydrogen ion) water can absorb (buffer) before achieving a designated pH. Total alkalinity is expressed as milligrams per liter or parts per million calcium carbonate (mg/L or ppm CaCO3 ). A total alkalinity of 20 mg/L or more is necessary for good pond productivity. A desirable range of total alkalinity for fish culture is between 75 and 200 mg/L CaCO3 . Carbonate-bicarbonate alkalinity (and hardness) in surface and well waters is produced primarily through the interactions of CO2 , water and limestone. Rainwater is naturally acidic because of exposure to atmospheric carbon dioxide. As rain falls to the earth, each droplet becomes saturated with CO2 ; and pH is lowered. Well water is pumped from large, natural underground reservoirs (aquifers) or small, localized pockets of underground water (groundwater), Typically, underground water has high CO2 concentrations, and low pH and oxygen concentrations. Carbon dioxide is high in underground water because of bacterial processes in the soils and various underground, particulate mineral formations through which water moves. As ground- or rainwaters flow over and percolate through soil and underground rock formations containing calcitic limestone (CaCO3 ) or dolomitic limestone [CaMg(CO3 )2 ], the acidity produced by CO2 will dissolve limestone and form calcium and magnesium bicarbonate salts: CaCO3 + H2O + CO2 = Ca+2 + 2HCO3 - or CaMg(CO3 )2 + 2H2O + 2CO2 = Ca+2 + Mg+2 + 4HCO3 - The resultant water has increased alkalinity, pH and hardness.

Also, alkalinity won't change overnight. Check it again in a few months. Just like adding lime to soils, here they recommend doing soil tests in the Fall and liming in the Fall if needed, so the soil pH will have changed by the Spring.

60-150 ppm (mg/l) is desired for best fish growth (healthy ecosystem). 60% of surface water in KS is 100-300.
This is also a pH buffer to subdue wild swings ..
To better answer your question, yes, it has a lot to do with location, water source and what substrate that water flows through/over before it gets to pond.