Howdy again guys.
I just got part of my water test reults back (called and bugged the tech)Alkalinity comes tomorrow. My ph is 4.3. That doesn't really sound right to me. Batterie acid is 4.0 or so. There is nothing but natural runoff. The area that fills the lake ( lake is gonna be about 6-7 acres when full) is pine forest and surrounding pastures from runoff. There is filamnetous algae growing in one of the feeder creeks and I have seen green plants growing along the water line as it fills. Most of the are under water now but you can see where others are beginning to regrow. I've spoken with Todd Overton and I am sending him another sample for a second opinion.

Does this ph sound right to anyone?

Let me know what ya'll think.

Jake, seems low but the pines (needles)are acidic so very well may be, You are going about it correctly to get Todd to get you a 2nd opinion.

Fish may become
stressed and die if the pH
drops below 5 (e.g., acidic runoff)

I think you either got a bad test or someone is jerking your chain. Lets see what the alka. test is and then see where to go.

Look at this to learn more.

http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/7107322-464fs.pdf

Ok, got the rest of my results back:

They retested the ph and it is 5.2 and my alkalinity is .287 mg/L or .287 ppm

What do I do now?

I'm still gonna get another sample off to Todd Overton.

See the link in post above it is all there.

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.

I have never heard of a reading less than 1 ppm. This must be an error. Get Todd to check and then post back.

Ditto, Ewest. We've never seen one so low from a natural watershed. We've seen low pH water from springs or shallow water wells, and it usually has the appearance of a swimming pool, with no vegetation or algae growth. One time I had to turn around with a load of fish and take them back to the farm because the landowner wasn't aware of his water quality problem until I tested just before fish stocking.

Yeah, I thought it was pretty weird myself. I don't think the lab here at SHSU was really sure about what I wanted. Todd I'll give you a holler later today and I'll be sending my second sample to you today. Thanks for all of your help.