Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Oklahoma City Neophyte

Greetings fellow pondmeisters!

I just found the site and am impressed with the volume of information and contribution. I look forward to reading all that is here (if that's even possible). I have subscribed to the magazine, joined the forum, and have ordered the recommended books and hope to be gleaning much of my needed information from them.

I've heard that success comes from good judgement which comes from experience which comes from bad judgement. I got the bad judgement part of pondmeisting out of the way right off the bat! I found this site after the design and digging of my pond was completed. I pray that doesn't prove to be my first and most fatal flaw.

The first glaring mistake: I don't really have a good idea of my watershed size and thus if my pond will be able to ever be full. I had it dug basically as large as the site would allow.

The following is my information and questions.

Location: Oklahoma City.

Pond Size/Shape: Near an acre (i think) with close to 18ft maximum depth. A tear drop shape with sides that are quite sloped. The main water shed area has a shallow flat. (I have seen the calculations for size, just haven't gotten to this yet). I am planning some boulders, gravel beds, sand, and concrete debris. The locations and all of the minutiae is yet to be determined.

Watershed: To the untrained eye it seems as though I should have “plenty of run off”. If not, I am told that we have prolific aquifer in this area and am open to drilling a well specifically for the purpose of the pond but I have no clue of the prudence, viability, legality, or ethics of such a measure. As of right now, it has about of foot of water in it.

Intent: I am traditionally a LMB and BG angler but the thought of HSB and HBG and FHC is extremely intriguing. The pond will get fished relentlessly by children of all ages. Seeing fish gobble up pellets from a feeder might be as big a kick for them as anything else. So, I am open to use of a feeder and I am planning to aerate. And I am very open minded to species.

Preliminary Problems: I have the venerable red clay and extreme muddy water problems in the past. Due to the recent construction and drought I have exposed red earth everywhere. I am planning to put as much sod on those areas a possible.

My plans are as follows:

1.Sod/seed as much area as possible too include the upper-outer/inner edges of the pond while awaiting filling and investigate further the option of using a well to fill the pond.

2. I am amassing materials for structure building: Pallets, trees, concrete debris, etc.

3. Adding FHM to get the chain started and prey on some water bugs, etc.

4. Aeration system assessed, designed, and installed.

5. Research aquatic vegetation if I can get the water clarity resolved.

Do I have a proper plan? Is it in the correct sequence? Any glaring weakness? I thank you for your input and look forward to being a reader/contributor to the forum!

tod-hog

Welcome to PB. I think we all step in it and have it all over us before we find this site. You're not unusual.

Have you had your water analyzed? Not sure you have to. How are other ponds in the area re visibility and water color?

Yeah, do the sodding/seeding. It will pay off. How is the rainfall in your area?

Back away from structure until you figure out what and how much you need.

FHM addition is a good idea. It gives you something to look at and toss feed to. Give them some Purina Game Fish Chow.

Check with others on the aeration. I'm not sure about it with red clay in a new pond.

Don't sweat aquatic vegetation at this time.

I like the idea of HSB and HBG with a feeder.

Fast forward two months: My 3/4 of acre pond is about 2/3 full. The turbidity has improved. Interestingly enough, it seems to have cleared after my first fertilization (I did see some posts regarding this phenomenon).

I bought and applied some liquid fertilizer from Dunn's (10-34-0) a gallon at a time about 15 days apart starting in late May. I just poured the stuff straight in spread out in different areas of the bank. In the future should i spray it w/ a water hose?. At any rate i got what apperared to be a bloom; green streaks throughout the water column that moved around. Pretty neat. This only lasted a day or two. Immediately afterward the pond cleared considerably. I have yet to make a secchi disk so i can't quantify the clarity improvement.

so how long do the blooms last? Should i be seeing more blooms? Should i be concerned if i don't see them? Are they always obvious? I have another gallon left and was planning on applying again in a couple of weeks. Friday I am adding about 30 lbs of FHM. Was going to let them breed and eat water bugs the rest of the year. Can i continue to fertilize? When should i consider adding my target species? I am hoping to fill the pond by Fall and add aeration.

Please advise and thanks again.