Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction Hello from NC

Hello all, been reading and enjoying all the good info, so now I'm a member too. Closing on my first property with a pond soon. 50 acres of land with a 10 acre pond. Go big or go home, Right! It basically a blank slate, so I need lots of good idea from everyone on setting it up. Got to lime it heavy first, low PH.

Welcome to PBF.

10 acres! That's nice!

You say you are starting from a clean slate. I assume this means it has never been stocked. If it has been full for a while, just make sure it really is a clean slate before stocking. There are a couple of recent posters here on PBF that THOUGHT they had a clean pond and some how some fish got into their pond that messed up their stocking plans. So if there is water that runs into the pond from higher ground that could have fish or two legged critters that could have put some in to "help", it can really mess things up.

I thought my old pond had no fish to worry about after I cleaned it out and turns out it had GSF and BH's.

Congratulations on your new purchase. You will enjoy the new pond.

Tim-
Congratulations....Welcome to Pond Boss....tons of good info here...

Thanks all,
It was a sand quarry that is apparently spring feed. Seems to keep it level fairly well. No in flow of water from any creeks, but there is a creek very close by. The PH is 4.97 which barely supports fish from what I'm told and I've only seen a couple of sightings of possible small fish and some tadpoles. I'm planning on putting about 16 tons of lime on it, shore spread from different locations. I have a small fish trap I will through in and see if anything shows up too. Are you guys thinking I might should spray it to kill any existing fish in the pond?

Spring fed can be awesome, but some here have experienced the reversal of fortune during dry/drought periods, when the "spring" becomes a drain.

The creek that is close by...does it look feasible that high water periods (floods) might cause it to overflow its banks and enter your pond? If so, then whatever is in that creek, species wise, will probably find its way into your pond. It doesn't need to be a gully washer either. A little water flow is sometimes all it takes.

Welcome Tim!!

Any other details on the pond? Got vegetation? Your goals for the pond? How deep? ...and anything else you can think of.....

I've looked at all the GIS photo's I could find and it always seems to stay at the same level. There's even a small pit toward the back of the property that is connected by a drain and valve. Looks like they may have used it to pump water into when they were digging and them released it latter on when they finished.
The creek is fairly close, but I believe there is too much elevation between them.
Here's a picture. http://i1296.photobucket.com/albums/ag9/tmorgan28/Lake_zps205011a4.jpg

Tim, welcome to the forum!

If you do find fish in there, and can't 100% ID them, take a good closeup clear picture and post it. We'll get them ID'd for you in a hurry.

Depending on your goals for the pond, the fish (if there are any) may or may not be a problem.

Think long and hard about your goals. Changing the fish population in a 10 ac pond will be an undertaking. We can help steer tho!

Tell us more about the pond when you can. Max depth, average depth, what fish cover is in there, how are the banks tapered to deep water, etc., etc.

You are correct, you'll have to lime. What kind of lime will you be using? Hydrated lime will raise the pH but I'm not 100% sure how long it will stay high. The other thing to do is check the alkalinity. Bare minimum is 20, and I've seen ponds with numbers over 200.

Called the local farm supply and they deliver standard agriculture limestone in a spreader truck, not sure if it's powder or pellets.
Going down with a Jon boat and depth finder this weekend to survey the contour. Was told it could be up to 20' depth in spots, but they think 8' +/- is average. Small shallows near the banks that go out 10'-12' and drop off fairly quickly from what I see.
Alkalinity was 0 when the ph was checked, so lots of lime
I like bass and crappie, one of the pond stockers I talked to that seem to know his stuff about the ph/lime balancing recommended the following.
LMB, Black Crappie, Bream, Gambusia minnows and Gizzard Shad to fatten up the bass real big. I may put in some Fatheads too for initial forage. What do you think about the mix?