Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations the beach clean-up and Lake Georgetopia

Okay here are a few picture from this weekend, Enjoy!!

Here I am floating in Georgetopia getting ready to test the O2 levels. Notice the better aeration pattern from the new prop.




Testing the O2 levels, notice the coloration of the water.




Checking the O2 levels at the deepest part of georgetopia.



Here are two pictures of the water flow patten from the new prop. These pictures were taken after several hours of running. The motor was cool to the touch and the solar panels were able to power the motor and charge the batteries!





Another view

Ok, I'm over my shock.

Glad this rig is working. What kind of O2 numbers are you getting?

And more importantly, how did you get a truck driver tan flying a FedEx plane? Belted Galloway's come to mind.

Didn't he tell you about hanging his arm out the window as he was flying along? I really like the improvised boat.

But then, nobody's actually SEEN him fly a plane, now have they, although we're pretty sure he works for FedEX.....

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post335860

With what you noted in the prior post about stratification and DO drop levels overnight with no aeration you need to keep that system going. To high of BOD with all the fish and plankton to go naked (no aeration). As Bruce once noted it only takes about 15 mins to ruin a years (or in some cases a lifetimes) work.

Allen, I hope you stayed awake thinking about that one!!

Scott, it takes TWO hands and two feet to handle a Whopper!! Especially when things go wrong...

Yolk, I have pictures mister....I have pictures

Eric, Agreed, I am going to thin Georgetopia some next week. I am also working on a permanent solar install with about three times the battery storage and four times the solar collector. I am going to try to make a standard system for little ponds which will allow for aeration (top or bottom) and some extra power for other uses.

Brian, I'm certified ADHD. You'd be surprised how little time it took.

That water has a green tint !

Eric, the green tint is really noticeable if I turn off the aeration system. Could it be algae? I do notice some algae on the edge of the pond. And if it could be, should I do anything about it?

Thanks.

Plankton bloom. Good news. Let it take its course. A plankton bloom with that much water moving is unusual but great to have. That pond is really ramping up its RPMs (engine like). Keep the air going !

Eric, GT water is much greener than I remember also. I give Brian a lot of crap but he'll push the envelope to get the best results possible. I usually just tell him he can't do something, and then he'll figure out a way to make it work. It's much easier for me to let him do all the mental heavy lifting before I try something.

Since this is Brian's project, I'll leave all the future postings of the particulars to him. But personally, I think this remote 12 volt system may be a game changer. The next few months will tell.

He still looks like a Belted Galloway to me.

That new prop seems to be a big improvement.

Did they give you any estimates on motor life?

JKB,

I don't remember a conversation about longevity, but I will say that with the new prop installed there is a reduction in the temperature of the motor and it is not working as hard. After several hours, it is still nearly water temperature. In fact, I never saw or felt any significant increase in temperature while it was running even after 8 or more hours. I'll get my floaty out again and do further testing and let you know next week!!

Allen, that would be a black belt.......and that's Mr Galloway to you!!

I'm off to the gym, then the tanning booth......

HF, readings from my pond today - no aeration. Secchi disk disappears at 48" heavy overcast day barely a shadow; no polarized glasses, looking in shadow of the boat at the disk. Ambient temp 74°F. Readings taken at 11:15 a.m. CST

Max pond depth is approx. 14' with the current water level - roughly 3' below full pool. All readings were taken in 13' of water.

Secchi disk - 48" visibility

1'---- 9.58 mg/l--- 73.5°F
3'---- 9.30 mg/l--- 71.3°F
6'---- 9.77 mg/l--- 66.0°F
9'---- 6.91 mg/l--- 63.3°F
12'--- 2.81 mg/l--- 60.0°F

Scott,
How many fish and what size fish do you have in your pond (Georgetopia started with 2000 CNBG, 20 Lbs of FHM, and 5 Lbs of Tilapia)? Also, do you plan to keep all of those fish in your pond all summer? Finally, how big is the pond that you are talking about? Georgetopia is something bigger than a tenth of a acre and eight feet deep in the deep end. Just so people can compare.

Of course I could grow less fish in Georgetopia without aeration, but that would defeat the purpose of the project.

How many fish is a good question. Roughly 40 Golden RBT about 2# each, around 40 LMB between 3# and <5# (and the usual accompanying smaller 0-3 Y.O. LMB), 10 SMB 10"-14", 50 10" SMB in a cage, couple hundred YP up to 13" (maybe up to 400 depending on how many the LMB ate), 40# of Tilapia, maybe 30#-80# of CC (some fish should be pushing 20# now as they were 15#-16# 3 years ago - they come out if they get caught), no idea on the # of BG/RES. I stocked 15 10" HSB last year but I'm not sure any made it - fish handling during shipping problem. I did see a few last Fall, but haven't seen any this year yet.

I'm trying like heck to get a good population of BG/RES established, but it's a constant battle with the LMB in there and not much cover for the BG due to the fluctuating water levels. Fall of 2010 ago I stocked between 1,500 and 2,000 2"-4" BG on top of what was aready in the pond, and this Spring I put in a bunch of BG from Cecil from 8"-10" down to 2" fish. Right now I believe the pond is about 3/4 acre, as it's 30" low. I see very few small BG, most are running around 5"-6" then more at 8"-10". I did stock between 20 and 30 PS @ 5"-6" a few years ago, but only one has been caught since then. I stocked 200 adult GSH (6"-10") a few years ago, but I think they all became LMB food. People don't realize how much food a LMB will eat, even the pellet trained ones.

I'd like to keep all of them in there for the summer if possible. I'm working on a way to "over summer" the trout.... IF it works, then I have to do some design changes to make it more UPS FedEx shipping friendly.

That is a lot of fish!

How much natural aeration does your pond get, Georgetopia gets none. Even at 15-20 knots, Georgetopia does not agitate due to its high walls.

It gets very little due to 40'-60' tall trees to the East, South and South West. It's a groundwater pond, in sand, and I believe there is considerable water flow thru the pond subsurface - it's hard to keep a phytoplankton bloom established.

As was said in other posts, fishing regs are remove every LMB caught without a tag, and any CC caught. The 1,500 - 2,000 2"-4" BG stocked a few years ago all disappeared over winter, but trhe LMB stayed fat and happy.

Well Georgetopia has a new timer controller for the aerator. This one has up to 17 cycles of which I am using 5 right now (due to solar capacity). Both the input lines and the controlled lines are protected. I will convert to a new bus block and relay setup after I build the new control box. I have chosen to use aluminum for the new box. I'll post more tomorrow. more solar is in the future......

For now, I am tired, it was a big day. I got to see Allen place and look at all the things I can get him to spend money on!!

How's the aluminum welding coming along?

Much cheaper to buy electrical enclosures than build them.
I get mine from either:

Hoffman Engineering
or,
Saginaw Controls

A few other good ones out there also.

Generally for outdoor control stuff, one would use a NEMA 4X rated enclosure.
(IP ratings are open to interpretation by the mfg)
You can fry DC stuff just as easily as AC stuff.
Guess it don't matter tho.

It would be interesting to see what ya got so far. The controller and all the stuff.

Are you saying these two things are related? If so, I'm curious as to why.

Yes they can be but not always. Lots of flushing (flow)will wash out nutrients and make it hard for plankton to sustain. But if the ground water flow is through rich soil and picks up phosphates and has alkalinity (like some Florida phosphate pit lakes) you can have unbelievable carrying capacity and plankton growth.

Scott, I'll get busy working with the aluminum when I get a few free minutes

JKB, part of building my own is learning how to weld aluminum. I have a few welding friends who are very patient with me and will teach me how to do it right, and I want to learn, just because. I do like the links thou (thanks!), I may need another enclosure in the future and they might be the ticket.

We got some very needed rain today so I did not get a lot done, but the binford 2000 fishfood dispensing device is now in place. I up'ed the motor to the most powerful (and highest RPM) I could find in its class and it does a much better job of tossing the food than the original motor that came with the old Aquapro. I think I have one more "Modification" to make to it before I am really happy with its performance.

More to follow, for now, its time to sleep.

Well I got a few minutes to get out to the farm yesterday and see how Georgetopia is doing. And I must say that I was pleased with everything,

The O2 levels and the temperature were great. The CNBG were biting and the FHM were chasing the few AM500 pellets that the CNBG left behind.

I caught several CNBG from the original stocking that are now 4.5 to 5 inches long.



And this guy is thinking big!!




This guy was a little over 5 inches!!





This is a picture of the first fish I caught "hook and line"




I also caught several 2 inch fish and all seemed to be fat and healthy and full of energy.

As a side note, the Purple Martins are also doing great!! I counted over two dozen birds in the air as I walked by early in the morning. PS the Cormorants have left the building for the summer!!