Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry 3 Acre SE Ga. Farm Pond

Having an issue getting my PH up to an acceptable level. Added 3 tons 3-4 months ago and PH is only at 5.5 now. Can I add lime at this time of year? Always been told to and did it in winter. Not sure if the heat will adversely affect things or not. Really want to take some corrective action pretty quickly. Only have one access point as the pond is surrounded by woods. Because of this I've always had to use an Ag. lime spreader but it only covers a small area of the pond. Would like to have it limed using a barge. Also having a hard time finding someone locally that has/uses a barge. Anyone know of someone in SE Ga. that can lime it with a lime barge?

Send Rex (AKA Rainman here on the forum) a PM. He has a large pontoon boat that he uses to put alum and hydrated lime in ponds.

You can add lime at any time of the year.

Wow, that is some low pH!!! You must be in heavy pine. I'd suggest getting as much Ag Lime as possible (6-8 ton per acre) in the surrounding woods that run off into the pond, and another 10+ ton of Ag Lime spread into the pond. It will still take a few weeks to a few months to raise the pH a couple points.

The acid is washing into the pond, so neutralizing as much of the source as possible will give the best boost.

Another option that is also faster acting, would be Calcis, (Liquid Lime). It is not a true Ag lime, but contains a concentrated calcium that will help buffer the acidity. It is a bit pricey, but with difficult access for spreading Ag Lime, it may be an excellent substitute.

Quick Update.

Bought an inexpensive PH meter and have checked the water three times (8am, 12pm, & 5pm) for the past 3 days. All readings are between 7.1 and 7.4. The meter appears to be reading correctly as I've calibrated it without any adjustments needed each day.

I suspect the original meter is incorrect! I will not be using that gentleman again.

I have a biologist coming to do comprehensive testing early next week. Maybe he can advise on weed and clarity issues.

Thanks for the replies!