Pond Boss Forums INTRO New Forum Member Introduction New pond under construction

Hi, I'm in Buffalo Valley, middle TN, about an hour east of Nashville. Having a 1/4 acre pond constructed- new: no existing pond on the property- and the first phase should be done by the end of next week. Then it will be a few months to fill, establish the ecosystem, whatever needs to happen, and the plan is to stock it in the Fall: fatheads, golden shiners, BG, redear sunfish, hybrids, LMB, grass carp. Looking forward to absorbing all the wisdom I can from all you far more experienced pond owners. Really excited to have the pond, which has been a dream for so many years.

Welcome to Pond Boss!!!

Welcome to the forum. Don't add grass carp until you have an underwater weed problem. You need some of them weeds growing in there.

Cody note: Higher forms of vegetation than algae consume nutrients to compete with algae. Ponds lacking rooted plants always have for trouble with filamentous algae, because the algae are the only plants present and it has no competition.

This is exactly why I joined the forum: this kind of feedback/guidance. So to clarify: NO grass carp initially. What do you suggest? Just let things develop naturally? I'm new to this, want to do things right. The ground here is full of solid rock w/mud veins, etc. Once pond is sculpted, will be lined w/clay. How can I best encourage the ecosystem to develop?

Step one is rain dance lessons. When the rains come the water level drops due to absorption. When it settles, and fills, check the alkilinity and PH. Assuming the water temps are ok,and everything is in balance, stock forage fish. Generally fathead minnows, bluegills and Redear sunfish. Give them time to establish and spawn. Then add predators of your choice. Feed a good quality feed. A lot of us like Optimal.

There is a relationship between predators and prey. The prey spawns enough to feed the predators and the predators keep the prey from overspawning and fouling the water. That’s called a balanced pond. Monitor it cause it can get out of whack pretty easily.

Pray for rain. Don’t lie to your wife about the $. You’re gonna get caught.