Year 1 10 @ HSB 12” = 8.7 lbs + 15 tilapia 27lbs = 35.7lbs. A safe capacity
Year 2 10 @ HSB 16” = 21.0 lbs + 15 tilapia 27lbs = 48.0 lbs At capacity
Year 3 8 @ HSB 20” = 34.4lbs + 10 tilapia 18lbs = 52.4 lbs. Over capacity
Year 4 6 @ HSB 23”(6.5lbs) = 39lbs + 8 tilapia 14.4lbs= 53.4lbs. Over capacity.
Year 5 better think about harvesting all HSB and restarting. Fewer HSB to catch, smarter hook shy HSB and less chance to catch them.
Commentary Note. Keep in mind my suggestions above produce a risky high carrying capacity and a good chance of a fish kill if all things do not happen correctly. There is quite a bit of chance for error with this plan.
Bill, I really like this plan. It affords for some large fish and it is amply conditioned with the challenges. I would like to add some thoughts as they pertain to tiny ponds. These thoughts arise from my own considerations about potentially constructing a tiny pond in the city and are shaped by my own enjoyment of harvesting and eating fish.
A pond can reach capacity in a single season given a stocking rate that will support it and if the fish reach a harvestable size by the end of the first growing season, they can be harvested and restocked the following year ... or in the case of HSB which are available in the fall ... be stocked in the fall and harvested the next fall. This type of stocking program doesn't allow for multi-year growth which means one is harvesting fish at smaller sizes. Depending on goals, such a plan can be a non-starter. On the other hand, it ensures that carrying capacity isn't breeched, it is less prone to learned hook shyness, provides a greater number of fish to catch, and it maximizes the production of fish. Also because the harvest is large compared to carrying over large standing weights year to year, the harvest serves to slow the accumulation of nutrients. This is also a benefit of harvesting tilapia which sequester nutrients that can be harvested as opposed to allowing them to recycle through a winter die-off
Another, idea I have had with tiny ponds is to have both a winter and summer growth season. So after a bountiful fall harvest a winter trout grow out is also possible for good springtime fishing.
