Pond Health

[bowhunter1023]

The pond on our farm is largely spring fed (undeveloped, but there nonetheless) and of course it receives a great deal of surface water due to the surrounding topography. Its been the color of chocolate milk for a few years now. I'd like to drain the pond and start over since the fishing is terrible, but I'm curious about the silt issue. I've seen folks say catfish, turtles, and even crawldads can cause this. I can't imagine it's a silt issue from runoff given the ground cover upstream, so I'm inclined to think it's the doing of a creature. Thoughts and experiences from this group as to what the issue may be are greatly appreciated.

 

[Gern186]

Muskrats? Carp? Looks like you have good natural siltation barriers in place with all that grass. I agree its probably something in there stirring it up regularly. Pumping it out and starting over would be a good choice then you can rule out any creatures. Also...do deer get in there and wallow around? Just another thought.

 

[brock ratcliff]

One of my grandpas ponds looked exactly this way. I don’t know if they were totally to blame for it, but that pond was full of bullheads. They were about all you could catch from it.

 

["J"]

How deep is it?

 

[5Cent]

@fivecent78 since your plan just got put into action last week.

 

[5Cent]

One of my grandpas ponds looked exactly this way. I don’t know if they were totally to blame for it, but that pond was full of bullheads. They were about all you could catch from it.

We need an update on your baby.

 

[brock ratcliff]

We need an update on your baby.

What baby?

 

[CJD3]

Curious, I wonder if the spring is carrying in the brown or if it's caused by a critter. Are there any other ponds nearby with the same color?
Maybe have the water tested at the county to see if its algae or silt stirred up.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Muskrats? Carp? Looks like you have good natural siltation barriers in place with all that grass. I agree its probably something in there stirring it up regularly. Pumping it out and starting over would be a good choice then you can rule out any creatures. Also...do deer get in there and wallow around? Just another thought.

No rats that I know of and I've never seen a deer in it. Not that they aren't in there at night, but since we cleared all the white pines and spruce around it, I see very little deer sign near it.

How deep is it?

No clue. Maybe 15-20' max is my guess.

Curious, I wonder if the spring is carrying in the brown or if it's caused by a critter. Are there any other ponds nearby with the same color?
Maybe have the water tested at the county to see if its algae or silt stirred up.

Other ponds nearby in very similar conditions are not this silty.

 

[triple_duece]

There is a chemical you can put in it that will remove the oxygen from the water and all fish will surface and die. If it’s a fish problem this is the best method besides pumping it out. I would think you have a bunch of catfish in your pond.

 

[Stressless]

@bowhunter1023 - Gypsum is a natural water clarification mineral and great source of Calcium. You'll want the ultra fine, good folks at the card info below. Where I got a couple.pallets for my plots and for Crescent pond on my farm to raise the alkalinity and not raise the pH. There's good supplier in Philly, but they ship 'free' the folks below. The folks below will deliver to your farm at a very reasonable rate. I had 5 pallets delivered last year.

If you want details and really good input on your pond suggest looking at PondBoss.com forum - you have to login to search.

The folks that handle the gypsum.
Wendell Brubaker

Sales & Purchasing

Walnut Hill Feeds, Inc.

Shelby, OH 44875

Cell: (419) 543-4545

wendellb@whfeeds.com

 

[jagermeister]

There is a chemical you can put in it that will remove the oxygen from the water and all fish will surface and die. If it’s a fish problem this is the best method besides pumping it out. I would think you have a bunch of catfish in your pond.

You might be referring to Rotenone. It doesn't remove oxygen from the water, but instead it inhibits the fish's ability to process oxygen, essentially leading to their suffocation. It works great.

I think he's onto something. If it were my pond, and I already knew the fishing was terrible, I'd rotenone that sucker and kill whatever is living in it, then wait to see if the water clears up before plotting my next move.

 

[cspot]

Not sure how long that pond has been in there but it may not be as deep as you think. Small ponds like that can fill in over time fairly quickly. Also if there was livestock or that field was plowed previously that can rapidly introduce alot of sediment.

If you know someone that has a 2" pump or bigger, I would try that route first to draw it down. Even if you kill everything it would take alot less stuff so that may be more cost effective.

Do you know anyone that has a castnet? That could be another option to sample what species you have. Trouble is for deeper water you need a good size one.

What is the actual size of the pond? It looks like it may be 1/3 to 1/2 an acre?

 

[Ohiosam]

You don’t need a pump, you can syphon it down.

 

[cspot]

You don’t need a pump, you can syphon it down.

You could but you would need some decent size hose or pipe. I would guess that spring is making a decent amount of water especially this time of the year.

 

[Ohiosam]

You could but you would need some decent size hose or pipe. I would guess that spring is making a decent amount of water especially this time of the year.

I’ve done it with a bigger pond that was also spring fed In the spring time also. I’m pretty sure we used 4” pvc pipe, but it possibly was 6”. Since it only has to go over the dam and down in the ravine lower than the desired level a couple hundred bucks in pipe and fittings would probably do it.

 

[cspot]

I’ve done it with a bigger pond that was also spring fed. Iirc we used 4” pvc pipe, possibly 6”.

That would do it. Or a whole bunch of garden hoses.

 

[Mike]

Maybe it would a good time to dredge it as well. Maybe build up the upward bank.

 

[Stressless]

What guys write about doing with a high flow /sediment based on drainage is to put a much smaller pond, like a catch basin, just up stream from the big one to let sediment/field/livestock waste, etc settle out and then spillway the little one into the bigger one. Not sure sediment flow is key to what's going on with the turbidity problem. Lots written over on the other one concerning suspended clay as well.

Interested to hear how this shakes out.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Not sure how long that pond has been in there but it may not be as deep as you think. Small ponds like that can fill in over time fairly quickly. Also if there was livestock or that field was plowed previously that can rapidly introduce alot of sediment.

If you know someone that has a 2" pump or bigger, I would try that route first to draw it down. Even if you kill everything it would take alot less stuff so that may be more cost effective.

Do you know anyone that has a castnet? That could be another option to sample what species you have. Trouble is for deeper water you need a good size one.

What is the actual size of the pond? It looks like it may be 1/3 to 1/2 an acre?

The pond has been there for decades. It was plowed 7-8 years ago and that undoubtedly allowed for an influx of sediment. Around the same time, several catfish were added by a family member. I never gave it any thought at the time, but I certainly see the error in our ways now.

We have a pump and since it's only 1/5 of an acre, it shouldn't take it long to drain. The ravine behind it is plenty deep enough to allow for siphoning to work too.