Bird
Rest in Peace
Thanks, fishman, I'll print your message and give it to my brother and see if there's anything he hasn't already gotten from you or some of your co-workers.
Bird
Bird
New Pond
- Thread starter mrolson
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Harv
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2000
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- 3,346
- Tractor
- Kubota L2500DT Standard Transmission
<font color=blue>I heard people eat eels</font color=blue>
I'm one of 'em, Thomas! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Their meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender and has an excellent flavor. I developed the taste during my scuba-diving days, and now, just by chance, my biggest website client is a sushi producer. Whether it be sushi or a full dinner in a Japanese restaurant (unagi donburi), it is my very favorite choice.
I've seen people gag at the thought of eating snake, but personally I would like to give that a try, too.
I'm one of 'em, Thomas! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Their meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender and has an excellent flavor. I developed the taste during my scuba-diving days, and now, just by chance, my biggest website client is a sushi producer. Whether it be sushi or a full dinner in a Japanese restaurant (unagi donburi), it is my very favorite choice.
I've seen people gag at the thought of eating snake, but personally I would like to give that a try, too.
fishman
Veteran Member
Harv,
From your comments I presume that your water clarity problems are not due to suspended silt, but rather to algal blooms. However, I will give you some ideas on both.
Most ponds that stay muddy all of the time have large populations of common carp, buffalo, or bullhead catfish stirring up the bottom, looking for food. The appropriate action here is renovation, either by draining the pond completely, or by eradicating the fish using a chemical called rotenone. Rotenone inhibits a fish's ability to absorb oxygen through the gills, causing death. It must be applied by a licensed applicator.
If these species aren't present, then the muddiness is due to soil type and runoff. Certain types of clay suspend in the water indefinitely. These ponds can be cleared using hay or agricultural gypsum. Break up two bales of good dry hay per surface acre and scatter on the pond every two weeks. for a maximum of 4 applications per year. Don't use more, or the decaying hay may rob the pond of oxygen and kill your fish. Agricultural gypsum should be applied at a rate of approximately 500 lbs per acre/foot of water to clear a muddy pond. To determine how many acre/feet you have in your pond, take the total acreage and multiply by the average depth. For example, if Harv's pond is 2 acres, and averages 7 feet deep, that would be 14 acre/feet (i.e. the water in his pond would cover 14 acres with one foot of water). The next year, considerably less gypsum will be needed, perhaps 10% of the original amount if all goes well.
Vegetation or algal blooms are a different matter. Algae is what gives the pond its green cast. In cases of excess nutrient input, filamentous algae can appear. Algae is not rooted to the bottom, nor does it have leaves, but other submerged plants are often referred to as "algae". The first thing to address is the source of nutrients, if algal growth is excessive. If there are livestock in your pond's watershed, a buffer strip between them and the pond will help tie up some of the nutrients. If no source can be identified, or the source can't be eliminated, you have to treat the pond. There are two possible methods, chemicals or dyes.
The best chemical to reduce algae is copper sulfate, sold at co-ops under the "Bluestone" trademark among others. Apply 2 lbs per surface acre (NOT per acre/foot; e.g. Harv would need 4 lbs). There are no usage restrictions (livestock watering, etc.), and the compound quickly becomes inert. This is the safest aquatic herbicide around, in my opinion. One caution, treat no more than half of the pond at any one time, because the decaying vegetation uses up oxygen. Finish the treatment in 1-2 weeks.
Many dyes are available to reduce sunlight penetration and eliminate algal growth. You can dye your pond whatever color you want. Aquashade is a common one, and can be found at the co-op. The downside to this is that more than one application is needed per year, and it is kind of expensive.
Algae is the first link on the food chain, so reducing or eliminating it will reduce the numbers and growth of any fish in the pond. For many people, that is an acceptable trade-off, because they can use the pond for other forms of recreation.
Hope this information helps. Probably more than you wanted to know.
From your comments I presume that your water clarity problems are not due to suspended silt, but rather to algal blooms. However, I will give you some ideas on both.
Most ponds that stay muddy all of the time have large populations of common carp, buffalo, or bullhead catfish stirring up the bottom, looking for food. The appropriate action here is renovation, either by draining the pond completely, or by eradicating the fish using a chemical called rotenone. Rotenone inhibits a fish's ability to absorb oxygen through the gills, causing death. It must be applied by a licensed applicator.
If these species aren't present, then the muddiness is due to soil type and runoff. Certain types of clay suspend in the water indefinitely. These ponds can be cleared using hay or agricultural gypsum. Break up two bales of good dry hay per surface acre and scatter on the pond every two weeks. for a maximum of 4 applications per year. Don't use more, or the decaying hay may rob the pond of oxygen and kill your fish. Agricultural gypsum should be applied at a rate of approximately 500 lbs per acre/foot of water to clear a muddy pond. To determine how many acre/feet you have in your pond, take the total acreage and multiply by the average depth. For example, if Harv's pond is 2 acres, and averages 7 feet deep, that would be 14 acre/feet (i.e. the water in his pond would cover 14 acres with one foot of water). The next year, considerably less gypsum will be needed, perhaps 10% of the original amount if all goes well.
Vegetation or algal blooms are a different matter. Algae is what gives the pond its green cast. In cases of excess nutrient input, filamentous algae can appear. Algae is not rooted to the bottom, nor does it have leaves, but other submerged plants are often referred to as "algae". The first thing to address is the source of nutrients, if algal growth is excessive. If there are livestock in your pond's watershed, a buffer strip between them and the pond will help tie up some of the nutrients. If no source can be identified, or the source can't be eliminated, you have to treat the pond. There are two possible methods, chemicals or dyes.
The best chemical to reduce algae is copper sulfate, sold at co-ops under the "Bluestone" trademark among others. Apply 2 lbs per surface acre (NOT per acre/foot; e.g. Harv would need 4 lbs). There are no usage restrictions (livestock watering, etc.), and the compound quickly becomes inert. This is the safest aquatic herbicide around, in my opinion. One caution, treat no more than half of the pond at any one time, because the decaying vegetation uses up oxygen. Finish the treatment in 1-2 weeks.
Many dyes are available to reduce sunlight penetration and eliminate algal growth. You can dye your pond whatever color you want. Aquashade is a common one, and can be found at the co-op. The downside to this is that more than one application is needed per year, and it is kind of expensive.
Algae is the first link on the food chain, so reducing or eliminating it will reduce the numbers and growth of any fish in the pond. For many people, that is an acceptable trade-off, because they can use the pond for other forms of recreation.
Hope this information helps. Probably more than you wanted to know.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Thomas,
Get Thou to a Sushi place and try the eel. Its cooked, actually most of the places put a "BBQ" sauce on the eel. Its one of my favorite fishies to eat!
Very good. There is a box meal, I forgot the Japanese name for it, that is a bed of rice with two pieces of eel on top! YUM YUM! It really is a favorite. But sometimes the meat has very small bones. I once got a eel bone stuck at the top of my tonge. Drove me NUTS but I could not get it out. It did not hurt it just was not "right." The next mornng the bone was gone. Guess it dissolved.
I'm sure this is WAY more information that you EVER wanted to know about eels!
I'll eat 'em but I don't want to touch a live one! LOL!
Truly Hope This Helps....
Dan McCarty
Get Thou to a Sushi place and try the eel. Its cooked, actually most of the places put a "BBQ" sauce on the eel. Its one of my favorite fishies to eat!
Very good. There is a box meal, I forgot the Japanese name for it, that is a bed of rice with two pieces of eel on top! YUM YUM! It really is a favorite. But sometimes the meat has very small bones. I once got a eel bone stuck at the top of my tonge. Drove me NUTS but I could not get it out. It did not hurt it just was not "right." The next mornng the bone was gone. Guess it dissolved.I'm sure this is WAY more information that you EVER wanted to know about eels!
I'll eat 'em but I don't want to touch a live one! LOL!
Truly Hope This Helps....
Dan McCarty
Harv
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2000
- Messages
- 3,346
- Tractor
- Kubota L2500DT Standard Transmission
<font color=blue> Probably more than you wanted to know</font color=blue>
Not at all, FishMan! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
I'm stashing all this information away and will bring printouts with me on my next trip to the property. I'll start taking a hard look at the water, its inhabitants and vegetation. With all the information you have provided, I should be able to make at lease some improvements, no matter what the problems are.
If not, now I know where to get more information. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Thanks for the brain dump.
Not at all, FishMan! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
I'm stashing all this information away and will bring printouts with me on my next trip to the property. I'll start taking a hard look at the water, its inhabitants and vegetation. With all the information you have provided, I should be able to make at lease some improvements, no matter what the problems are.
If not, now I know where to get more information. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Thanks for the brain dump.
Anonymous Poster
Epic Contributor
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
- Messages
- 29,678
Fishman leaves out what is to my mind the best method of controlling algae. Triploid grass carp. It may take somewhat longer but you (or the fish) won't be swimming in copper sulphate. Some states require a permit which is easily obtained. You must stock them large enough to survive the largemouth bass. I used twelve for a pond a little less than an acre and the results were astonishing.
Anonymous Poster
Epic Contributor
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
- Messages
- 29,678
Fishman leaves out what is to my mind the best method of controlling algae. Triploid grass carp. It may take somewhat longer but you (or the fish) won't be swimming in copper sulphate. Some states require a permit which is easily obtained. You must stock them large enough to survive the largemouth bass. I used twelve for a pond a little less than an acre and the results were astonishing.
Anonymous Poster
Epic Contributor
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
- Messages
- 29,678
I think it would be impossible in a normal life time to dig a 12' pond with a tractor and FEL. We recently had a 100'x 70' 15' deep pond put in. The contractor used a huge excavator and the largest JD bull dozer. You would not beleive the mountains of dirt that was hauled form the hole. He then used the dozer to push it back over a 5 acre field.
When the snow melts, I'm going to use my Kubota b7200 with a box blade to smooth the dirt around the pond then plant grasses. I'm thinking of putting in some clover for the deer and some native warm season grasess such as big Blue stem and switch grass.
Good luck on your project. Remember to get at least 3 or 4 estimates. We had prices range from $13,000 t0 $2500.
Van
When the snow melts, I'm going to use my Kubota b7200 with a box blade to smooth the dirt around the pond then plant grasses. I'm thinking of putting in some clover for the deer and some native warm season grasess such as big Blue stem and switch grass.
Good luck on your project. Remember to get at least 3 or 4 estimates. We had prices range from $13,000 t0 $2500.
Van
fishman
Veteran Member
Shelly,
I'm glad you had such positive results from grass carp in your pond. Biological controls are always preferable to chemical, at least in my estimation.
Actually, triploid grass carp are quite useful in ridding a pond of unwanted rooted aquatic plants. However, they are not effective at ridding a pond of algae. You know, the stuff that makes the water green. In fact, they often create algal blooms because they eat the rooted plants and then. . . well they do what comes natural, and in the process increase the available nutrients in the water. This works in concert with the carp to rid a pond of rooted vegetation. The carp eat the plants, and the increase in algal bloom limits light penetration to the submerged plants, limiting their growth.
Grass carp will snack on mats of filamentous algae, but it is one of their least preferred foods.
And you are right about the permit. Most states require a permit before you can purchase fish from a vendor.
I'm glad you had such positive results from grass carp in your pond. Biological controls are always preferable to chemical, at least in my estimation.
Actually, triploid grass carp are quite useful in ridding a pond of unwanted rooted aquatic plants. However, they are not effective at ridding a pond of algae. You know, the stuff that makes the water green. In fact, they often create algal blooms because they eat the rooted plants and then. . . well they do what comes natural, and in the process increase the available nutrients in the water. This works in concert with the carp to rid a pond of rooted vegetation. The carp eat the plants, and the increase in algal bloom limits light penetration to the submerged plants, limiting their growth.
Grass carp will snack on mats of filamentous algae, but it is one of their least preferred foods.
And you are right about the permit. Most states require a permit before you can purchase fish from a vendor.
rlk
Gold Member
Fishman, is there a web site, or set of information you are familiar with that will tell me the do's and don'ts of building a pond? I'm having the trees cut now so a 2 1/2 acre pond can be consructed this spring/summer. I have started the paperwork for permits i.e., Army Corps of Engineers; NC Division of Water Quality; Dam Safety; County grading permits, etc. The County has signed off. Waiting on the Army Corps of Engineers and others to give their o.k.
I have found some information, but most seem to say to hire an engineer to design the pond. While I may hire an engineer, I want to learn about this myself. I'll probably learn just enough to be dangerous, but would like to be able to talk to contractors and not sound like the complete idiot that I am.
I have asked several of the people I dealt with on the permits, but no one yet has come up with a good place to get information.
Thanks for any information you can supply.
I have found some information, but most seem to say to hire an engineer to design the pond. While I may hire an engineer, I want to learn about this myself. I'll probably learn just enough to be dangerous, but would like to be able to talk to contractors and not sound like the complete idiot that I am.
I have asked several of the people I dealt with on the permits, but no one yet has come up with a good place to get information.
Thanks for any information you can supply.
