How to test the pH Level in Your Pond...and Oak Tannins - New Pond Water Quality (Part 12)
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
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The pond has been retaining water for 2 weeks at this point, and has about 6 feet of water collected here after a couple of hard rains. This is a brand new pond, and while I’m excited to get some FHM and shiners started as forage, we need to figure out our pH balance of the water.
This filamentous algae bloom just showed up on the surface today, and this dark brown floating sludgy film showed up right after a heavy rain. I’m not sure what is causing that dark stuff. With no photosynthesis taking place in the pond so far since there isn’t any vegetation, the dissolved carbon dioxide in the pond is high, and I’ve read that this brown sludge could be an indication of high dissolved CO2 levels….which would make sense in our case as we’ve yet to supplement oxygen.
I’m no water expert with any chemistry background, but I have done enough research to know that maintaining a balanced pond ecosystem is vital to the success of your pond.
pH Test Kit: amzn.to/3NWfJMk
Pond Master Water Test Kit: amzn.to/3yRCUDw
pH levels in a pond directly impacts the fish’s ability to reproduce, fight disease and digest food. So in order to increase the production, growth and health of your fish in your pond, maintaining a healthy pH range is imperative. pH is measured on a scale of 0-14. A pH level of 7 is considered neutral. This is the pH level of human blood. Anything lower than 7 is considered “acidic” and anything higher than 7 is considered “basic” or “alkaline”. For fish, their blood pH is slightly higher at around 7.4. So the goal for our pond with a focus on creating a quality fishery is to create an environment for game fish to thrive. And a pH range between 6.5 - 8.5 is what we’re after.
You didn’t come here to get a water lesson, but pond management is complicated with a lot of moving parts, and constantly fluctuating components….and it’s important that we wrap our heads around the cause and effect relationships of what goes in the pond.
The aeration system arrived from The Pond Guy. We got a 3/4hp with three quad diffusers and 500 feet of weighted air hose. I’ll bring you this complete installation process in a future video as soon as we get the electrical run down to the pond’s edge where we’re going to position the pump. Subscribe to our channel so you don’t miss this upcoming video.
Good intro resource: www.noble.org/...
Out of curiosity, I tested the water from this stream as it seeped up through the ground before it entered into the pond, and the pH was basically neutral, which was comforting to know that the water source was good.
The wood chunk is from an oak tree that was just cut down the day before. We’ve been debating about whether to put “green” oak stumps and logs in the pond for fear of the poisonous tannins leeching out into the water, and potentially killing fish in the future, and making the water unsightly stained. I was shocked at how dark the water became as the tannins leeched out of the oak wood. Something to keep in mind as you consider putting newly felled oak trees in your pond.
Photosynthesis is amazing: www.icr.org/ar...
Pond Build Videos:
Part 14 - Pond Dam Overflow Pipe Installation - • Pond Dam Overflow Pipe...
Part 13 - Pond Dam Erosion After a Heavy Rain - • BEWARE of Erosion - Th...
Part 12 - Testing the pH Level in a Pond - • How to test the pH Lev...
Part 11 - Fishing Structure Part 2 - Root balls and rock piles - • BEST Fishing Habitat f...
Part 10 - Building a Walleye Spawning Stream - • Will Walleyes Spawn in...
Part 9 - The Clay Pond Dam is Complete - • Fishing Pond Designs -...
Part 8 - Finding Blue Clay in the Pond - • BLUE Clay Layer - Pond...
Part 7 - Digging a DEEP Pond Basin - • Compacting Clay on a P...
Part 6 - Fishing Pond Update (My First Cast) - • Fishing Pond Build Upd...
Part 5 - Digging the Core Trench - • Building the Core Tren...
Part 4 - Removing the Top Soil - • Fishing Pond Build Pro...
Part 3 - We found a use for expired hand sanitizer - • EXPLOSIVE Pond Build P...
Part 2 - Tree Clearing to make room for the pond - • Fishing Pond Prep - Bi...
Part 1 - The Derecho Did It - • Beginner 1 Acre Pond B...
Field biology AND chemistry, a dual threat indeed....Mr Sloan would be proud!!
And I wondered then what I would ever use those classes for!! In field biology, I just wanted to tromp around in the woods for 2 hours!
You're right, God's design is amazing. Great video, great witness.
Thanks for your encouragement Jerry. Romans 1:20 is a word I think about often.
Hey I am looking to add aerator to my pond. Did you make a video on how you decided on what system to use?
Hey….thanks for watching. I made a video on how we installed ours, but not exactly how I decided on the system we chose. We went with the Airmax PS40 for our 1 acre. I knew I wanted more than 2 diffusers, and since our pond is deeper than most, I wanted more power to push the air deeper and so I went with a little more than I probably needed. I’d always err in the side of more so I could always scale back if needed. I liked the Airmax diffusers better than others. I like the system we have now 2 years in….but I learned some hard lessons on how bad mice can be on electrical wires. Not the system’s fault at all. I’d be happy to share more if you have questions.
@@newnatureadventures thanks for the reply! Yea I’ve watched the videos about the aerator. Do you know how power it takes to run in a month you run it 24/7
I haven’t tried to isolate it specifically, but the 230v PS40 chart on the Pond Guy’s website claims $35/month is the cost….give or take a couple bucks probably.