Bruce's Journal

[CntryBoy777]

Nature is full of amazing creatures and they are well equipped and designed to survive in their natural environment....

 

[Latestarter]

Yeah... <shrug> not always... The pond was completely disturbed so it's gonna take a spell to re achieve "balance" and in the meantime can be a real mess/toxic... There are additives you can get that will keep the algae in check until the pond balances out. They are supposed to be non harmful to fish/animals. I don't know enough about it to make any kind of recommendation... But I AM glad to see that it's starting to fill for you.

 

[greybeard]

Disturbing the 'muck' , coupled with runoff from the grassy areas is what caused the oxy imbalance.
The muck, was mostly nutrient rich sediment (high nitrate fish and other animal poop) as well as decaying plant life, which now being 'loose' is feeding the microscopic algae and they are reproducing in great numbers. Nitrates, sunlight, and nutrients is all it takes.
Because of the pond's size, filtering the algae out is probably not a workable solution.

I've seen most that cleared up on their own...others that never did, even after years.

 

[Baymule]

Now you need some hogs in there, to wallow and seal it up for you.

 

[Bruce]

The alternative to stones would be to go drive a tall stake into the bottom now, and mark the various depths on it so you can see at a glance. Not too deep to wade into now, but might become so soon...

Already too late, I didn't go all the way down to rock (if there is rock at the lowest point). Boot sucking mud/clay down there!

The pond has ALWAYS gone green all summer. Some years I've used the big plastic leaf rake to pull globs and globs of stringy green algae out when the wind blew it to the north edge. The algae seems to die back some when we get a fair bit of rain but comes back.

I'm sure I've disturbed the balance given all the muck I pulled out, just hoping there is still "sealing" stuff on the bottom where the ledge is not. Of course I have no idea if the ledge continues under the bottom all the way across. I ASSUME it does since it appears to rise back up some distance past the edge of the pond. I certainly hit it putting in the NW corner post, only got 2' down.

 

[Latestarter]

Get a used small bucket and fill it with concrete with your "yard stick" stuck into the center. You can rig a "hoop" on top of wire and then raise it up with the bucket and reach out and lower it into the center of the pond. No sweat, no strain, no getting sucked to the center of the earth by muck. ETA I was referring to using the tractor bucket to reach out with...

 

[Bruce]

I guess if I marked the stick in feet starting at the bottom of the bucket, and the bucket didn't sink into the bottom too much ... that would tell me how deep the water is now. I guess from that I could figure out the other 1 foot depths as the water rises.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Ya can mark it like a rain guage....just be sure to use a color ya can see without squinting......

 

[Latestarter]

© google images https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct...UlTa_cV9QX&ust=1538864146248221&ictx=3&uact=3

Of course, marked in feet (unless you WANT it in metric) and if the bucket is wide enough, you don't need it to weigh 80 pounds... all you'll really need is about 20 pounds... enough to keep it from floating (if you use wood), or being lifted by ice or blown over by wind. It shouldn't sink all that much. Is there a metal fabricator near you that can punch out a strip of 1/4 or 1/2 inch aluminum or even steel about 5-6 feet long? Have them bend the bottom 2-3" over at a 90° angle to give something to hold under the concrete... Then measure up from the bottom of the concrete base in 1 foot increments. Maybe paint a "stripe" in florescent or glow in the dark orange at 5 foot so you can quickly tell if above or below that level and by ~ how much...

 

[Bruce]

If I have a bucket with a lid I could fill it with rocks, dug out plenty of those along with the muck.