Clinic Shows Ins And Outs Of Maintaining A Healthy Pond
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
LARWILL - Ponds seem to be springing up everywhere these days as solutions for drainage problems, irrigation supply or recreation.
There is a lot more to them than digging a big hole in the ground.
Members of area soil and water conservation districts and the public attended a pond clinic Thursday at the home of Kent and Kathy Kneller, southeast of Larwill.
The Knellers built their excavated pond in 1998 in a low area west of their house and barnyard.
Banked with rip rap, the well-maintained pond is a little over five acres in size
Hosted by Whitley County Soil and Water Conservation District, four speakers talked about basic construction, stocking fish in the pond, aquatic weeds and the benefits of dry hydrants.
Roger Ruske of the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District, advised the potential pond builders to carefully design and plan before removing the first shovel of soil.
"Construction is the easy part," he said.
Whether the landowner chooses an embankment style pond or an excavated pit, soil type must be considered so the water doesn't seep out the bottom.
Embankment ponds are made by building an earthen dam across a stream or watercourse. They're usually built where stream valleys are low enough to allow construction of an embankment 9 feet high or higher and store six or more feet of water.
An excavated pond is made by digging a pit or dugout in early level areas. Because their capacity is obtained almost entirely by digging, excavated ponds are normally used where only a small supply of water is needed.
Excavated ponds should have a five- to 20-acre drainage area for each pond acre.
Local soil and water conservation districts offer a list of excavation contractors, and Ruske said the average pond's cost begins at $10,000.
Bill Leopold, representing Jones Fish Hatcheries of Ohio, said the stocking strategy chosen should be geared to the kind of fishing desired.
For sport and food, largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, hybrid bluegills and channel catfish were recommended.
Leopold had a long list of "good" fish and suggested grass carp for aquatic weed control. He warned the group the carp eat less the larger they become.
"Don't put minnows from the bait shop in your pond," he said, because they are probably small, undesirable fish.
Flathead minnows are true minnows, rarely exceeding 3 inches in length. Another food source for predatory fish is golden shiners.
Leopold said there's no reason a pond couldn't be stocked with rainbow trout - added in the winter and fished out by early summer. The trout cannot tolerate temperatures above 70 degrees and do not survive the mid- to late summer months.
White crappie, suckers, common carp and bullhead catfish are undesirable pond species.
"Most are introduced by birds or burrowing animals," Leopold said.
Bill Horan, of the Wells County Extension office, said aquatic plants are essential members of the pond community.
Weed control is not recommended if vegetation covers less than 20 to 25 percent of the pond's surface area. This amount of "weeds" is accepted as optimal for sport fish populations and the ecology of the pond.
More than 25 percent coverage not only detracts from the pond's appearance, it uses up nutrients, Horan said.
"The first step in chemically controlling aquatic vegetation is to correctly identify problem plants," he said. If the pond owner cannot identify the plant, it can be sent to a fisheries biologist.
Copper sulfate, a common herbicide for algae, erodes metals, Horan said. He advised people not to apply it from an aluminum boat or to make sure the boat's bottom was carefully cleaned after use.
Cattails should be treated in the fall after seed pods have developed.
"That's when the plant is taking sugars back to the roots for winter storage," he said, and the right herbicide can be taken right along with the food source.
Dry hydrants are unpressurized stand pipes serving the same purpose as a fire hydrant.
They should be installed during pond construction, according to Dick Kyler, an Indiana Department of Natural Resources resource specialist. [[In-content Ad]]
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LARWILL - Ponds seem to be springing up everywhere these days as solutions for drainage problems, irrigation supply or recreation.
There is a lot more to them than digging a big hole in the ground.
Members of area soil and water conservation districts and the public attended a pond clinic Thursday at the home of Kent and Kathy Kneller, southeast of Larwill.
The Knellers built their excavated pond in 1998 in a low area west of their house and barnyard.
Banked with rip rap, the well-maintained pond is a little over five acres in size
Hosted by Whitley County Soil and Water Conservation District, four speakers talked about basic construction, stocking fish in the pond, aquatic weeds and the benefits of dry hydrants.
Roger Ruske of the Fulton County Soil and Water Conservation District, advised the potential pond builders to carefully design and plan before removing the first shovel of soil.
"Construction is the easy part," he said.
Whether the landowner chooses an embankment style pond or an excavated pit, soil type must be considered so the water doesn't seep out the bottom.
Embankment ponds are made by building an earthen dam across a stream or watercourse. They're usually built where stream valleys are low enough to allow construction of an embankment 9 feet high or higher and store six or more feet of water.
An excavated pond is made by digging a pit or dugout in early level areas. Because their capacity is obtained almost entirely by digging, excavated ponds are normally used where only a small supply of water is needed.
Excavated ponds should have a five- to 20-acre drainage area for each pond acre.
Local soil and water conservation districts offer a list of excavation contractors, and Ruske said the average pond's cost begins at $10,000.
Bill Leopold, representing Jones Fish Hatcheries of Ohio, said the stocking strategy chosen should be geared to the kind of fishing desired.
For sport and food, largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, hybrid bluegills and channel catfish were recommended.
Leopold had a long list of "good" fish and suggested grass carp for aquatic weed control. He warned the group the carp eat less the larger they become.
"Don't put minnows from the bait shop in your pond," he said, because they are probably small, undesirable fish.
Flathead minnows are true minnows, rarely exceeding 3 inches in length. Another food source for predatory fish is golden shiners.
Leopold said there's no reason a pond couldn't be stocked with rainbow trout - added in the winter and fished out by early summer. The trout cannot tolerate temperatures above 70 degrees and do not survive the mid- to late summer months.
White crappie, suckers, common carp and bullhead catfish are undesirable pond species.
"Most are introduced by birds or burrowing animals," Leopold said.
Bill Horan, of the Wells County Extension office, said aquatic plants are essential members of the pond community.
Weed control is not recommended if vegetation covers less than 20 to 25 percent of the pond's surface area. This amount of "weeds" is accepted as optimal for sport fish populations and the ecology of the pond.
More than 25 percent coverage not only detracts from the pond's appearance, it uses up nutrients, Horan said.
"The first step in chemically controlling aquatic vegetation is to correctly identify problem plants," he said. If the pond owner cannot identify the plant, it can be sent to a fisheries biologist.
Copper sulfate, a common herbicide for algae, erodes metals, Horan said. He advised people not to apply it from an aluminum boat or to make sure the boat's bottom was carefully cleaned after use.
Cattails should be treated in the fall after seed pods have developed.
"That's when the plant is taking sugars back to the roots for winter storage," he said, and the right herbicide can be taken right along with the food source.
Dry hydrants are unpressurized stand pipes serving the same purpose as a fire hydrant.
They should be installed during pond construction, according to Dick Kyler, an Indiana Department of Natural Resources resource specialist. [[In-content Ad]]