Whether pond fertilization is something you should be doing or considering for your pond depends on two things. Your water hardness and what you wish to use your pond for. In some parts of the United States, the ground water is very soft and has a low pH, in these parts of the country, it is many times necessary to add fertilizer after the pond is first filled just to help develop the life cycle in the pond. Ponds with soft water and low pH are said to have a low rate of primary productivity, and are not very productive without some help from fertilization. The majority of this country, has very hard water and high pH, ponds of this type have a high rate of primary productivity and fertilization can cause excessive algae growth, loss of water clarity, odor problems, oxygen problems and reduce the normal life span of the pond.
If you have any doubt as to the hardness of your water, we would recommend you check with your soil conservation service or your states conservation agency, fertilization of hard waters can mean a real disaster for your pond.
If your pond is used for swimming, fishing, looks, irrigation or animal watering, it is doubtful that pond fertilization is a good idea.
Pond Fertilization is used as a pond management tool, in ponds that are used only for fish production, by increasing the over all life cycle in the pond with fertilization, warm water fish can be made to grow larger and faster. Most people that have ponds for this use only, also have aeration systems to prevent fish kill both in the winter and the summer, and watch their ponds very closely to make sure oxygen is not a problem. Pond Fertilization is also widely used by the Catfish producers, the ponds are fertilized to develop a planktonic algae bloom, which blocks out the light and prevents bottom weeds from growing. The absence of bottom weeds makes it easy to remove the fish from the ponds.
If you have any question about using fertilization in your pond or lake, please give us a call or send us a message.
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