Finally it seems the weather is holding and warming up. The pond fish are also alert and hungry from the winter slow down time. The fish have been milling around here and there for a while now but didn’t seem interested in feeding until a few days ago.

How we tell when they are ready to be fed is walking on the dock. If we walk out and they don’t come then their not ready. But when you take two steps and they are schooled up at the feeding area they are ready for food.

This spring seems a little weird, we usually have blue gill coming in to eat and last years new perch will come to feed for a while. Well this year we see a lot more perch and the Stripers are in slow motion, not their usual self of nailing the surface and disappearing.

Check out the video for the past couple days events feeding the pond fish.If the video doesn’t load here is the You Tube link,http://youtu.be/9KDOQNYVCi0

Two different pond water samples. The right bottle is turbid and settled out. The left bottle from a clear pond.

Blue Pond Dye is the most used and popular color in pond dyes. Why? There’s a couple few reasons why the blue is more popular. Yes there are other colors of pond dye like Black Dyemond and Twilight Blue but the Natures Blue is the most forgiving.

I know it seems I’m obsessed with Pond Dye but wait, maybe so maybe not but what I do want to do is get it all explained since there are some lingering questions since the last Pond Dyes post.

Natures Blue Pond Dye will color the water in almost any case of water quality while Black Dyemond and Twilight blue may not have the same results in producing there intended color.

Right bottle shaken, showing the clay particles suspended in the water. Both bottles are from ponds treated with Black Dyemond.

Here’s what happens, the blue dye when poured into a turbid body of water, whether it be from suspended clay particles or excessive algae will still color the water. If in fact your having an algae bloom, the pond may look a little fake blue until the algae has had time to suffocate from the blocked sunlight.

If the pond water is turbid from suspended clay particles then the water color may have a different shade of blue until the clay settles out or the clay can be flocked out.

Using Black Dyemond Pond Dye in a pond with suspended clay not much happens. The color could turn a little greenish or more of a chocolate milk look. The only way I can explain this is to think of kitty littler, it is made from clay. The clay will soak up the liquids and the black dye seems to be soaked up as well.

This shows the small amount of clay that can cloud up the pond.

As you can see in the picture a little clay can make the water cloudy looking but there are other particle that can do this as well such as an algae bloom.

The bottle on the right had a reading of 8″ with the Compact Secchi Disc, on the left the reading was almost 20″ and the Black shows great in the pond.
Stay tuned as we uncover Eco Friendly ways to clear up the cloudy pond water and take a minute to look at the Compact Sechi Disc. A WhatPond exclusive product just released.

What a great couple weeks of warm weather but now back to the normal temps. Maybe your pond got a jump on spring too. We kept hearing the toads and I really didn’t think they would be mating this early but after walking around the pond, yep there are eggs. Even the perch have left their eggs.

It’s like all winter long we have been waiting for the snow to dump on us or go into the sub zero temps. For a couple weeks but nothing really happened like that.

We are past the hump for severe winter weather but could still get snow and we are seeing the early signs of leaves on trees, flowers blooming and as mentioned above the pond life all getting an early start this year.

Perch Eggs

Typically we don’t plant corn until early May and still worry about frost. This could be a really bad year if the jet stream changes and drops in cold temps or too much snow.

With the couple weeks of warm weather has  given the ponds an early jump on algae. Pond Dye is one of the tools I use to help keep algae blooms down and keep the pond weeds from getting sunlight.

Toad Eggs

As for the aeration systems, I’m still waiting a bit to move the diffusers in to the depths of the pond and want to be sure we are in a stable warm weather pattern which will keep the ponds above 55-60 degrees.

As you can see in the top picture we got a chance to enjoy the pond, fountain and a little fire before the weather cooled off. The only concern about starting the fountain early is if we drop bellow freezing too long and the water freezes. With that in mind we run it at night just in case and benefits the fish as well by adding aeration to the top waters of the pond.

Just an FYI, Pond dye can be put into the pond as soon as the ice is gone, beneficial bacteria such as Pond Clear, Muck Away and bottom diffused aeration we should wait until the pond water is holding around 55 degrees for the bacteria’s to work and not to cool the pond water too much and take a chance on harming the fish.

Related article: Winter Fish Kill

Algae and weed control was at the top of the questions at the Expo There are literally thousands of algae species and the most common asked about is the filamentous string algae. For weed problems the most asked about was Eurasian Watermilfoill which is an invasive (nuisance) species taking over ponds and lakes across the nation.

Algae and weeds, where do they come from? How do they grow? Why my pond or lake? Plants need three items to live. Similar to the fire triangle where we need a Fuel source, Heat and Oxygen to have fire, we can take one of the 3 sides out and knock down the flame.

Weeds and Algae need Nutrients, Water and Photosynthesis (sunlight) to live. Taking away one of the three sides can knock down the weeds. Let’s back up a little to explain the word weed. In the beginning they were actually plants such as the Lilly pad (just as an example), it looked great during the blooming season, blocked sunlight from the water and provided habitat for our fish and microscopic insects for the little fish.

As time moves on each year the plant dies off leaving more nutrients on the pond floor for more growth the following year. As this cycle continues the plants become more abundant until they are not wanted and then seem to turn into weeds. Some of these plants we never planted in the pond and just appeared. Most of which can come by wind, wildlife, transplanting new plants even brought in by boats from other ponds or lakes.

Nuking the pond or lake with chemicals to kill unwanted algae or weeds can hurt our fish, wildlife, microscopic life and end up in our fresh water. Most times chemicals can be effective but are costly by acquiring permits, hiring a licensed applicator, repeating every year or up to three times a season.

One of the easiest and least expensive ways to help control algae and weeds is by using pond dye. By tinting the water we can reduce the amount of sunlight penetrating the water column and removing one of the 3 legs plants need to grow, photosynthesis.

WhatPond will work with you in controlling your unwanted plants (weeds), find an economical approach feasible for you, benefit the uses your pond or lake provides while doing our best to maintain the wildlife in and around your waters.

There are effective ways to manage unwanted plants without chemicals, click the contact us button on top of the page and drop us a line to get started. Or discover more on our Free Education page.

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Great weekend at the Erie Sport& Travel show, we really enjoyed talking with all of you and collectively working out some of the problems pond owners are facing and the ways to help correct those problems, bring health back to the pond, fish and our enjoyment of our ponds.

The funny thing was Friday morning when I text the little woman to say we had a bad booth. We had already set 90% of the booth up and no one was next to us, hmmm who is going in that booth?

So after she panicked that something happened to our booth I text her back to say why, because of what they sold… Chocolate, fudge and cinnamon coated almonds, pecans and cashews made fresh on the spot. The smells just lured you over there. What an awesome fellow and yes very tasty treats from Buckeye Chocolates.

On our left was a unique process where they can take just about anything and Create graphic dipping from different color camo to wood grain and wraps. Skulls, Guns, golf clubs, hard hats and truck part just to mention a few then clear coated for protection. These prints are crisp and look like 3D very impressive looking. You can mail your parts in and once they are done they’ll be mailed back or see them in person. Redfield’s Taxidermy

Two spots to our left was another great fellow who set has a set up for guided hunts, White tail, turkey and coyote with either rifle, archery or muzzle loader . One of the most experienced guides you know he is doing it right. Check out the Kansas Big Buck Outfitters for your next hunt.

The weather held out, or at least we didn’t get too much snow, but the wind was crazy on  Saturday. The bay was nothing but white caps and speaking of caps you better have held on to yours in the wind. With the wind pushing the water and showing the white caps all I could think about was erosion in the bat and around the lake even our ponds are effected. May be not getting white caps but even the small waves are constant lapping at our pond edges.

During the Expo the top questions and or pond problems are weeds, algae and aerating a pond, not just adding bubbles but actual beneficial aeration. We do have the Consumer Aeration Report on the Free Education page.

Stay tuned and we’ll be covering some of the answers to algae, weed control and aeration in upcoming posts. Did you see us at the Expo? Drop us a line to get going and make this year the best year for you and  your pond.