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CLAUDE E. BOYD*
LIME IS OFTEN APPLIED to improve
conditions for fish growth in ponds with
soft waters and acid bottom muds (1,2,3,
4,6,7). Liming increases the hardness,
alkalinity, and pH of pond waters and
increases the pH of bottom muds (1,2,3).
Humic substances which impart brown
stains to pond waters may be removed
by lime treatment (6). These changes in
water quality following lime application
improve response of plankton to fertiliza-
tion and result in better fish production
(1,7). Research at the Fisheries Research
Unit, Auburn University Agricultural Ex-
*Associate Professor, Department of Fish-
cries and Allied Aqoacoltores.
periment Station, has resulted in better
procedures for liming fish ponds (1,3,5).
WATER HARDNESS AND LIMING
Experiments demonstrated that liming
soft water ponds to increase water hard-
ness to at least 20 ppm increased fish
production (1,7). Therefore, a survey of
water hardness in Alabama ponds was
conducted and a water hardness map
prepared (Figure 1). Water hardness of
ponds in the Black Belt usually exceeds
20 ppm. However, some ponds in the
Black Belt on acid or sandy soils have
waters softer than 20 ppm. The hard-
ness of pond waters in other areas of
Alabama may or may not exceed 20 ppm
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION/AUBURN UNIVERSITY
R, Dennis Rouse, Director Auburn, Alabama
S- - 0 -
S 0 0o1
o 
?
Pond location
* Water hardness 20 ppm
or more
S 0 Water 
hardness 
less than
20 ppm
I-
FIG. 1. Location of ponds with water hardness of 20 ppm or more (solid dots)
and below 20 ppm (open dots). The Black Belt area of 
the Coastal Plain is indi-
cated by broken lines.
I .
I "'
to
0
0 
0
0 0
1010
logo
O O 
(Figure 1). Therefore, water analysis is
the only accurate way of determining if
pond waters are too soft for good fish
production. Conditions which suggest
that a pond may need lime include;
stained water, poor response to inorganic
fertilization, and poor fish growth.
SAMPLES FOR LIME REQUIREMENT
Boyd (2) modified the lime require-
ment procedure for agricultural soils for
use on fish pond muds. Procedures for
collecting mud samples were also de-
veloped. Lime requirements of muds
from shallow water were lower than
those of muds from deeper water. There-
fore, samples were taken from different
areas of the pond bottom and equal vol-
umes of each sample composited and
dried to give a sample for lime require-
ment determination. Adequate samples
for 1 to 5-acre ponds on the Fisheries Re-
search Unit required muds from 10 to
12 different sites. The number of sam-
ples composited was increased propor-
tionally for larger ponds. A simple mud
sampler was devised by attaching a can
to the end of a pole (Figure 2).
APPLYING LIME
Although agricultural limestone can be
easily applied to new ponds before they
WATER HARDNESS
are filled with water, application proved
more difficult when ponds were full of
water. Good results were achieved by
broadcasting agricultural limestone even-
ly over the entire pond surface. Bags of
limestone were emptied from a moving
boat. Bulk agricultural limestone was
cheaper and was applied from a ply-
wood platform attached between two
boats (Figure 3).
Limestone was applied during late fall
or early winter so that it reacted with
water and bottom muds before fertilizers
were applied in the spring (1). Agricul-
tural limestone will precipitate phos-
phorus if applied at the same time as
fertilizer. Liming was not effective un-
less fertilizer was properly applied dur-
ing warm months.
RESIDUAL EFFECT
The residual effect of liming as indi-
cated by water hardness was governed
by the rate of water loss to seepage and
overflow. For example, liming was in-
effective in Grier's Pond with a water
retention time of 3 weeks (Figure 5).
Liming was also less effective in Pond
S-6 which has year around outflow than
in Ponds S-11, S-12, S-13, and S-19
which have outflow only during rainy
weather (Figure 4).
Water hardness 6 months
Initial water hardness Lime requirement after limestone application
p.m. Lb./a. 
p.p.m.
11.8
11.4
13.2
11.2
8.8
600
3,000
4,500
5,500
8,000
27.8
21.4
32.0
32.4
39.8
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BEFORE AND AFTER APPLICATION OF AGRICULTURAL
LIMESTONE TO FIVE PONDS
11111~SU LV 11~7VV UVIILL3 LI'~IVI~ LII'~Y vvvurllvl \
Wooden
handle
h with screws
FIG. 2. A simple sampler for collecting mud from pond bottoms.
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/
* -C..,
FIG. 3. A floating platform for broadcasting agricultural limestone.
Total hardness
(ppm as CoC0
3
)
60- -o Grier's pond
*-* 
S-6
I
30
20 -
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Oh
I 1973 1974 1975
FIG. 4. Residual effect of liming on water hardness in six ponds. Grier's pond
has a water retention time of 3 weeks. Pond S-6 has year around outflow while
the other four ponds have outflow only during rainy weather.
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LITERATURE CITED
(1) ARCE. R. G. AND C. E. BOYD. 1975.
Effects of agricultural limestone on water
chemistry, phytoplankton productivity,
and fish production in soft-water ponds.
Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 104: 308-312.
(2) BOYD, C. E. 1974. Lime requirements of
Alabama fish ponds. Auburn University
Agricultural Experiment Station, Bull.
459. 20 pp.
(3) BOYD, C. E. AND E. SCARSBROOK. 1974.
Effects of agricultural limestone on phy-
toplankton communities of fish ponds.
Arch. Hydrobiol. 74: 336-349.
(4) BOYD, C. E. AND J. R. SNow. 1975. Ferti-
lizing farm fish ponds. Auburn Univer-
sity Agricultural Experiment Station,
Leaflet 88: 8 pp.
(5) BOYD, C. E. AND W. W. WALLEY. 1975.
Total alkalinity and hardness of surface
waters in Alabama and Mississippi. Au-
burn University Agricultural Experiment
Station, Bull. 465. 16 pp.
(6) HASLER, A. D., O. M. BRYNILDSON, AND
W. T. HELM. 1951. Improving condi-
tions for fish in brown-water bog lakes
by alkalization. J. Wildl. Mgmt. 15:
347-352.
(7) THOMASTON, W. E. AND H. D. ZELLER.
1961. Results of a six year investigation
of chemical soil and water analysis and
lime treatment in Georgia fish ponds.
Proc. Ann. Conf. SE Game and Fish
Comm. 15: 236-245.
Auburn University is an equal opportunity employer
2ND PRINTING 3M, SEPTEMBER 1976
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