Burn pile in dry stock tank / pond. Toxic?

[robinson4907]

Will ashes from burn pile in stock tank / pond make the tank unusable for horses, cows, and or fish?

My tank / pond is currently dry. Too many cotton wood, oak, willow, and cedar trees have been allowed to grow around our tank through the years and I believe they are consuming too much of the water. I want to cut most of them down. The currently dry tank bottom would be a great place to create a burn pile. However I'm assuming that the large amount of ash left over from the burn pile will make the tank unusable after it refills.

Perhaps I could remove most of the ashes with my front end loader before the tank refills with rain water.

Do any of you have experience with this?

All input will be appreciated,
Mike

 

[DIRTROAD]

I don't think it would pose a threat to the land dwelling animals, but anything that breathes with gills would possibly be smothered. When a wildfire occurs in nature the ash that falls on water does more damage to water creatures than land creatures. This is not scientific though, but I would go ahead and burn.

 

[8934]

Confused about the pond/tank statement, so I am posting just in case.

If it is a galvanized steel tank, I would not burn in it. Burning on galvanized steel will release poison, the smoke will make you sick, and the ashes probably wont do livestock any good.

 

[two_bit_score]

Will ashes from burn pile in stock tank / pond make the tank unusable for horses, cows, and or fish?

My tank / pond is currently dry. Too many cotton wood, oak, willow, and cedar trees have been allowed to grow around our tank through the years and I believe they are consuming too much of the water. I want to cut most of them down. The currently dry tank bottom would be a great place to create a burn pile. However I'm assuming that the large amount of ash left over from the burn pile will make the tank unusable after it refills.

Perhaps I could remove most of the ashes with my front end loader before the tank refills with rain water.
Do any of you have experience with this?

All input will be appreciated,
Mike

Hey, what's up in Tolar? Welcome to TBN!

You bring up a good question about the ashes. I think the quantity and time before you start getting water to refill the pond will be the critical issues. If it's just a small quqntity of residual ash and it looks like a long time before rain (and so far it does) I might go ahead and burn.

 

[jinman]

Mike, I cannot imagine that your wood ashes will be any kind of problem when the tank refills. If you were burning trash, there surely could be some chemicals involved, but your wood ash will probably improve the pond's health rather than cause a problem. You no doubt know that in the piney woods of East Texas, they burn the forest floor to keep the brush down. All that ash will wash into streams and tanks/ponds the first time it rains hard after the burning occurs. There are no negative effects from this runoff. I think burning brush in your tank is a great idea and is probably much safer than burning in the open if it is so dry there that your tank has dried up.

8934: In Texas, ponds are called tanks or stock tanks. It does not refer to a metal tank.

 

[EddieWalker]

How big is the tank and how long will it be before it fills up again? My guess is that it's going to be awhile until it fills up again, so you might as well burn and do what you can until the rains return. I burned about 7 acres worth of trees in what ended up being a 4 acre pond. A large portion of the ash was pushed out of the pond and behind my dam, but there was still tons of it left on the bottom when the water started filling it up. I just figured that over a very short period of time that the water would work it out and natured would do her thing. It worked in my case as I have two additional species of fish in there that I never released in there. Plus all the other animals that have made it home.

Eddie

 

[Western]

My grand father told me once that in the "old ays" they used to burn allot of trees in ponds so the ash would help seal the pond.

Don't know if this is a fact, but it sounds possible.

 

[weldingisfun]

Confused about the pond/tank statement, so I am posting just in case.

If it is a galvanized steel tank, I would not burn in it. Burning on galvanized steel will release poison, the smoke will make you sick, and the ashes probably wont do livestock any good.

A tank and a pond are the same thing in Texas. It is a hole in the ground or a dam across a draw to capture and collect rainwater runoff. Usually for the purpose of watering livestock or raising, yum yum, catfish.
Hope that helps.

 

[CurlyDave]

The ash is going to be caustic.

Back in the old days, they used to make soap from ashes and tallow.

I have no idea how caustic, but I would burn them somewhere else.

 

[jinman]

The ash is going to be caustic.

Back in the old days, they used to make soap from ashes and tallow.

I have no idea how caustic, but I would burn them somewhere else.

Doesn't ash have to be converted to KOH (caustic potash) before it is used in soap? Ash is only partially potassium and is used as a fertilizer (sans nitrogen). I'm not sure, I'm just asking Dave. I know you are an expert.