Help please!!!!

[wade johnson]

As you know, Texas has suffered from a serious drouth the last two years and my one acre pond was down about five feet. Fortunately, we got over three inches of rain a couple of weeks ago and now the pond is up a couple of feet but very muddy from the runoff. I have waited, hoping it would clear on its own. It has affected the BG feeding......they have quit feeding on surface pellets. Would appreciate your advice on how long it might take the pond to clear, (it's been two weeks) and if I should be doing anything like adding gypsum. The water is normally quite clear. Thanks.

[cal okeefe]

i see this all the time where i fish.. after big rains it can take quite a while.. it will be fine just wait it out..

[Tony Livingston]

This kind of thing can get real complicated, real fast. I'm far from knowledgeable in this area, knowing just enough to get myself into trouble. First off, is there any chance of fish causing the turbidity? Species such as carp, goldfish/koi, bullheads, etc. will tend to muddy the water considerably, and no treatment short of removing these species will keep the water clear for very long.

Also, are you sure that it's mud, (or clay particles actually), and not some type of planktonic or algae bloom causing the discoloration?

Since you feel that the rains have washed in a great deal of clay, and you're probably right, we'll assume that neither fish, or a bloom, are the culprits. Normally folks in your predicament are advised to do a jar test, as in taking a glass container of a known volume, filling it with pond water, sealing it and letting it set for a week to see if the clay will settle out. if it does, then you need to be patient and wait your pond out...it will clear itself.

If it doesn't settle, then chemical treatment MAY be in order. Gypsum will work, but alum (aluminum sulphate), is the chemical of choice, and it works quick when applied as a slurry in the recommended dosages. It will do no good to just scatter, or pour it into the pond. It should be mixed with pond water first and applied as a liquid. BE AWARE!!!  adding alum will lower the ph levels in the pond! Hydrated lime is usually added along with the alum to maintain ph levels.

Be aware also, that if it is clay washing into the pond due to its low water level, then the next rain you get will muddy it right back up, at least until the water level reaches normal pool level.  You do have grass planted to control runoff, right?

Check in over at Pondboss.com  You will find all of your answers there, it will be well worth your time to pay them a visit.

 

[Leo Nguyen]

This is were it gets pretty hairy. In my field of work, if you want to get something to settle quickly, you use flocculants. This material will make all fine sediment settle like rocks. However, adding fishes into the mix, it gets pretty dicey. If you can manage to isolate the fish to the remaining part of the pond using a isolated fine mesh, while using the part of the pond that don't have the fish, scatter the flocculant in the intended area. It will take between 3 to 24 hours to fully settle all fine particles. Suck up the bottom sediment using a low pressure pump to divert the flocculant and sediment to a separate area to remove the mud. This will help your pond, not only to remove the excess sediment, but also allowing oxygenation back into the pond since the mud actually destroy the valuable oxygen level. Quite a bit of work..