I have gotten my hands on some alum from a nursery and am ready to put it in the pond. How do I introduce it? Is it just scattered on the surface or do I mix it with water first? Also, if it needs to be pre-mixed with water is there a certain ratio of alum to water to mix? This is a new pond and there is no fish in it yet and it is creek fed entirely by rainfall runoff. By that I mean the creek or branch is dry a good bit of the year and only flows for several days after a rain. The water coming into the pond is much cleaner than the pond is. I can go upstream and the water is crystal clear. Once it reaches the pond it is murky. I have attempted to get rye grass established on the dam but I'm guessing the murkiness is coming from dirt on the dam slopes where the grass is scarce.
Any help would be appreciated
Kirk, read through this thread.
http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=124005#Post124005There has been some debate whether it has to be mixed or not, but results from a pre-mix are MUCH better. Pour the slurry into a prop wash or use a sprayer to apply it. Consider the pond's depth when applying (ie more slurry in deeper areas) to maintain even concentration.
good advice rainman,as usual.
Dry Alum doesn't seem to dissolve very easily. I'd have to stir it quite a bit to get it dissolved in a barrel. I couldn't imagine it would dissolve on its own while sinking towards the bottom of a pond.
I just went out and bought a large gas power sprayer which came with a 20' sprayer hose. When I hit it again next spring I'm planning on buying more hose (100' ft.) so I can use it on the boat while the main unit stays on land.
Neo, the granular is MUCH more difficult to get dissolved than the powder. If you are mixing one 50lb bag in in one 55gal barrel you are reaching the maximum concentration. Since you are surely not using pure water, it may not even handle that muc alum.