Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - SoilFloc Polymer Sealant

Hello all:

Sorry been a while - as promised I've been dedicated to increasing my knowledge of the products working closely with manufacturer, applying the product on test projects, and working with the Pond Boss himself in order to arrive at this point. What point is that? Here's an update:

I have a attained a working knowledge of the product through a few successful application experiments in addition to working with the polymer manufacturer to a point I feel comfortable addressing questions and providing some direction for those who need help.

I have successfully negotiated a Pond Boss member discount for orders I place to the company in return for serving as a primary contact point to educate and direct any inquiries. However, anyone is free to seek information from me and order directly from the company - my help is not conditional in any manner. I am here to try and provide direction, education from my experiences as a pond owner and fisheries management professional, and hopefully a solution for pond seepage issues.

As this product serves as direct competition for a Pond Boss resource guide advertiser, out of respect for Bob and Mike and their paid advertisers, I needed to ensure I was complying with appropriate rules of engagement prior to promoting the product. I will now be listed in the Pond Boss resource guide as an advertiser, so that challenge has been addressed and resolved. I appreciate your collective patience - I wanted to ensure I did this the right way, regardless of the outcome or length of process.

I welcome a PM anytime if you need information or advice - I am here to help and look forward to working with you.

TJ

The linear polymer is a flocculant and binds with suspended clay particles and drops to pond basin and, depending on the treatment area/application amount, can have a major impact on clarity. On one of my micro ponds [.2 AC] my visibility went from 18" to 9' overnight following polymer treatment. I have some PB family who order the linear polymer [floc] to clear their ponds annually as for them it's more readily available [quick email to me], cheaper, and easier/safer to apply than alum which always requires a hydrated lime treatment to buffer the PH drop. Hydrated lime isn't much fun it's highly caustic - ask Rex Rains for some photos of his arms almost burned to the bone! Good times. I wouldn't recommend alum/lime treatments unless using an experienced pro, like I did, with Rex.

Steve - your new pond will be turbid for a while, so I'd focus my efforts and budget on straw mats and getting seed down and keeping it as moist between rains ASAP. Contact your local pros for recommendations on the quickest seed to germinate for the specific season and region you'll plant and include some warm and cool season grasses as well to germinate later. For us in NE Russian Wheat, Annual Rye, and Oats pop fast but in the Fall I like fescue blends and always include some warm season natives like Big/Litte Bluestem, Indiangrass, Switchgrass, etc. to germinate later. I love sedges, rushes and arrowhead as emergent and shoreline vegetation as it spreads fast and really helps stabilize shorelines from wave action.

When your pond is completed perform jar test to determine you don't have an ionic imbalance. We don't see those too often around the forum, and I suspect you'll be OK without having to consider managing turbidity outside of getting your watershed established ASAP. I'm always here to chat about watershed management as I've done it dozens of times now and figured out every way to screw it up - email me anytime buddy happy to help my PB family.

tj@hudlandmgmt.com

I am in contact now with teehjaeh57 now. I will probably order some from him and apply as he recommends. I would be happy if i could just slow the leak down. I will keep you all posted with updates.
Thanks for all the help.

Below is the application formula derived following lots of projects over the past 5 years and what several pond management companies [and the manufacturer] recommend - so I borrowed their insight to help formulate the recommendations. The application formula is dependent on the accuracy of data input - daily vertical water loss and treatment area [sq ft]. Nothing I can do from Lincoln to verify that information is accurate, but I've treated all 7 of my ponds and used this same formula. On 3 ponds I had to retreat 2x in the same area because application was too light - so I don't believe [at least in those cases] the formula is an issue.

What I have learned is every pond is different - probably details far beyond our ability to measure which impacts the efficacy of the polymer - but results absolutely vary. I'm pretty transparent that in 5 cases so far the polymer treatment did absolutely NOTHING to improve the leak rate. Pond owner may have missed applying to the leaking area, might have under applied, might have applied it incorrectly - those cases continue to baffle me but I'm working on one right now and it's frustrating for everyone. Bottom line, like in pond management, nothing is certain and pond leaks behave differently - we make our best hypothesis based on the information available and hope for the best. It's not an exact science, and I'm not a scientist, I just try to help however I can as a Pond Boss volunteer.

Bear in mind the manufacturer suggested Joe treat the entire pond and his estimate was 5x higher than the project cost following our several phone calls. All I provide is the formula, the pond owner makes the decision on number of units. I'm grateful for the opportunity to make a new friend and help Joe - hopefully he sees some leak rate improvement [sounds good so far] and I'm sure he's relived saving thousands on the project from the original estimate. I'm not aware of "several" people with polymer surplus on the forum - no one has notified me directly of this. Considering the polymer saves $5-$20k in re-engineering a clay liner I always figured it was better to be safe than sorry by cutting corners, as again, I have under applied on my own projects on the farm.

Up to .25” daily vertical water loss: 1 unit treats 4,000 sq ft
.25” - .50” daily vertical water loss: 1 unit treats 3,500 sq ft
.50” - .75” daily vertical water loss: 1 unit treats 3,000 sq ft
.75” – 1” daily vertical water loss: 1 unit treats 2,500 sq ft

Thanks to all forum members who take a moment and express gratitude for my humble efforts to assist in your leak [or other pond management] issues. I'm likewise grateful to meet you, learn about your ponds and goals, and hopefully seek an effective solution together. Over the past 6 years, roughly half the time we've decided to spend nothing and mitigate issues with a little creativity, donated labor and materials, or other outside the box solutions. Yet I always appreciate when you decide to go the polymer route you don't forget about the Pond Boss volunteer [and paid advertiser] and give me a call. I enjoy extending discounts to the Pond Boss family to save you a bit on the project, it's a win-win.

Steve, I've probably read every post on Soilfloc i can find. I could be wrong but I think it will help settle what is already in the pond at the time of treatment and maybe even help hold it down some until it gets disturbed. I don't think it will do anything for new stuff coming in after treatment.

It's the same two part polymer produced in the same factory but cuts out marketing costs, middle men/resellers/brokers, and freight is significantly cheaper as it's not shipped from the West Coast. The product and freight cost savings is passed directly to my PB family - every little bit helps!

The polymers work very well.

BTL (Bend Tarp Liner) makes lightweight liners that are guaranteed for 10 to (I believe) 25 years UV rating. They last a LOT longer than that if you cover them with soil. They also don't require a goetextile fabric underlayment. The thinnest one is very lightweight, I had them spec out one for a 1.25 acre pond and it weighed around 4,000 pounds - all one piece.