Hi Everybody!

About two years ago, my family moved into a house in a newer development. There is a one acre retention pond in our back yard. Originally, the pond was very small, maybe 1/10th acre. About 3 years ago it was dug out by the developer to accommodate drainage. Since we moved in, the pond has always been very cloudy/muddy. I would estimate 6-12” or so of visibility. The pond varies in depth about 10-14’ deep in the center (rectangular in shape). When it rains, the pond does get muddier yet from the drainage and runoff. It gets better after a few days, but there is always a constant cloud of mud and the same visibility. Also the aquatic weeds grow like wildfire by summertime.

Late last summer, we installed a Vertex aerator with two diffusers. We hope it will help clear the water and cut down on muck. We’d also like to stock bluegill eventually.

I’ve been reading your forum about aluminum sulfate in muddy water. I did a basic test yesterday with three 2-liter bottles (2 with pond water, and 1 with tap water). I added ~1.5 oz of alum slurry (mixed at 2oz/2liter). Within 3 hours, the bottle with slurry cleared completely and the clay particles accumulated on the bottom. The pure pond water stayed the same. When I get home today, I will check the alum-free bottle to see if it settled itself. If that is the case, then something is keeping the clay suspended.

Is it worth the money to spray the whole pond with alum slurry to settle the particles? I ask this because I understand I am only fixing the symptom. The pond probably has a clay bottom. More clay enters the pond when it rains. Is the aerator keeping the clay suspended? The pond has always been muddy even before we installed the aerator. Are bullhead churning things up? I have never caught a catfish there.

For the record, using basic test strips, I recorded ph of 8.0, hardness of 150, and alkalinity of 300. Oh, and I am in West Michigan.

Ph and alkalinity are excellent. If clay is entering the pond contact Applied Polymer Systems for assistance. They make an excellent product that you can suspend over your aid diffuser stations that will do an outstanding job for you until the new clay entering is remediated.

Alum will clear your pond quickly, but rain run-off will cloud it right back up.

And....Welcome to the forum!!!

Thanks for the tip Rainman. I assume a floc log will work slower but last longer than spraying alum? Any idea how long on average a Floc Log will last if suspended over an aerator? One log sells for $150 locally. Otherwise, I can get over 200lbs of alum for that price.

Update:

Applied Polymer says the Floc/Pond Log lasts 3-4 months and treat's 325-500k gallons of water. I estimate 2.6 million gallons in our pond. I did find a better rate of $125/log, but this method is still quite expensive.

If we leave the muddy water as is, what is the effect on the bluegill and bass? Last year, we did get a lot of weed growth underwater so I guess it's not THAT muddy; it's just ugly. Maybe we'll just put some dye in the pond to make it look a little nicer.

Our goal is recreational fishing and a somewhat "prettier" pond in the backyard.

I'm new at this posting thing so please don't think I'm stupid.
We built a 3 acre pond about 4 years ago. I used the Pond Boss tapes as a guide to build the pond. For the 1st year to year and half the pond was clear and beautiful. My partner wanted to put 100 catfish in the pond which has a clay bottom. The wind also has and open target on the pond. By the end of the 2nd year the pond is now just a mud hole and I can't hardly catch a fish out of it. It does not look good and I spend allot of money for nothing.

I use a windmill aireation system and have tried some treatments mentioned in Pond Boss with no sucessful results. I have even had the state biologist from KWPD come look at the pond and he has no idea how to clear it up.

I am at witts end here. I just want my pond to be clear and beautiful so that I can enjoy it like I did when it was first built. Please help!!!!

Welcome, lunker846! Glad you posted. We have a bunch of folks here with good knowledge of working to clear up muddy water, so hang tight for some feedback. There are a lot of different issues surrounding muddy water, so you'll have to consider a number of factors. It may take awhile, but I bet you'll be able to get back on top of the clarity issues.

Keep your head up - there's always a way to improve things!

Dunno what happened but 100 cats shouldn't mess up a pond. And, we all have clay bottoms. Only clay holds water.

Have you tried a jar test?

Yes I have tried the jar test and it settles out and clears up when you put it in a jar overnight.

Lunker...If your water clears overnight in a jar, the cause is some form of mechanical mixing...cattle, carp, bullhead catfish, wind/wave action, WAY too many Channel Catfish...etc

Another big possible cause ids your windmill...it is VERY possible that if a barrier support or stand-off was not used properly or has failed that your diffuser is simply eating a hole in the pond basin and pumping clay up from the bottom along with the water.

WOW thats allot of choices. So I need to check the difussers? What about the channel cat. How can you determine if they are causing it. I know my pond used to be clear but now it is a mud hole.

I do get allot of wind on the pond from the south most of the time.

Thanks

We are still trying to figure out what is causing my fathers pond to be muddy.

There are no fish in the pond.
There are no cattle out there.
May get some wind but seems to be hidden pretty well.
Water tested fine.

He wants to dig it out, but the old man that lives around there said the pond was always muddy. My dad feels it would be a waste if it can not be cleared up or made bigger.

I say we use it as a small forage pond, but he did not care for that. I hope we can figure something out.

Any ideas?

Ok here is another interesting point. I have a small pond behind the pond damm of my big pond. It is somewhat protected from the wind. I has no channel cat in it. Funny thing is it stays clear all the time. So go figure that one.

What has changed with the pond between the time that it was clear and the time that it's a mud hole? If more than one thing has taken place in the pond, then eliminate one variable at a time.

Well, lets see.... If you have done the jar test and the water clears in the jar, turn off the diffusers for the same amount of time that the water cleared in the jar and see if that does the trick.

Yes = problem solved. No = CC or wind.

Look at the other pond. If there is no aeration in that pond, but it has wind and no CC, then I'd look at the CC as a problem.

Now, the only fly in the ointment is that each BOW isn't going to be exactly alike. If you have had the water tested and the hardness, etc. is the same for both BOW's, then I'd go with the CC. Do both BOW's get the same surface water when it rains? Does turbid water run into one BOW and not the other?

What water test(s) did you do, and where was it done?

If it is wind/wave action, there will also be considerable erosion where the waves break... My first guess is the aeration diffuser...a second guess is that the 100 "Catfish" that were stocked where not Channel Catfish, but Bullhead Catfish instead.

100 catfish in 3.5 acres is not nearly enough to cause a turbidity issue...1000 might have a strong possibility of causing turbid water. Bullheads on the other hand root around and are always muddying the water.

Cattle will muddy the pond badly also.

WOW lots to think about here.
The pond that is now muddy had the difussers in 5 gallons buckets so it is not stirring up clay off the bottom. I will turn the diffusers off and see if that helps. The second pond I mentions does not have diffusers and stays clear and it does not get allot of wind on it as it is protected by the big ponds dam.

I did not stock bullhead but I know there are bullhead in the pond because I have caught them before. So should I kill all the fish out and start over?

Also the wind does hit the face of the pond dam very hard and causes errosion. Should I rip rap the face of the dam?

I'm just at a loss. I will take it one step at a time until I figure it out.

Similar problem here-pond water clarity seemed to be about right for first two years following construction, then became more cloudy/ muddy. Placed hay around shoreline the first year which seemd to clear up muddiness a good amount, however, the next year this seemed to have no effect. This year went with alum and had a great result, however was only 3-4 days effective. Clay banks were exposed so I have covered banks with turf and seeded for better plant growth around shoreline. Two days ago I was above the air diffuser in the deepest area of pond and was obvious that air diffuser was stirring up substantial clay. Have done the jar test overnight and water clears some but not entirely. I am wondering if elevating air diffuser off of bottom a couple of feet would make a difference. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated-you guys are a plethora of great info.

Air diffusers certainly keep the water column moving preventing the smallest particles from settling out. If the weather permits, turn off the diffusers for a week or two and see if clarity improves in that time. Then you will know for sure their contribution.

For my pond, after a good rain, I need a few days in a row with low or no winds for the clarity to come back. Not change at all while the wind keeps the water moving.

Also many here suspend their diffusers off the bottom a bit, putting them on something so they don't bring up sediment. Personally I would make a raft from a pallet and small concrete blocks so it will sink, and attach to that. Then you get a little habitat along with stand-offs from the bottom.

Put the diffusers in a plastic tub (off the bottom). Do a jar test to see what hapens and what settles out. May be stuff othr than dirt.