Hi there...
I've been on this forum on and off over the last couple of years and have learned much. We have a pond that is a little more than 1 1/2 acre feet. We use the pond for fishing and swimming.

We have added aeration and have used alum and lime to clear the pond. (150 lbs Alum, 75 lbs. lime) We did this for the first time two summers ago and the pond was beautiful for a while, eventually becoming murky again. We cleared it the following summer, this time with aeration added hoping it would stay clear longer, but again it muddied fairly quickly. (Lost electricity to the pump so aeration quick working, now fixed.)

My questions are these:
1. Is it ok to continue to apply the alum/ lime as needed to keep the pond nice?
2. If kids are swimming in it is there no hope for it to stay clear?
3. Does anyone just treat the pond from time to time with alum and lime to maintain a clear pond? Like you would a swimming pool?

Wanting to make a decent place for the kids to swim, but got some pretty good fish in there as well that I don't want to mess with.

Thank you so much for any available answers.
Kelly

Kelly,

I'm not sure you can ever have a pond with swimming pool quality water.

My experience is that ponds will clear and stabilize of clay sediment to a natural level after about two to three years after filling. My ponds change colors and characteristics many times each season. They were bottled-water clear a few weeks ago as the ice melted. Right now, they are a beautiful light green, with about 18 inches of visibility. I know they will change to a root beer color in a few weeks. Then they will get muddy during catfish mating season. After that, it is different nearly every year.

We still swim in the ponds. The grandkids and their friends love it. I love it too. We have ladders off the end of our docks, because the shorelines and bottoms are clay and fine clay products. We have a four passenger paddle boat, and I've installed a "waterski" ladder where an electric motor would normally mount on the back of the paddle boat.

It all makes for great swimming fun. It will just never be swimming pool quality. Keep the swimmers away from shore, and in water that is deep enough to where they won't be significantly disturbing the bottom sediment.

Regards,
Ken