Applied 300 lbs. of aluminum sulfate today to my .62 acre pond. I put one 50 lb. bag each in six 30 gallon garbage can and filled each to the top with pond water with five gallon buckets dipping off the pier. The garbage cans were spaced at equadistances around the pond and I brodcasted the water/alum mixture with a one gallon plastic picture out as far as I could. What a job!

Couldn't reach the middle of the pond other than off the pier so I filled five gallon buckets and dumped about 20 gallons of the mixture into the boils of each diffuser. What a job. My back is sore already. Hope to see the clay particles settle by tomorrow!

It's times like these when I wish the pond was smaller. Another time is when I am snowblowing snow off the ice!

Let me know how this works. I have the same size pond with the same problem but in Wisconsin.

Brian

Brian,

Approximately 12 hours later the water appears to still have the same lack of clarity but the seechi dish says it's improved about 3 inches. Hopefully it will continue to improve as I am hoping for a more significant improvement. I can't help thinking that what I thought was primarily suspended clay particles may have been at least partially a brown/green algae. I guess I will find out.

Please keep me informed as to how it works. I need to do something with my pond.

I am new to this forum stuff. I too have a pond about 1 acre with lots of murkiness. I live in Central IN and have mostly clay. I have read some of the ideas and wondered about the straw idea? I have some loose straw but I think it is wheat straw. I assume it just helps on the settling factor around pond edges. I aSomewone said Barley straw helps?? If anyone has tried this let me know. I also have a vast majority of my population is catfish - which probaably also contributes.

Define catfish. My problem is bullheads. We have caught over 250 in 2/3 of an acre so far.

Update:

Clarity is up to 22 inches and water is taking on a definite green color due to an increased algae bloom. I'm assuming as the clay settles the algae is taking over which is not a bad thing. I have several times the carrying capacity for a pond this size due to feeding so nutrients are probably prolific.

Brian, if bullheads are your problem the aluminum sulfate treatment may only be a temporary fix. You need to get those bullheads out somehow first.

As far as using straw I have sources that say if you go this route it should be hay -- not straw. I am skeptical of much success with even hay as I have an aquaculture book that does not have much faith in it either. You also run the risk of D.O. problems with the hay as it decomposes.

VC, Cecil told you correct. Hay is sometimes used with success for clearing murkey water. Barley straw is used for algea control.

Those little bullheads are a real pain, but they are good eating. Not much meat per fish, but with as many fish as you have, get out the fillet knife.Anything that is too small to eat, throw them in the ditch. It takes a little time, but you can control them until the bass get big enough to eat the small cats. Invite the neighborhood kids over for a "tournament" give a prize for the most cats caught! Don't let them know that you are actually working them!!

That's funny because I was just talking about having a fishing contest and offering $50 for the most bullheads and another $50 for the most total weight. I think this would hurt my yellow perch population but they should bounce back. This could actually be a relatively cheap solution. For now I am doing the the fishing myself and using fish traps. It's hard to find people willing to give up their time in the beginning of summer in Wisconsin.

Cecil - I think we have most of the bullheads thinned as the fishing is slowing way down and we are catching mostly perch (yellow). I am going to catch as many as I can and have received a quote on clearing the 2/3 acre pond for $350. $150 for the chemicals and $200 for labor. They use a large pump to spray the pond evenly. I think the $200 for them to travel to the pond and do it is reasonable. What do you think? My biggest concern is another Bullhead spawn and the predators not being able to eat them all do to the cloudy water.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Did the alum treatment lower your alkalinity
count significantly ? I too have a murky pond
with catfish (channel), but have never noticed
a bullhead - would they also respond to surface
feeding ?

Update:

Pond has a definite greenish hue and no longer looks silty. I have not had a sunny day to check the seechi dish reading but would almost bet it's about 17 inches.

I've removed about 30 bass now from 2 to 4 lbs by hook and line in the last 3 weeks that I sell to taxidermy schools and taxidermists. Still lots of bass. I will be liberating 300 bass from the cages as soon as they reach 10 to 12 inches. (I feed my bass).

Cecil how much did it cost you to treat the pond. Mine is the same size. I am not worried about how much work it is. I think I have the bullheads under control and I am trying to decide if I should have this applied, do it myself, or try baraclear.

Brain,

It was $11.00 per bag if I remember right. And it required six 50 lb. bags. Believe it or not in the last month or so the pond has really started to clear up and presently I can see my seechi dish 7 3/4 feet down. I don't believe this has anything to do with the aluminum sulfate as that treatment was done months ago.

Several changes that may have something to do with a marked increase in clearity:

1.) ALL of the trout pond which is fed by well water now flows into the warmwater pond due to a new 6 inch overflow vs. only a 4 inch that was partially clogged in the past. In the past some of the trout pond overflow bypassed the pond due to the 4 inch pipe not being able to handle it all.

2.) The edges of the pond are heavily overgrown with grasses and emergent vegetation and I did add rip rap to about 50 % of the pond especially on the windward side of the pond that has taken the worst beating in high winds. The emergent grasses are so thick you can't even see the riprap.

3.) Fish biomass has decreased considerably as I have harvested about 100 bass in the last year with an average weight of about 2 1/2 pounds. (Less fish biomass less feed and waste products which results in less fertilizer for an algae bloom.)

4.) I have been heavily aerating the pond with 4 diffusers (two are used to cause water movement in 4 fish cages) and it's possible that bacteria has finally outpaced the phytoplankton. However submergent vegatation has increases substantially so it may be be uptaking nutrients the phytoplankton needs. All of the above is the most likely reason.

Good luck. Remember the aluminum sulfate is much cheaper through a local chemical supplier and you won't have to pay shipping!

Where did you get the alum, Cecil? Did you have to pay for shipping?