New member here and learning..I own a quarry in East Tennessee and had been closed for close to 50 years..I purchased it about 2 years ago..I wanted it to scuba dive in and living in the mountains we have few options for a quick get wet day..First time I was able to dive it the surface temp was close to 78..Summer of coarse..Vis pretty good down to 20 feet then your hit the thermocline..temp dropped to 43 and vis with a light was about 4 feet..Temp stayed same to bottom but vis went to 0 without lights at 70 feet..I researched aeration and put 2 defusers at 70 feet..It took a 3 hp continuous use oil less compressor to get the air 2 atmospheres deep..The quarry had never turned over...From the time I started the aerators you could feel the surface temp near their location drop..Freezing cold water on service..Within 7 days we had bottom temp up to 60 and thermocline breaking down..I had the oxygen level checked at the beginning and there was no oxygen bellow 20 feet...The fish in the quarry were living in that 20 foot area..Within 2 weeks we had fish visit us on the bottom..Within 45 days we had vis at bottom with no lights and same temp at bottom and top....Stayed close to 70 all summer..I may have time dates a little wrong but close..We now have most of the time between 15-40 ft vis depending on rain..Students are getting certified in it and local search and recovery are using it for training..I do not charge for the use..I have placed a full size school bus at 70 ft and a few boats..Also put in a Statue garden..The temp has dropped to 59 this winter so far...Now for my question..Sorry for to much background but thought it might apply..50 years of muck..Some places 5 feet deep..I have researched and cant find anyone with a solution..There may not be..Have not tried all the muck eaters but have tried some....What is the best on the market for results or any others ideas other then pumping it out..Oh yeah I did put a student platform at 20 ft to help keep them out of the muck..Would just like to clean it up and can take the time as long as I know I am going the right route....Thanks for any help in advance

You have taken the first big step in providing aeration. Now with an Oxygen supply to the bottom and the muck, bacterial action will begin to break down this long time accumulation. 'Muck Busters' may speed up the process but it may mean adding even more aeration as the bacteria contained in these products require a goodly amount of Oxygen.

+1 Instar! Introduction of 02 to the pond bottom where the organic muck resides allows for aerobic bacteria to exist, which is much more efficient at reducing the matter than anaerobic bacteria. I'd consider saving your money on the muck reducer stuff, keep the aeration going, and allow mother nature to slowly knock it back. Keep records, I'll bet you see a steady decline. Hope this helps.

Welcome to the forum. In my opinion, even with adding the best bacteria and having O2 for them to live you will only see a few inches of muck reduction per year. Search here for Diver Cody threads on how to build a suction dredge. Pump the muck to dewatering bags on shore, let the water flow out of them back into the quarry, the muck stays in the dewatering bags.

If you want the best bacteria that you can possibly get, I would call AquaFix https://teamaquafix.com/ and discuss your problem and how to get a custom blend of bacteria. That will require you sending them a sample of the muck at the very least.

There is different bacteria that works in different temperatures, so what might be recommended for summer isn't the same blend that you use in winter. Talk to them and ask how much muck reduction you could see per year, and balance that against the costs of dredging over the length of time (and cost) that it would take to see a reduction in the amount of muck in the bottom of the BOW by using bacteria.

Please let us know what you find out - that information will be useful to other pond owners here.

mechanical agitation will help a lot to improve oxygen entry into the layers of sediment. In shallow ponds anything mechanical will work (kids feet, boat props, jet ski impeller wash) but in deeper ponds it may be a challenge to get the mechanical means in place. Boats and jet skis are probably a no go.

you do have access by way of scuba so maybe you can take a roto-tiller down there

I imagine a trash pump with a long hose guided by a weighted scuba attendant might work but once you start stirring things up visibility is going to be about zero at the bottom.

Maybe a auger/post hole attachment on a 70 foot shaft to go up and down?

Too bad you couldn't rig up an oil well type apparatus with the big counterweight, and have the business end include a section of galvanized pipe with a big heavy dumbell shaped weight on the bottom. A small electric motor could start moving the oil rig up and down so that it could plunge the heavy weight and disk shaped end down into the sediment and then using the counterweight lift up and down. Of course that would ideally be boat mounted and not shore mounted.

Your depth and quarry size are the hurdles here...

It is so encouraging to hear how much you improved conditions for fish and scuba enthusiasts alike! Too many people I talk to feel that all you need to do is put a pretty fountain on top and call it good for aeration

Wow that has to be one of the coolest projects/ponds on PondBoss.

If you get a chance please post a few pictures.

I've started diving a quarry in South Central TN that sounds just like yours. 22' thermocline (78 degrees above and 58 degrees below). 45 degrees at 50' and a zero-vis bottom layer from 50'-80'.

What brand pumps did you use? Also, what's the name of your quarry - might want to come and dive it sometime.