I had someone ask me if I had heard of some people using white lime as opposed to betonite. They had someone tell them it was cheaper and worked just as well? Has anyone heard something like this?
The pond owner is in the hill country of Texas.
Trying to give him some feedback.
Thanks for your insight!

No Response? Any Thoughts............

Okie,

Heck, I'll respond...maybe help get a discussion going.

I assume you are talking about using "white lime" to repair pond leaks?

Someone quoted a source many months ago that said ag. lime would also fix pond leaks. I can say ag. lime, at least in the composition we get it for pasture treatments, would not be a choice I would make for pond leak repairs. It wouldn't stop any kind of leak.

White lime may be a different matter, especially if it were to contain large amounts of clay. Can you tell us more about the composition of white lime and if it does contain clay particles?

Any of y'all got a definition of white lime for us Yankees?

Can't be hydrated lime, never makes it to the bottom of the pond

Come to think of it Theo, I haven't ever seen any lime other than white...but I have lead a sheltered life.

In my experience hydrated lime is white, ag lime is gray, and key lime is light green - and my favorite of the three.

Hey okie, I know nothing of white lime, but do know a little about clays. And I hope you dont mind my opinion. If a local clay is available, I would consider that the best choice. I understand there are pretty good bentonite deposits in TX, I am not so lucky in CA. All ponds leak, its just a question of how fast. Has to do with the hydraulic pressure as related to the permeability and porosity of materials used to seal water in. There are a lot of clay types and all have swelling properties, bentonite being the greatest sweller of all. I used a kaolinite clay locally available here in NorCal, Not a great sweller, but we dozed it in w/ native clay loam soil from property and it has worked awesome. IMHO, if your feller is in TX, tell him to save his money, and get the bentonite. Can be applied in bulk, powder, or pellet, we use it to plug boreholes on drilling jobs. He might also look to see if there's a cheaper type clay being mined in his area (i.e. a kaolinite or montmorillanite for ex.)

I havent seen anybody comment on how the white lime could affect the pH? Could be issues there as well?

I dont think anyone knows what white lime is. Okie, I wonder if the person could ask his/her source what is this white lime they are referring to.

Are you sure they weren't talking about soada ash? It's typically used on certain types of clays to help disperse clumps which form naturally in the soil, making them form a better seal. This has to be done during construction, when the ash is disked into the soil. Just a thought.

Apparently 'white lime' or 'hydrated lime'is hydrated soda ash. Anyone concurr?

Thanks for the feedback. Honestly it is a friend of mine who has just bought a piece of land in the hill country and is planning a new pond.
I had not heard of white lime either but figured it was probably just another thing I need to get educated about. I will try and get more specific details and let you know.
He has checked into the betonite and knows it is not too cheap, of course if it works the first time, the price if right.
Thanks for the response!