I have a 1/2 acre farm pond that has not been dredged in 25 years. Currently 7' at the center. We were told it used to be 12' deep 20 some years ago.

There is a ton of muck at the bottom of this pond. We are going to add aeration and beneficial bacteria.

Wondering how much it is reasonable to expect the pond to deepen by just aerating and muck removal bacteria over a couple of years, vs. mechanically dredging it?

You just missed a thread that talked about this a day or two back. Here is a link to it.


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=378809#Post378809

Hey Canoetrpr,

How much is reasonable to expect? I would say only 3 inches or so a year. I did not take exact reading which I wish I would have now but in the last 3 years I know I have lost at least 3 inches each year maybe a little more... It's not a quick fix!!

Now if you were to dredge that's a quick fix!! Although a lot more work and you have to do something with the muck once you dredge it as well.

Here is another story I will tell you. Just this last spring my dad and I went out in the boat about 50 feet off shore to pound in a 10 foot pipe so I could then put 3 cedar trees over the pipe tied together and make a small brush pile. Well we had a heck of a time trying to get this pipe to go down into the ground! I couldn't find a soft spot we would get like 3 inches then then rock!

Now I never checked this spot for muck depth but I did at a spot about the same length off shore nearby and I was pushing down at least 10 inches. I know muck depth can vary in the pond but I couldn't believe how little I had in this area where I was putting in this pipe! We finally got it in but it took a while!

Here is my OP on all of this.

1. If you have a great air setup you can reduce your muck just by running the air as there is already good bacteria in your pond and the air will get that bateria back up and going again the way it should and start to break up your mucky bottom!

2. If you add the right product in combo with your air you really get this thing jump started and it starts to work even faster getting rid of your muck. That's just my OP! I have not absoulte study on it!

3. I know this may sound crazy but I even know some guys that will go around in their pond and drag a small anchor or brick behind their boat "if you can" while trolling. This process helps break up the bottom some to get things working better yet. Course if you have a large pond this isn't really practical. Mine is only 1 acre so it's not that hard and I have never had an issue with pond not clearing back up when I do it as my pond settles pretty quick. I can also tell you this. When I pull my anchor up from fishing I don't have near the amount of mud on it when I first started fishing in my pond and it's not stuck to the bottom when I try to pull it up!

Hey Good Luck no matter which way you go and remember this is just one mans OP!

RC