Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Clearing My Pond

My new pond is full to the top, but muddy as all get out. I have tried for weeks to locate some gypsum or alum. I think I finally found some Alum without driving over 100 miles.

I found a soil ammemdment called "Aluminum Acid Sulfate" at my local nursery. It's used to lower the Ph of soil for acid-loving plants, such as rhododendrons and blueberries.

There's nothing on the bag that gives a true analysis. It only states "14% sulfur".

I think it's just plain old alum, with the "acid" description added to let you know it acidifies the soil. But,,, I wanted to run it by you guys:

Does aluminum acid sulfate=aluminum sulfate? If so, I'll grab a few sacks of it. It should be excellent to get me a big Valentine's Day pucker.

This from SARC may help.

In general, the effectiveness of
coagulants increases with the
charge on the metal ion. The sodium
(Na+) in sodium chloride
(NaCl) is not a very effective coagulant.
The calcium (Ca2+) in gypsum
(CaSO4) is more effective
because it carries a +2 charge.
The aluminum (Al3+) in alum and
the ferric-iron (Fe3+) in ferric sulfate
are more effective yet because they carry a +3 charge. Some
companies now manufacture various
synthetic “polyelectrolytes,”
which are large, long-chained
molecules with even more charge
than the metal salt coagulants listed
here.
One of the most effective coagulants
is alum, or aluminum sulfate,
which has been used to clarify
muddy waters since the time of
the early Egyptians (2000 B.C.).


http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/168248-460f...231b6b0296f6b67

Thanks Ewest. Although I wasn't sure it was pure alum, I became impatient and bought 100# of the stuff. It looks and tastes like plain old alum to me. I put a pinch in a bottle of my pond water, and it took 1 hour for the top 80% to settle out and become crystal clear. A pinch of sheetrock powder did the same thing to another sample bottle, but it took 12 hours.

EDIT: Looked up the MSDS sheet on the brand name (Hy-Yield), and it's 100% Al2(SO4)3.

Bobab,

Sounds like the right stuff. The only think I would say is how much did you pay for it? I found bags of aluminum sulfate at a local chemical supply company for much less than anywhere else. I think 50 lb. bags were about $11.00. Water treatment plants use a lot of it too. You could ask a local one where they get it from.

Are you familar with the publicatons that shows you how much to use based on a jar test? If not I can provide a link.

Hey Cecil,

I know I'm paying way too much... about $1 per pound for it. But it beats the heck out of driving 110 miles!

ewest's link had a bucket test. I think I'll just hit it with 40 pounds, then add 3-4 pounds at a time until it clears up a little bit. I don't really care to get it gin clear right away. I am hoping that fertilizing it this spring will finish the clearing job.

Bobad do you think you will need to lime as a result. Sometimes lime alone will clear a pond. As you noted that link also has a chart for determining the amount needed for clearing a pond.

I hear ya. I've already limed it some, but can't afford to wait for the lime to clear it indirectly. I'm in a hurry to get it partially cleared so I can stock BG and RES soon with low mortality. In addition to the lime and alum, I've added some gypsum. I'm going to order a PH meter and keep tabs on it just in case the Ph tries to creep downward.

bobad,

Are you worried about alge? I dumped a bunch of sheetrock scraps in my small pond and within a few days it cleared it right up. Then a week later it turned green. The green got so bad that it was growing on top of itself!!!!

I had to wait until winter to kill it off and the water to turn brown again from the run off.

Will your water stay clear from treating it? or will it turn brown again when it rains?

My little pond had been full for about three years without clearing up, so I never stocked it. I just assumed I needed clearer water for the fish to survive. Then Meadowlark was in the neighborhood and took a look at it and said the fish would do fine in it. I stocked it the next day and they are growing like crazy!!!!

Eddie

Eddie
I read that previous post and was curius,what you consdered a ..bunch.. of scrap?Please estimate in full sheets please.Also how big is your pond approx
thanks Tom

Hey Eddie,

Heh... I'm already seeing algae. Not the filamentous yet, but the blue-green. I'm sure I will soon be trying to balance fertility and algae eating critters to help out.

I bet I know what happened to your pond.

When it cleared up, it suddenly allowed a lo9t of light to penetrate and made the algae explode. If your water is pretty fertile, and high in phosphate, it can make the algae grow like crazy.

If I had a local source of scrap sheetrock, I would have used it instead of buying alum and gypsum. No use throwing money into the water when you can get free stuff.

Tom,

The pond is about 3/4 of an acre. It was down about two feet with an average depth of 3 feet at the time with two areas that are three feet deeper. I have no clue as to how many gallons we're talking about.

The scraps were from my home when I built it. I filled up the one yard bucket on my tractor three times and had the kids help me through them out all over the pond. Then I did about five or six loads with the wheelbarrow that also got thrown out all over the pond. Then there was all the smaller scraps that I just tossed in there when I had the urge.

I really don't have a clue to how much that would equal in sheets. Before I did this, I had figured I needed a ton of gypsum to clean it up if I bought it in bulk as a powder. That never happened.

Bob,

You're right. It was very warm out and the water level was way down from the drought. I don't know what the water tempature was, but it was too warm to go swimming in. It was probably ideal conditions for alge.

Eddie

Thanks Eddie,that gives me a pretty fair idea.Ive got a man from one of the local water plants coming out to look at mine and was curious about what you did.I dont think Ill use anywhere near that much.When John and I talked he was against using chemicals as opposed to natural suolutions.I liked that attitude.Some gov't employees do have a little commom sense after all.(No pun intended,I know a lot of you have had great sucess in your area but I havent so far.
Thanks again...Tom G