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Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1
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OP
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1 |
Hi all, new member and first post. I have a small farm pond in central Florida, now (with dry weather) only about 1/3 acre. It had a very healthy population of bluegill and a few nice bass, but was getting filled with weeds. We decided that it should be dug out deeper, so brought in a guy with a track hoe and he dug it out to about 4-5 feet all over. Big problem! He hit an area of clay and the water turned very muddy with suspended clay particles. The fish began to die off; not sure how many we have left except for mosquito fish.
We took a couple of sample jars. Added Epsom salts to one jar and the water began to clear, with the clay particles dropping to the bottom. The other jar shows no sign of settling.
I've been reading about alum, gypsum, and even hay as a remedy, but at this point don't know which way to go. I haven't tested it but am guessing the water is fairly hard. Looking for suggestions. Can you help a newbie out? Thanks in advance.
James
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298
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Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,864 Likes: 298 |
James, I had similar problems with my pond the first few months after it filled. Lots of exposed clay!
In my case it eventually cleared on its own. But I did test alum in a jar, and it cleared the suspended clay beautifully. You might run that test to see if it would work.
PS Be very careful about using salt. Many suppliers add a tiny bit of arsenic to prevent caking, such a tiny amount they don't even list it as an ingredient. Harmless to humans, but has been known to kill fish.
Last edited by anthropic; 04/17/17 11:59 PM.
7ac 2015 CNBG RES FHM 2016 TP FLMB 2017 NLMB GSH L 2018 TP & 70 HSB PK 2019 TP RBT 2020 TFS TP 25 HSB 250 F1,L,RBT -206 2021 TFS TP GSH L,-312 2022 GSH TP CR TFS RBT -234, 2023 BG TP TFS NLMB, -160
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,381 Likes: 46
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,381 Likes: 46 |
I had a long reach come and dig out half of my shoreline around the pond as far as he could reach. This turned the whole pond into chocolate milk. Took it one month to clear up. IMO, I would give it some time before I started spending money.
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