Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Septic treatment tablets (aerobic) as muck away?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PRO-CHLOR-TABS-10-lbs-Aerobic-Septic-Tablets-47010/205050999

10 lbs of tablets.
I can't see the $700 price of the real Muck away TL.

Same stuff?

This summer has been my first one with aeration.
This coming spring I want to add enzymes.
I've got at least 12" of black stinky muck to deal with.

Doesn't pro-chlor contain chlorine? Not the same as pool chlorine, but chlorine just the same. Its intended to actually kill bacteria. Dont you need bacteria to dissolve detritus?

I tend to agree with MikeW. Chlorine products are designed to kill bacteria. It does not make sense to me to kill the decomposing bacteria.
The MSDS for Pro-chlor says it has 65% available chlorine
35% inert ingredients
https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/16/16c7b690-bc68-432f-ae0e-0c3d37259aee.pdf

Crap! That was a no brainer.
I should have read the product name out loud! Chlor-tabs!

Ok, so now that I look like a dummy, the question remains- can septic tank bacteria tablets be used in a pond?
Most of them claim to create aerobic bacteria that digests septic tank contents.
That sounds very similar to the big $ muck away tablets.

14 pounds of bacteria for $48 delivered, to treat 500,000 gallons. I expect four to five treatments, one per month, for my 120,000 gal pond. I haven't used it yet, just finished my Muck Away and Pond Clear stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/Aeration-Central-...T2104ANH4E8XS7E

My first delivery notice said it would arrive mid-September...it actually arrived in three days...?
It is supposedly useful for water at 60 degrees or warmer...I should get a couple or three months use before my BOW falls below 60.

I'll be eager to hear your results after using it. I'll be looking to start adding something to my pond next spring, which will have my pond at 2.5 y/o. I want to start treating before it has a chance to get too thick. I should be able to get almost 4 months out of one shipment.

Is this applied directly or do you have to dissolve it first? I would think with a good aeration turnover, you should be able to just throw it out. Reviews looked good, but you never know how much faith you can put in those.

Please don't take me as a NAY-sayer, but has anyone ever seen any proof anywhere near scientific that adding bacteria to a septic tank or pond makes a noticeable difference? I've been told that the bacteria is already there, whether it is in the "stuff" being sent to a septic system or in the muck of the pond. On that note, a little packet of septic bacteria is cheap-cheap and makes good insurance, but a pond is just a bit bigger.

BOW just 16 months old. I had tons of leaves and acorns from the fall and winter plus other detritus and fish poop. Started aeration this year in April with simultaneous bacteria. Pond bottom is mostly all clear...just the aeration?

They say it can be thrown directly; but one questioner expressed concern it looks like fish food...to which they replied by recommending the mix. Ha ha!

Instructions are complete! A full page of what to do and explaining why pre-mixing and sitting a few minutes is better: seems that in close proximity in a five gallon bucket, the bacteria go into a sexual fit! Ha ha!


They sell a small koi pond package that offers a money back guarantee if your pond isn't clear water in a week.

I'm with QA on this. Pond and septic water is very biologically active. Not only are there thousands of strains of bacteria but if there is an environmental change it only takes a few days for the best bacteria for that situation to make billions of siblings.

I am skeptical that an externally sourced bacteria would be more competitive than the stuff evolving in there already.

I think it's like a shock treatment to speed up sludge digestion, both bottom and suspended. Of course, aeration is required to create a good current and get oxygen to the bottom.

After having installed aeration 2 weeks ago, I might be interested in trying something to "speed up the process" of clearing my pond. While visibility isn't horrible (16-20"), it's definitely a lot more cloudy than prior to the install. Any of you seasoned aerators have a clue on how long it typically takes for a pond to clear up? Ours is just over 2 y/o so I wouldn't think the detritus would be too heavy yet, but it certainly gets stirred up when the pump comes on.