Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water How long does it last (treatment) ?

The second picture of the jars taken after the first looks very consistent on the turbidity level....I suspect colloidal clay, but time in the jars will tell for sure. Given your 10 year history of "always been muddy", only reinforces my belief the turbidity is from colloidal clay.

To answer your question on how long Alum treatments last, the solids removed in a proper treatment, is permanent, HOWEVER, if new colloidal clay enters the pond, it can, and eventually will cloud up again. Once Alum clears the water, an algal bloom should begin. This bloom is nature's filter for "average", new turbidity entering the pond...if the turbidity clouds and kills the algal bloom, the solids in the water clump to the dead algae and go to the bottom, clearing the water and allowing new blooms...

Turbidity is the "symptom" of Colloidal clay, Alum treats the symptom....The cause of the disease is erosion from your watershed...bare spots of clay, creeks with exposed clay sides in the watershed. If you have established grasses around the pond now and inflow area soils are stable, your pond should, and likely will clear in 3-7 days after a heavy rain.

Floc logs require water flow to work. The results, if done properly last no longer than any other treatment...the "floc logs" themself last longer, and dissolve slower, releasing a very highly positively charged ion (+13 to +18 depending on the most effective formula for your specific water chemistry {Alum plus H lime is a +4 ionic charge})