Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions SoilFloc Polymer Sealant

Hi Steve

Damit, ESS 13, DB 100 are linear polymers - one part treatment. Linear polymers act as flocculants just like Alum or Gypsum - polymer is cationic (positive charged ion) which attracts anionic (negative charged ion) clay and organic particles, bind, and sink them to pond bottom. This action often results in improving clarity depending on the application amount.

I've worked with one part polymers multiple times over the past 7-8 years and have had partial success - but nothing compared to using two part polymers. Several reasons I won't ever use one part, linear polymers again are:

They require denser application - resulting in much higher treatment cost
Product is more expensive by volume - again, resulting in much higher treatment cost
ESS 13 shades water grey for 4-6 weeks, photosynthesis ceases, often resulting in DO crash and fishery fill event
Linear polymers alone do not address leak issues like sand, gravel, shale, rock, etc. - they merely act as a soil conditioner which often has zero affect on leak rate
My personal experience using single part linear polymers [including data from my clients and resellers] places their success rate about 25% - that's far too low to justify the expense

I use two part polymers - Soilfloc is one I used for years but I have found the same polymer product which is cheaper by volume and freight cost as it's not coming from San Diego like Soilfloc. The two part polymer treatment uses linear polymer described above but includes a cross linked polymer treatment also. The CL polymer is designed to be pulled into the fissure[s] by the current of the leak and over the course of 3-4 weeks expands 300x its original size. The crosslinked polymer addresses voids created by gravel, sand, poorly compacted soil, clay with foreign materials [organic, etc], rock, shale, etc. My success rate working with two part polymer treatments are 90% - reducing leak rate by 50% or better. I've been using the new two part polymer for a couple years now on 200+ projects and couldn't be happier saving folks money on treatment and freight.

It's counter intuitive the two part polymer is cheaper, but also significantly more effective. I wonder often how those other polymers stay in business.

As a volunteer here on Pond Boss I am happy to walk through anyone's issues and provide recommendations - I love working on pond construction, rehab, and leak resolution. As always my time is free to my Pond Boss family and if you end up going the polymer route I'd love to save you money on the treatment budget, too. It's always appreciated when the PB family throws a little business the way of the moderator volunteer, too!

I'm an email away anytime - ping me if you want to chat, Steve. Hope some of this was helpful!

tj@hudlandmgmt.com