Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water 5 year old pond now muddy

I have a pond in it's 5th year. All water entering it is through grass. The first 3 years I was amazed how clear it would be even after a heavy rain. This spring as well as last spring have been different. It has been very muddy and murky. The only changes I can think of is that the level was very low in the 2 previous late summers.
It has BG, RE, LMB, BC and fatheads in it. No catfish. I have some ducks, but they weren't there last spring.
It is 1.25 acres 10 foot max, 6 foot average.
Can crawfish muddy a pond up? I've noticed a few hills along the shoreline this year.

Hi Roger, where ya been for the past three years?

Hang on and one of the experts should be along to talk at you.

I would be shocked if it was crayfish...

Any other changes you can think off?

Muddy water is USUALLY suspended clay particles. I don't figure crawdads would do that.

Yeah, what has changed?

Any possibility thatsome one helped out by adding common carp or bullhead catfish? Any stream above or below the pond that could have provided access during a rain event?

Put some water in a clear jar and see if it settles after a few days. If it does, SOMETHING is stirring up the bottom.

Ok guys, I really can't think of anything that has changed. The only thing would be the past 2 summers the water level got really low. Last winter if fill up quick, but this year it has just now started trickling over the spillway. Excessive lapping action on mud banks?
I hope I don't have any friends that would put any "trash" fish in it! It has 9 acres of runoff from nothing but thick pasture (orchard grass, rye grass and clover). No livestock using it. I have been fighting blue herons landing there ( I hate those fish eaters!) Maybe they have brought some sort of rough fish in?

Thanks for the replies!

I believe the exposed banks are the problem. I have about the same problem. By the middle of the summer mine clears. Actually, it gets too clear and I lose my bloom. Then in the Spring, some rain comes in and I get rotting leaves and other debris. I get an algae bloom. Then more rains come(hopefully) and it gets kinda murky/muddy. This kills the algae bloom and I'm back to water that is way too clear.

Rain is a chancy thing in my area and when it comes(hopefully) I get pretty turbid. Not a lot of runoff other than a couple of hills. The water I see running in is not muddy so I am left as the exposed banks as the suspected culprit.

Thanks for the help guys, but I think i found something out today. I took a couple of samples monday and let them sit and today, thursday they are still just as cloudy with no sediment. The color is actually yellowish. I believe I have some sort of algae. You can see through it, but it is just a yellow color.

Anyone know what that might be?

It took about 3 weeks for a jar to clear for me and I question whether that is really acceptable for the pond. It's not a closed/isolated environment.

Yellow algae would be Bill Codys area.

Lusk discusses water and clay clarity problems in his book "Raising Trophy Bass". However, I have once again loaned my book and, as usual, never got it back. It said something about perenially muddy ponds having like negative or positive suspended clay particles that constantly repel each other and thus keep bouncing off and staying suspended. Some areas along the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma have ponds that are virtually impossible to clear. Guess I'll have to buy another book. That will make about 6 of them that I've purchased and loaned without remembering who has them.

You need to put GPS tracking devices on your books before you loan them... HAHA

Dave,when you take the book off the shelf,leave a note there of WHO you lent it to with their phone#,then when you want it,you can call and remind em to bring it back.Dont forget to tell em about the beer charge for usage either.

Heck Tom, If I could remember to write a note, I could remember who has the book.

Rodger, go to the grocery store and buy some Alum in the spice aisle. Put about 1/4 teaspoon in a quart of water and dissolve it. The take a tablespoon full or two and put that into your test jar. If it clears pretty quickly, you have colloidal clay suspended. Alum/hydrated lime/ will clear it for sure and Ag lime Gypsum, Barley straw and sometimes regular Hay, will possibly clear it slowly, if at all.

Read the thread "Alum Kicks Clay Butt" in "Muddy Water" for some methods of testing and application. If you do try alum, don't skimp or apply it improperly or it won't work and you'll just be wasting you cash.

Roger,

If you have had a lot of rain and spillage over the dam, you may have lost your dissolved minerals. Soft, acidic rain water will cause fine clay to stay in suspension. As long as your spillway is running, any chemicals added will only be wasted.

Once Alum has cleared a pond, flushing won't be an issue with alum or the other metods.

Bobad is right about the spillway running. A "trickle" (<1gpm) is not of much concern because if done properly the pond is completely cleared in 12-72 hours. And a full pool is sometimes required but is more expensive to clear.

If you suspect wave action is the cause and if you are going to put rip-rap on the affected side, lowering the pond level will not only make THAT job easier, it will also lower the amount of alum required since the proper amount for the application is bace on water VOLUME and not suface acres.

Ok, did an Alum test and also did a jar with copper sulfate. In less than 2 hrs the copper was clear with a bunch of dead stuff on the bottom. The Alum was a bit more clear on the top.

So I believe it is an algae problem.