My 5 yr old pond has had suspended clay problems from day one. No runoff; rain or wellwater only, chemistry great with pH of 8.2 or slightly higher. I cleared it the first 2 years by starting a bloom. Now I have FA and chara and I don't want to feed that stuff so I tried aluminum sulfate. Visibility is about 6", not enough to start a natural bloom. Winter weather kept things churned up this year.
I did the 5g bucket test. 1 acre pond average depth 5 feet, I cleared the bucket with about 0.4 grams and pH dropped to 7.6. I couldn't find a definition of Moderate or Severe turbidity so I used the TAMU chart and decided on 150 lbs, just to be safe. I just want enough clearing to get a bloom, then it takes care of itself.
I sprayed the 150 pounds over the pond, aerator off. The milky streaks lasted about 15 minutes, no evidence of floc. Waited 3 days, nothing different. pH is still 8.2
Questions: Have I lost the alum I applied? Should I start over? If not, what increments should I apply additional alum in so as not cause a pH crash? How long after you apply can you take a valid pH reading? I apologize in advance if I have offended our moderator(s) by starting a new thread on this already lengthy topic. \:\(