Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water dark water ?? aquaclear pellets

1/2 acre pond, recently dredged, have had some algae bloom this year, then installed a eco air 2 from ted (2 weeks ago), clarity went to 1.5' deep, looking for more clarity.

Do the aquaclear pellets work?

Chadman,

I couldn't help but notice that your post hasn't been answered. I'm certainly no expert in this area, but maybe one will show up when this gets back to the top of the forum list.

If you search our archives, I think you will find that products similar to AquaClear Pellets really don't seem to do much. Most ponds with fish, and that have a bloom, already have plenty of the "naturally occurring organisms" they refer to on their label.

Actually, your pond sounds almost perfect, and right on schedule, right now. If you had it dredged, that will have stirred up a lot of organic material that produced the blooms and is still causing some cloudiness and bloom.

Even if you choose to try the AquaClear, you really need to wait until next spring when the water gets back up to about 60 degrees, and stays there. But, I think you will find that the water will clear quite a bit over the winter. When the ice goes out, I'm guessing your water will have more clarity than is good for the fish.

Anyway, I wouldn't do anything until the ice is out next spring for at least 30 days.

From your signature, I'm assuming you are in Fon Du Lac. You might think about taking a trip to Green Bay and visiting Kasco Marine . Especially in your area, there is nobody who knows more about Wisconsin ponds. I'd definitely talk to them before spending money on chemicals to clear the pond.

Regards,
Ken

Chadman, sorry for letting you post slip by!

Aquaclear pellets are microbes to help remove, or digest organic sludge and detritus faster. This could actually increase an algae bloom by making more nutrients available for plants and algaes. Aquaclear will have little if any impact on water vlarity or algae directly.

What type of clarity are you seeking? Any fishing goals like big bass, bluegill etc?

Bare in mind that very clear water is relatively devoid of the bottom of the food chain, whereas only around 18-30 inches of clarity if due to an algae bloom is considered ideal for producing quality fish habitat.

i placed 1 glass of water from the pond in my shop in the window and placed another glass under a bucket on the workbench (no light). After 2 weeks they both look the same.

i came to the conclusion that i have clay and other particles suspended in my water making it dark in color. My pond was dredged march of 2010. I will wait to spring and when the ice clears, i may look into some alum to clear it up. Hopefully winter and time will help this situation.

Chadman, Aluminmum Sulphate (Alum) will clear and floc out most solids in your water includin planktonic algaes.

If your water is "dark" it may be stained from tannins released as leaves decay instead of clayy. Since you had your pond dredged, I presume there is a fairly heavy load of debris that enters your pond.

To see if Alum will indeed clear your water, go to any grocery store's spice section and purchase a small container of Alum (used in canning veggies to keep them crisp. Sprinkle a pinch or three into your test jars and shake well. Let the jars sit for a coouple days and if the "dark" is from solids, your water should become crystal clear. If the water clears, you can do more testing to see just how much Alum is needed to clear your pond.

i will try that. It makes sense when i bought my property it was only 3-4' deep with no maintence being done to it.

I do have a eco air 2 from ted that i have been running and clarity is now @ 16" using a home made senci disk (spelling)..

The aeration could be increasing the suspension problem at this point.

With winter at hand it may be better to keep the aeration going to avoid a winterkill and worry about the turbidity next spring. Check here for moving the diffuser shallow to avoid super-cooling.

I would still do the tests Rainman mentioned.

i have a diffuser at 5' and one at 9'. I will being turning the 9' off and dumping the air and leaving the 5' on but not 24/7. I have it set on a timer and will run in the am and early evening. leaving it off over night when it gets really cold.