Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Great topic......this will be over posted.

Been fighting this for over 3 years...about to get to the remedy.

When you find a solution to your muddy water problem, I hope you'll share the remedy with us here on the Pond Boss bulletin board.
Editor, Mark McDonald

With the help of Bob I have already figured it out. Dig the shallow sob out so the suspended silty clay will not be a problem. Whoever is advising people that 4' depth for water in my parts (Madison, MS.) is okay, ought to be shot!! I will keep you informed of how our drain and excavation goes.

I am not sure how to solve the muddy problem but have been reading about it and some have said throw bales of hay at a rate of 2 bales per ????feet. Actually go here this is where I found it

http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/comp...&fpart=all&vc=1

Be careful with the hay solution as the weather heats up....rapid decomposition will remove the oxygen in the water and kill the fish.

Alum in solution has been used to precipitate out suspended clay particles. I know of a couple lake management guys that have done it, so it must work. Anybody?

Alum (aluminun sulfate) will definitely work. The problem is it is very expensive to use on large bodies of water. It can also kill fish if the dosage is to high. The problem I have with alum is that one side of our lake averages about 3.5' deep and suspended silty clay particles that will not settle out. We know alum will settle them to the bottom, but I don't believe they will stay there because of wind/rain/wave action. After a while of calmness they may settle again, or may not???

BrianC,

Got any updates you can give us concerning your situation with the muddy lake??

Russ

Aluminum sulfate will clear muddy water. I used 300 lbs. 4 or 5 months ago in my acre pond. It cleared about 18". I thought I wanted it clearer but now after learning a number of new things this depth is ok with me for now. I had a number of email conversations with K. Duffie before proceeding. He put me onto an article at http://www.sdafs.org/ concerning clay turbidity in pond water. You should go there and get the article. I have 300 lbs more in my garage that I will apply in fall. Read the article and talk to Kelly before proceeding with this method.

One thing I forgot on the last post. Wind action doesn't do anything to the clearity of my pond. Large amounts of rain do but it returns to where it was in a couple of days.

Bill, et al:
Here's the direct link to that "Muddy Pond" article, and several other aquatic titles that may be of interest.
KD

See document SRAC 460