DBW,

Your post slipped right by me.

In addition to what Theo said, watch your pond level.

When ponds are very high, the mineral load is low, and fine clay tends to stay in suspension. As the pond drops, your mineral load becomes more concentrated, and the pond will tend to clear.

With that in mind, maybe you should accept a little turbidity when the pond is at full pool. If the water level is in the normal range, you can add a little alum at a time until it just starts clearing. I think that's about what you have in mind.

On the muck:

It isn't nearly as bad as you think. When the alum first settles the clay out of suspension, it appears that the muck will be very deep. That's not the case. It settles out very fast at first, but then slowly compacts over a long period of time to a tiny fraction of what quickly settled out.

Shrimp