I only have one experience with Perma-Zyme. I actually visited the place in LasVagas that makes Perma-Zyme.
http://internationalenzymeslv.com/http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/company?companyId=49842192&targetid=profile
My 1/3 acre shallow pond was basically dug as a hole in the ground in an agricultural field. Near the bottom of the hole was some decent 'yellow' clay, but no special effort was made to line the pond. When the pond excavation basin was basically complete the surface top soil layer of 5"-8" of the entire basin was tilled or mixed - scarification. Tilling the soil was somewhat tricky on the pond side slopes. Perma-Zyme was diluted as per manufacturer instructions and sprayed by hand with a garden hose attached to an agricultural type tank pressurized sprayer. As I recall about 200-300 gallons of total spray was used to wet down the scarified layer. See Perma-Zyme videos. Then a double barrel sheepsfoot roller pulled behind one of the bulldozers was used to thoroughly compact the top layer. Pond was then pumped full within a week or two. The pond bottom was so hard a year after it was filled that I often had a hard time pounding wooden stakes into the bottom. Muskrats eventually compromised some areas of the banks thus the pond now does not hold water well at full overflow pool. Water level during dry periods is often 16"-20" below the overflow.
The pond (60'x220') was built only 7ft deep. Weeds eventually after several years invaded the pond and curly leaf pond weed grew thick throughout the entire pond. I have used the pond for various purposes. It can be 'trash' pumped down fairly easily and quickly. Currently it is used to raise forage minnows-shiners. I have discovered that papershell crayfish will flourish with the minnows/shiners (polyculture) and the crays will denude all vegetation however the water is not clear. I estimate crayfish are likely 1800-3000 thousand per 1/3 ac. Visibilities range from 16" to 2.5ft depending on number of crayfish. Without crayfish or at low crayfish numbers the pond becomes clear (vis 4-7ft) and weeds-algae flourish. I do annually harvest & transfer hundreds of crayfish to my perch-walleye pond.
This from the Perma-Zyme soil stabilization manual:
1. Soil for ponds should have at least 25%-30% passing through a 200 mesh screen.
2. Gravel granular material should be kept to a minimum.
3. for best results soil should be laboratory analyzed to see if additional material such as bentonites or clays are needed.
4. One gallon of Perma-Zyme treats 165 cu yards of material. Water is added to Perma-Zyme to optimize compaction.
5. It is advised to blade the soil to the side and the sub-base compacted to provide sub-base strength.
6. Then the soil should be bladed or disced (mixed, tilled, scarified) to obtain uniform moisture content.
7. Create a clay liner using lifts not greater than 15cm (6") each.
8. Upon blending the water-Permazyme mixture into the soil (top 10"-12") in lifts or layers grade and shape the pond. Compact with a sheepfoot to achieve maximum soil density. Proper compaction is essential. Additional lifts can be added as performed above. The final layer should be graded and compacted to a finished surface.
9. If granular material is excessive bentonites or clays may be needed in addition to Perma-zyme.
10. Dry ponds can be reconditioned using the same procedure for new construction.
Some of their literature says to use 1 gallon of Perma-zyme for every 6000 sqft of soil surface but check with mfg for details. I used a high more than suggested rate of Perma-zyme.
