Read through this thread for more discussion about clear water in ponds.
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=402392"Clear" water is a relative term. Some think clear water isanytime that you can see deeper than 18" to 2ft which is the best water transparency with a plankton 'bloom' for growing optimum amounts of fish. Clarity of 3ft to 4ft is due to less plankton and suspended particles in the water and the beginning of having clear water.
Note there is a big difference in what is causing the water cloudiness or lack of it. Water clarity can be reduced due to planktonic organisms and or suspended very tiny, microscopic silt, mud, and detritus particles in the water column. Preferably for pond fish production one wants more plankton particles than particles of suspended organic detritus/silt, muck, clay. Typically in the best situation,, plankton colors the water a greenish hue compared to water the color of a silt/detritus hue characteristic of the bottom sediments.
For clear water for domestic water use, swimming, and aesthetic uses, then a desirable water transparency is 5ft to 7ft and even better clarity is 8ft to 12 ft. The clearer water produces fewer fish pounds per acre and tends to allow more submerged vegetation to grow on the bottom. Different management methods are needed to maintain each water clarity situation.
