thanks Bruce. I agree, after buying the product (first 80 pounds) I found it was much cheaper to buy the alum and bicarb from a local chemical distributer. That is what I did after I figured out what the ingredients were. I kept the ratio's the same and applied the chemicals the same way. The alkalinity of my pound suggested that I didn't need the bicarb but I added it anyways just to be safe. It seemed to neutralize the alum as it was applied.

I guess my original question should have been asking if anyone had applied sodium bicarbonate to their pond and did it turn a greyish color afterwards.

I've ran the tests referenced and I'm seeing that 1 tablespoon of the alum slurry into my 1 gallon of pond water clears it in about 4 hours so it suggests that I don't need much. I think I will watch it for another week and see if anymore needs to be added. I'm shooting for about 12 inches of visibility then I'll let nature take its course. Would be nice to get 36 inches plus but I think that would be pushing my luck.