I've read that liquid ACH is a very effective flocculant that will not hurt fish. Application is much easier than with alum and does not affect pH. Just wondered why it has never been mentioned in this forum or if there are negatives associated with this product that I'm not aware of.
Results with alum are temporary. Aeration stirs up clay particles and increases murkiness. I could have saved a step in dosing the water with baraclear and microbes and just tossed money in instead. Runoff is not an issue as the entire perimeter slopes away from the water and there are no areas void of vegetation. Several times a year the water is crystal clear, especially after periods of rain or ice melt. Any ideas?

I have the same question and have considered using the Baraclear. Can anyone "clarify" this issue?

What is your location? What type of soil do you have? What type of fish are you raising? I take you are feeding, right?

I'm brand new here folks as is my pond so please be be kind.I can't seem to find the proper location to ask this question so I will send it as a reply in hopes of learning the ropes here.

The products I see being mentioned to clear water seem to break down clay as well. My pond is new and leaching a lot currently so would it be wise for me to use these muddy water cleaning products?
My dam was built in December and filled up to about the twenty foot mark with rain water at it's peak but has now dropped to about12'-13'.

I have used ACH for the past two years in my pond management dealings. I haven't used it as a flocculant for stained water specifically, but it does floc. I have been using it for phosphorous reduction with success. It supposedly has gone through a pH lowering step already, so it won't change it like aluminum sulphate does.
Robert B
Keystone Hatcheries

POndslave, You can expect a lot of suspended 'stuff' in a new water hole. I would hold off and see what happens. Could the name of your area, Red Bluff, be contributing to the clarity? How about other pond owners in the area? What is their situation? I would be a little concerned about a drop from 20 ft. to 12 to 13 ft. Keep an eye on that. All new ponds rise and fall for the first couple of years but that seems like a lot.

Aluminum Chlorohydrate is one of the highest concentrated and most highly charged polyaluminum chlorides available (inorganic). For coalescing electrically charged particles you need highly charged agents. For those of you wondering, the term flocculating refers to the use of polymeric electrolytes (organic backbones)to produce a larger and hence "insoluble" particle held together by Van der Waals and electrostatic forces that in the absence of any physical agitation will fall to the bottom of the water column. The biggest issue, I would imagine, is one of cost per acre-foot of treatment.

Robert, what are you paying for the ACH that you use to coalesce phosphates?

P.S. Most of us, I hope, use ACH on a daily basis. ACH is an important ingredient in some antiperspirants/deodorants. The electrolyte chemistry of ACH in the presence of perspiration allows the formation of a gel that temporarily stops up sweat glands and reduces perspiration. The low pH kills off odor-causing bacteria...