Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Have the Alum and have the Lime.......Now what.

Hey folks,

I have a .85 acre pond that has an 8 foot average depth. I have 3000lbs of Alum and 1000 lbs of Hydrated Lime. How in the heck to I spread all this?

I'm a one man show, have no help (little kids). I do have a john boat, a 2 inch trash pump (which I can't seem to figure out), and no real engineering skills.

At worse, I could fill some trash cans with water, make the slurry, put 5 gallon buckets on my boat and let the prop from the trolling motor do the work.

Any other thoughts? I don't have power to the pond, so the only mechanical equipment is the pump (Champion 2 inch which I had a terrible time messing with today).

Any thoughts appreciated. The pond is turbid.

Matt

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=124005#Post124005

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=283542#Post283542
read through these threads and you will have a good idea how to do it

Hey mglanham,
Does your pond already have fish in it? From what I've read and been told, hydrated lime will kill your fish if deployed by itself. It will stick to their gills and smother them. You may want to get some better info from one of our experts, cuz I'm definitely not one, but I'd hold off on the hydrated lime until I heard otherwise. At best, using it would probably need to be done sparingly over an extended time period.

If you haven't stocked it yet, or want a clean slate, any way you can get it in there will work. I dumped 500# of powdered AgLime in my 1/4 acre pond with a wheelbarrow and a scoop, slinging it out over the water and trying to cover as much surface as possible as I worked my way around the pond. Made a total of three passes around it until it was all in. My shoulder hurt for three days!!

That sounds like a lot more alum than I would expect is needed.
.85 acres average 8 ft depth = 6.8 acre foot.

I've read here that 200lbs of alum per acre foot is typical.

Regarding a dispersal method, I've been toying with the idea of using my ATV with a 30 gallon sprayer on the back.
I'm looking at 800lbs of alum.

Yes, I already have fish in the pond. I think I’ll just mix it in a 40 gallon trash barrel and then spread with my boat and use the trolling motor as well.

Ill take pics for everyone so you can all see how it turns out.

I did order more than needed, but the stuff is so hard to get that i figured I’d order some more rather than have too little.