The setting..A forum member living near me has a gorgeous custom home nearing completion and had built a really nice Smallie pond in a very picturesque setting.
Problem? His SMB pond looked like creamed coffee and completely ruined the aesthetics of his dream home and he wanted the deep green of a healthy, vibrant ecosystem to gaze upon from his porch.
Solution....He called me and asked if I could help. His pond was larger than any I had cleared before and due to the volume of Alum and hydrated lime needed, I decided to build a chemical barge and tackle his problem.
In July 2011, I built the barge and launched it in his pond, spraying 3600 pounds of alum and 1500 pounds of Hydrated lime simultaneously and the pond cleared well and stayed that way through the summer.
New Problems...A neighbor at the top of the SMB pond's watershed decided to build a pond with a backhoe and graciously spread several dozen yards of colloidal clay, around his property completely exposed and unplanted so that every rain event washes copious amounts of clay into the freshly cleared SMB pond, eventually turning it into an uglier mess than ever.
Rather than be a "bad neighbor" and go to war, I was asked to come out again and clear the pond. For continued, long term control, the inflow areas were also lined with limestone rip rap both above and below a settlement pond along with the placement of "Floc Logs" to treat and remove any new incoming colloidal clay in the future and another 3600 pounds of Alum and 1500 pounds of Hydrated Lime. I'm sure the "nice" neighbor could not care less about the damage being done below his property or that legally speaking, he is trespassing. It was decided to go extra heavy on the alum application to ensure any incoming colloidal clay will not suspend before plant life can establish to eliminate future problems. The "cleared"pictures were taken 2 days after the Alum application and you can see there is a nice bloom starting with the sunshine now reaching deeply into the water.
The first few pictures are indicative of how the pond looked to start and the last picture shows what it was all for!
The silt basin (untreated)
Three views from the front porch area...
A pretty pool and stream flowing into the pond...
Looking back toward the house..SMB bed in the fore ground and looking at bottom in up to a 6 foot depth at a sharp angle..
This is where the BG spawn...2 feet of water along a rock wall..
uhhh...There were a couple Rainman moments...but the answer to your question is yes. Fortunately, the "no questions asked" 2yr warranty on the 2 trash pumps paid off withing a couple hours of the maiden voyage.
The inflow has High capacity floc logs in it to kill any incoming colloidal clay, but a good bloom is already taking off and is hoped for to control and re-balance the chemistry.
There is a nice coating of Hydrated Lime and Alum on most of the boat now, but a 40' wide heavy spray sure cuts the application time and makes it MUCH more accurate to apply!!! Now if I can remember to not throttle up when trying to hit reverse with the nose under water...it wasn't built to be a submesible....yet
Great work there Rainman. I just wished my pond would clear. I've put so much alum and lime in it, I almost forgot how much. Mine still looks like creamed coffee.
It's true hard work never killed anybody, but I figure, why take the chance? Ronald Reagan _______________ The good Brian
Great work there Rainman. I just wished my pond would clear. I've put so much alum and lime in it, I almost forgot how much. Mine still looks like creamed coffee.
Well done Rex and a nice barge. What is the source of the water coming in from the small pool?
The water source is all from runoff. The Colloidal clay source was from an upstream pond at the head of the watershed on an adjoin property. I believe that person put the land for sale, and the pond owner of the cleared pond, bought it, so now he has full control over his entire watershed.
This is amazing to see. I hope to see the same results in my pond! I can see down into the water about .5" now.
10 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep. RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (decreasing), SMB, and HSB (only two have been seen in 5 yrs) I think that's about all I should put in my little pond. Otter attack in 2023.
This is amazing to see. I hope to see the same results in my pond! I can see down into the water about .5" now.
The pond above will soon be free of suspended clay and looking great! The very cold water poses some special problems to create the needed reactions to cause flocculation. The jar tests below revealed there are considerable organic solids suspended in the pond water as well, which causes gas bubbles to form (presumably carbon dioxide) and float the floc. Once disturbed by wind/wave action, or in this case, some agitation from the spray barge, the trapped bubbles will be released and the floc will quickly settle.
The pond quickly froze over in the recent cold snap, but this weekend is calling for temps in the mid 50's with rain, so the ice will be melted, giving a brief window next Monday to treat the pond...More pics to come...
Starting the Jar test...Pond water has under 2" clarity...
30 minutes after dosing with Alum and some sodium bi-carb to create a hydrolosis reaction (Pond application will be with Hydrated Lime to create the reaction) Note the floating floc already forming on top.
2 hours after the alum dose, the water is essentially cleared. The specks and cloudiness seen is actually gas bubbles on the inside of the jar sides...
11 hours later, and after being shaken to release the gas bubbles. Water is crystal clear, but new bubbles formed from organic solids decaying rapidly and the chemical reaction happening. (note there is over 1/2" of fluffy floc on the bottom in this container holding one gallon of water)
Rex, This is amazing.. Hoping it works on the pond, and it'll stay that way.. Ha There's got to be a inch of ice on it now, but 50s and rain Sat and Sun. Maybe it'll be full by next week. (And holding..) Jeff
10 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep. RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (decreasing), SMB, and HSB (only two have been seen in 5 yrs) I think that's about all I should put in my little pond. Otter attack in 2023.
I'm hoping it will be warmer also. Gotta get the boat in before the weekend rains muddy up the road, but at least the forecast is calling for a dry Monday
Setterguy's pond is cleared, and he took several pictures before, during and after the application.
The first pic is his pond water 3 days after the minimum alum application I would do. The pond being treated is not full, and still has some exposed clay, so it was treated more heavily in anticipation of more colloidal clay entering the pond before it reaches full pool. The cold weather/water created special issues for applying the Alum and required the Hydrated lime being added first rather than simultaneously or after the Alum in order to create the hydrolosis reaction to create floc.
Jar test water after 3 days undisturbed and repeatedly shaken....
The joys and damage of launching a boat into a frozen pond in a nearly inaccessible area after dark.... I was expecting 1/2" thick ice, but finding nearly 3 inches....ice chunk is in the foreground and the trailer was pretty mangled... The backs of the aluminum pontoons and propeller got nicely reshaped as well, but no pictures yet...lol The next day, it only took a about 3 hours using the prop wash (and 60 degree wind temps) to circulate and completely melt all the ice..
Adjusting spray nozzles for a full coverage, narrow pattern...spraying a 25 foot swath rather than my normal 40'+ coverage per pass
After spraying 1700 pounds of Hydrated lime quickly to avoid the rapid pH change and potential death of Fathead Minnows (only fish present), the 3400 pounds of alum spraying began on the edges to allow fish to have a pH neutral "safe haven" to stay in during the treatment...only one fish and 2 frogs were reported as seen that were dead after treatment
The following were during, shortly after treatment... There are Minnows visible in a couple pictures. Fathead in center....
After treating, a new cold front hit with a vengeance and temps fell fast again.Daybreak.... Approximately 16 hours after completing the Alum treatment and with the pond refreezing quickly...ice had recovered about 90% of the pond
Nice job of clearing the muddy water. Your experience shows in the results. You are lucky to be able to get that barge in the pond. Results may have be a little more reactive and better in warmer water of summer.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 11/25/1407:32 PM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
I am totally amazed by the results, and the speed which this transformation took place. The pictures tell the story accurately. It was so fast, you could almost see it clearing. I can't compliment Rex enough. He really came to work, and didn't let up until complete. It's no easy job either! I went from what I would call zero visibility, where if I dipped a leaf in the water, I couldn't see the bottom half of the leaf, to unlimited visibility. This may be included in Rex's pics above, but this rock pile is down pretty deep. You can see the clay particles (I'm sure Rex will fill in the technical name) sitting on the bottom. The next day, I found one floating FHM. The frogs along the bank were used to total invisibility. Now they swim way out trying to hide under the leaves on the bottom! Very impressive.
10 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep. RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (decreasing), SMB, and HSB (only two have been seen in 5 yrs) I think that's about all I should put in my little pond. Otter attack in 2023.
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