Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations sheet rock in the pond

My ponds all are a bit murky and could use some lyme for PH purposes. I have some "sheet rock" that is left over from a construction project and am thinking about throwing it in the pond for two reasons. #1 structure, #2 PH purposes. What do you think? Thanks, Marty

Sheetrock is Gypsum and that is what I use in powder form to clear my tnaks with suspended clay particles. I don't know if yours is Clay particles, but the gypsum will not hurt the fish at all. It will probably disolve after a short time so I am not too sure about structure advantage.

I have heard that sheetrock floats. If so, it could get messy. Are you going to tear off the paper?

Sheetrock will turn to muck when exposed to water. There will be zero structure advantage, though perhaps some from the gypsum... but I would be wary of the fact that their could be other chemicals in there?

I don't recommend putting gypsum board in the pond. If you put Type X (5/8" fire rated board) you'll end up with lots of chopped glass fibers on the bottom. Additionally, if you dump a lot of board in the pond, when the gypsum core begins to dissolve, you can get some hydrogen sulfide gas start to form.

A guy i know put some in his pond after const. of his home and it cleared it up real nice. Let me know if some else tried this!

I am with the Commish - DONT DO IT! The little pieces of fiber glass are going to be in your pond forever. I do not claim to know what it will do to your fish, but you are what you swim in... Home Depot sells Gypsum in 40 lb. bags for $4 - you will also want to invest in one of those dust masks from the paint department. Kids do pretty good with a Big Gulp cup and a couple of bags each for a little bit of "white-washing-the-fence-kind-of-fun" race on emptying the bags.

We put in 800 lbs and then another 400 lbs for the suspended material to drop. It would take a whole flat bed truck of plank to get it done...

i used sheet rock when my lake filled with water and it worked very good,in fact wildlife & fisheries guy is the one that told me to do it.it will float for about 1 1/2 -2 days then it will break down and start working.he told me to put 500-600 pounds per acre.it probably took about5 days before the water cleared.

I just saw a show last night on what goes in to making sheet-rock/gypsum board. There are ALOT of different chemicals in there for binding agents and there are soaps used to create the bubbles in the gypsum etc. Some may not be harmful, others might, so I now upgrade to HEAVILY recommending against using it in any body of water.

Pottsy,
There must not have been anything else on TV to watch a show on how they make drywall!

I hung drywall for many years- back breaking work- I hate the stuff! I'll be buying my gypsum in bags, thank you!

Brad B.

Brad, now I am hoping there was nothing else on.... you just made me realize I admitted to watching a show on how to make drywall.... drat.

Chris-- You could always go down to the pond and watch the beavers...................
Dan

So, all i have to do is go to home depot, buy about 5 bags of gypsum, and just dump it in the water? My pond is a .25 acre. built about 6 months ago in clay type soil (south la.) so its very muddy looking. I want to get it cleared up to add some fish.

bump

I have not had to do this myself, but I think you need to add it to water in a garbage can, mix it up and then toss that in the pond. I'm sure someone that has done this will chime in.

Sodium Benonite, in the powder form also works well. It sticks to the suspended particals and falls to the ponds bottom. This is also used to help stop leaks in a clay lined pond.The benonite fines its way into the cracks and helps seal it to stop the leakage. Many contractors mix benonite into the clay soil before they compact it. When the water hits it...it expands greatly to help seal those clay built ponds when filling.

Rowly

Jixxxer, I tried that got 5 bags of pellitized gypsum filled a piece of 4 inch pvc pipe capped it and hooked up hoses to fittings on the ends. I then proceded to run water through the tube and spray the resulting mixture into the pond. At the same time I got 2 mason jars of pond water and put about 1/8 tsp of gypsum in one and shook it up until the gypsum was dissolved. I waited and waited for results and actually think it looked worse. Then came the bad news I read Brian's post under muddy water "Do not use pellitized gypsum whatever you do" and knew I goofed! After 1 month the plain pond water had settled in the jar and was crystal clear with a mud film on the bottom and the gypsum jar was still opaque. Read his post and make sure it is powered gypsum and looks white.

Bob