Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Amphibious Argo to distribute Alum/lime?

Hello,
I am a new pond owner in PA and need to do an alum/lime treatment on the 1 surface acre pond we have (that was a quarry in the 1800's.) It is almost 30' deep in the middle and desperately needs aeration, which is going to be happening soon. In the mean time, I want to work on clearing up the water with alum/lime which I can buy in bulk locally (I am a pool builder so I have access to bulk chemicals.) The big question is what is the best method for me to apply this, possibly using one of our 2" trash pumps. Because it was a quarry, the banks are very steep (and deep.) Water level is almost 25' below the ground level around the pond (where the house is.) So I can't use the shoreline. I need to do it from a boat.

I have an Argo, which is amphibious and can pull an amphibious trailer that can hold 600lbs. The argo can hold 400lbs on its own. A 50 gallon drum, the trash pump, and 1 person in the trailer would work. I could then carry a few bags of alum/lime in the argo and return to shore when I need more. A picture of the argo is attached.

Quick pond info - surface pH is right around 7.05, 25' down it is 6.6 Alkalinity at the surface is 50, 25' down is 210. Approximately 3.8 million gallons (11.5 acre feet) so I will need alot of alum/lime.

I searched for methods using a 55 gallon drum, but can't seem to come up with a way that makes sense. I am also a home builder, so I can build whatever rigs we need. any suggestions on how to "MacGyver" a rig for me to spray the alum/lime?

thanks so much!
tony C

There will be pros who jump on here when they get to work monday. I cant help much but please take pictures and post them as you go. Welcome to the forum.

IF there is a way to get water to the shoreline, your best bet would be to get a tote on shore, cut the top out of it and pump water into it to mix the hydrated lime. Use another pump to pump the slurry out of the tote to a hose that the argo would carry around the pond. You can get away with using a bunch of 3/4" garden hose to distribute the lime and alum around the pond.

Make passes leaving about 15-20 feet of clear water between the hydrated lime strips. Then once the hydrated lime is all in the pond, switch to alum and go perpendicular to the hydrated lime strips to get all the alum dispersed in the pond.

One person on shore putting the powder into the tote, and stirring it with a paddle, and monitoring the pumps to ensure that the tote doesn't run dry.

Calculate the amount of acre feet of water in the pond, then use 300# alum, 150# hydrated lime per acre foot of water.

One surface acre of water, 12" deep is one acre foot.

Thanks for the advice. Here are some pictures of the work in process. The dirt hill is now covered in wild flowers and the 25' tall shoreline is getting cleaned up of all the downed branches. But it still is a crazy steep slope around the pond. That tote idea could work because I could get it near the edge at the top of the hill on the dirt side (in the picture.) I could just use one of the pool pumps we have laying around reduced down to a garden hose size coming out of the tote.

holy crap...my pond is about 11.5 acre feet, so I guess that means I need about 3500lbs of alum and 1750 lb of lime!

I've attached some pictures of the pond (before the clean up started.)

thanks

Looks like one sweet spot you have. Have you did a jar test to see how much it takes to clear up your water?

i did not yet. that is on the plan for this week. thanks!

acaciolo, remember the "lime" has to be hydrated lime, not agricultural lime.




That's why I suggested the tote, pump and hoses. It would have taken a LONG time to do it in the trailer behind the argo.....

Whatever the jar test shows, going a bit heavier in the alum/hydrated lime application wouldn't hurt.

I used to own an Argo, and have a buddy with one. I have also treated my pond successfully with alum. I vote no on using the Argo for anything over pulling a garden hose around. They really aren't that stable or have much towing power when floating. It would take a LONG time to run 3500 lbs of alum dissolved in water through a garden hose. I used a good sized jon boat with a 55 gallon barrel and 2" pump set up for continuous distribution.