Water is green with some algae. Visibility is 12-16". Wondering if I should treat with chemicals. I don't want to be trigger happy, but also want to be proactive if things need to be addressed. 2 pictures are attached.
Brand new pond owner. Pond is 2/3 acre avg depth of 8 feet deepest is 12. Not managed for 20 years- literally nothing was done.
Do a jar test to see if the water is that color from turbidity, suspended clay or algae. Turbidity should settle to the bottom on it's own. If it doesn't settle, then it's suspended clay; try adding a bit of aluminum sulfate to the water in the jar and see if it settles then.
So I did a jar test. I'm three days in. I kept one jar in the sun (#1) and one in the dark (#2) with no changes. The third (#3) I added 1/8 tsp of aluminum sulfate. The picture of all three is below.
I don't have a day one picture, but there is very little change to either #1 or #2 and both now have just a little sediment in bottom. #3 is crystal clear with a lot of sediment at the bottom.
If I understand correctly, this means I have suspended clay. Assuming it's clay, then my options are to treat the pond with aluminum sulfate or give it a month or two to see what happens. Right?
It's been a very wet winter so turbidity is not surprising but the water shed feeding is through several acres of woods so I was thinking that would filter the water to some degress. The hard part is being brand new to the pond and I have no baseline
So I did a jar test. I'm three days in. I kept one jar in the sun (#1) and one in the dark (#2) with no changes. The third (#3) I added 1/8 tsp of aluminum sulfate. The picture of all three is below.
I don't have a day one picture, but there is very little change to either #1 or #2 and both now have just a little sediment in bottom. #3 is crystal clear with a lot of sediment at the bottom.
If I understand correctly, this means I have suspended clay. Assuming it's clay, then my options are to treat the pond with aluminum sulfate or give it a month or two to see what happens. Right?
It's been a very wet winter so turbidity is not surprising but the water shed feeding is through several acres of woods so I was thinking that would filter the water to some degress. The hard part is being brand new to the pond and I have no baseline
You are absolutely correct. Read the threads on "alum kicks clays butt"
Thanks for all the help! The water is slowly settling out on its own with visibility now at 24". Sometimes keeping your hands in your pockets is the best answer.
I'm off to figuring out what the fish population looks like.
