Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Iron bacteria

Thank you! I am excited to have my own pond finally! Yes the water is very muddy which is probably due to the clay solids , but the iron is causing an oily sheen and reddish blotches all over the surface. the problem is coming from a ditch that the runoff is funneled into and then goes into the pond. I planted some cattails in the ditch - (which is out of the pond) , the soil is like clay soup in the ditch - bc I heard that cattails keep iron levels down hoping that might help. Re routing the ditch would be a herculean effort. Im think about lining the ditch with lime stones as well.