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Muddy pond after using bentonite.
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MikeWeston
Mar 22, 2012, 6:31:04 PM3/22/12
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Hey there, about 2 years ago I had a landscape company come in and make
a pond for me, they used a fairly good liner, everything with the pond
was fine up until a year ago, and I've since lost their number. My pond
was leaking quite a substantial amount of water, and we couldn't find
the leak anywhere.
I decided to go online and look at bentonite as a possible remedy for
patching the leak. I was assure that it would, which is not my main
issue now.
I think some of the problem might have been with how I applied it, and
I'd just like to know what on earth I can do to clear up my pond. I
purchased the "powder" bentonite,drained the pond, and sprinkled
bentonite in between all the rocks, and pretty much every visible
surface of my pond. I think I may have messed up the application by
lightly wetting the bentonite, and letting it "set" for an hour or so,
then I filled the pond. Now it's all murky.
The bentonite has turned into a wet sludge type clay. We've tried
draining the pond to let it dry, to no avail.
Any suggestions on how to make the wet bentonite set/ How to fix this
issue would be greatly appreciated. We've wondered about putting sand on
top of it, would that help?
--
MikeWeston
JB
Mar 23, 2012, 7:08:51 AM3/23/12
to
but I did use bentonite as a filtering agent to "polish" my aquarium
water from time to time. My guess is that baring total removal, you're
going to need to encapsulate it somehow given how fine it is. And,
baring this, I would think that any movement in the water would stir it
up and cloud the water again. I'm not aware of any pond filters that
remove this fine of a particle.
So, to your question, I guess you could cover it with the sand.
Stephen Wolstenholme
Mar 23, 2012, 8:15:37 AM3/23/12
to
but stay in a sludge form. You got the wrong type. It will eventually
settle but every time the water moves some will cloud the water. The
only way to get rid is to pump it out with the water. You will
probably need to then refill the pond and then pump the water and
bentonite out again. It's going to take a while even then as you won't
get it all first or second time.
Steve
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dr-...@wi.rr.com
Mar 24, 2012, 3:54:09 PM3/24/12
to
Treatments
Applications of chemicals (flocculants and coagulants) which bind and precipitate
clay and other particles pulling them out of suspension can be used to clear muddy
ponds. Alum (aluminum sulfate) applied on the pond surface at a rate of 150-300
pounds per acre (15 to 25 mg/L) has proven to be an effective treatment (Hargreaves
1999). However, alum may lower the pH, increase acidity, and in soft water (less than
20 mg calcium carbonate) should be used in combination with limestone (at a 1:0.5
ratio of alum:calcium carbonate) to buffer the water from drastic changes in acidity.
Gypsum (calcium sulfate) and fine agricultural limestone (calcium carbonate) applied
at a rate of 1,000-2,000 pounds per surface acre are other chemicals used to clarify
ponds (Wu and Boyd 1990), although these chemicals may not be as effective as alum in
clearing muddy ponds. These chemicals are widely available at farm supply stores.
Apply these chemicals so that they are completely and quickly mixed with the pond
water. They should be premixed and pumped or sprayed as a surface slurry or
distributed into the propeller wash of an outboard motor boat driven at high speed
about the pond. If effective, the treatment should clear the pond in a few days and
it should remain clear for months. If not effective, increase the dosage and
frequency of chemical applications.
Because the exact application rate varies, concentrations for each pond can be
determined by experimental treatment of pond water samples held in jars or buckets
(small scale test) and use the level of chemical that caused the clay particles in
the bucket or jar to precipitate within a day to calculate the treatment of the pond
volume. Chemical clearing agents will provide only temporary relief if the source of
the problem, eroded soil particles, is not eliminated by proper land management
practices.
References
Hargreaves, J. A. l999. Control of clay turbidity in ponds. Southern Regional
Aquaculture Center Pub. No. 460. Mississippi State University.
Wu, R. and C. E. Boyd. 1990. Evaluation of calcium sulfate for use in aquaculture
ponds. Progressive Fish-Culturist 52:26-31.
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/420/420-250/420-250.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere between zone 5 and 6 tucked along the shore of Lake Michigan
on the council grounds of the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago
Applications of chemicals (flocculants and coagulants) which bind and precipitate
clay and other particles pulling them out of suspension can be used to clear muddy
ponds. Alum (aluminum sulfate) applied on the pond surface at a rate of 150-300
pounds per acre (15 to 25 mg/L) has proven to be an effective treatment (Hargreaves
1999). However, alum may lower the pH, increase acidity, and in soft water (less than
20 mg calcium carbonate) should be used in combination with limestone (at a 1:0.5
ratio of alum:calcium carbonate) to buffer the water from drastic changes in acidity.
Gypsum (calcium sulfate) and fine agricultural limestone (calcium carbonate) applied
at a rate of 1,000-2,000 pounds per surface acre are other chemicals used to clarify
ponds (Wu and Boyd 1990), although these chemicals may not be as effective as alum in
clearing muddy ponds. These chemicals are widely available at farm supply stores.
Apply these chemicals so that they are completely and quickly mixed with the pond
water. They should be premixed and pumped or sprayed as a surface slurry or
distributed into the propeller wash of an outboard motor boat driven at high speed
about the pond. If effective, the treatment should clear the pond in a few days and
it should remain clear for months. If not effective, increase the dosage and
frequency of chemical applications.
Because the exact application rate varies, concentrations for each pond can be
determined by experimental treatment of pond water samples held in jars or buckets
(small scale test) and use the level of chemical that caused the clay particles in
the bucket or jar to precipitate within a day to calculate the treatment of the pond
volume. Chemical clearing agents will provide only temporary relief if the source of
the problem, eroded soil particles, is not eliminated by proper land management
practices.
References
Hargreaves, J. A. l999. Control of clay turbidity in ponds. Southern Regional
Aquaculture Center Pub. No. 460. Mississippi State University.
Wu, R. and C. E. Boyd. 1990. Evaluation of calcium sulfate for use in aquaculture
ponds. Progressive Fish-Culturist 52:26-31.
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/420/420-250/420-250.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere between zone 5 and 6 tucked along the shore of Lake Michigan
on the council grounds of the Fox, Mascouten, Potawatomi, and Winnebago
Phyllis and Jim
Mar 29, 2012, 6:37:50 PM3/29/12
to
Go team! I learned things I did not know about Bentonite. Nice to have resourceful folks in the group.
Phyllis and Jim
Apr 10, 2012, 7:28:36 AM4/10/12
to
Hey, Mike,
Any progress on your Bentonite?
Any progress on your Bentonite?
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