HELP! I did a water treatment...

[Cuz]

To my 3/4 acre pond and it didn't seem to do much at all. I mixed 50lbs of Aluminum Sulfate in 5 gal buckets and sprayed it off of our john boat while paddling around the pond. It made a "slurry" all over the pond but then went away that night. Now I can't tell that it did much, if anything at all.
Should I apply more this weekend using my buddy's trolling motor? Should I try something else like Gypsum? I'd like to stay away from stuff like tires, sheet rock and hay but...
Where would you go from here? Any and all tips would be much appreciated!

[GreenArrow]

I'd go with the trolling motor....

[sailor]

What exactly are you trying to treat?

[Txjourneyman]

If its algae you're treating get some tilapia. I buy a few pounds at the co-op every year for my tank. The keep it down really well, help feed the bass and then in the fall help feed the family. They don't make it through winter in my tank so I have to restock as needed.

[Soapeddler]

What exactly are you trying to treat?

X2

Copper Sulfate is what golf course superintendants use frequently to control algae, but it is expensive and not exactly environmentally frendly.

There are 2 kinds of alga that you may be dealing with; planktonic (general cloudiness) and filamentous (floating nastiness).

Alga is a plant that requires photosynthesis (sun light) and nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen (fertilizer) just like any other plant on earth. Deprive the plant of proper nutrition and the plant dies.

Phosphorous comes from agricultural run off, a small amount of nitrogen as well, but rain water is high in nitrogen too. There are a number of beneficial biological (bacteria) products out there that help control algae by breaking the nutrient cycle. The microbes help get rid of the nutrients, thus breaking the life cycle by starving the algae. They die off, settle on the bottom of the pond and the water clears up. Obviously there is a little more to it such as the age of your pond, depth, temperature, etc, but that is the short version.

[huntmaster]

I just use some stuff called Pond Blue. It makes the water a pretty color and prevents photosynthesis. If algae does appear I use Karmex. It is 70 bucks for 5lbs and treats my tank which is just under an acre.

[sailor]

For the ugly brown alge use plain ol' corn meal. 50lb bag is pretty cheap.
It feeds the fish and no chemicals.
I use Aqua Shade, it makes the water a beautiful blue and helps keep alge growth down.

[Tommyh]

X2

Copper Sulfate is what golf course superintendants use frequently to control algae, but it is expensive and not exactly environmentally frendly.

There are 2 kinds of alga that you may be dealing with; planktonic (general cloudiness) and filamentous (floating nastiness).

Alga is a plant that requires photosynthesis (sun light) and nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen (fertilizer) just like any other plant on earth. Deprive the plant of proper nutrition and the plant dies.

Phosphorous comes from agricultural run off, a small amount of nitrogen as well, but rain water is high in nitrogen too. There are a number of beneficial biological (bacteria) products out there that help control algae by breaking the nutrient cycle. The microbes help get rid of the nutrients, thus breaking the life cycle by starving the algae. They die off, settle on the bottom of the pond and the water clears up. Obviously there is a little more to it such as the age of your pond, depth, temperature, etc, but that is the short version.

Jaque Cousteau at your service!

[Soapeddler]

Jaque Cousteau at your service!

LOL! sans the french accent.

[loyal1865]

There is a whole equation and set of formulas related to how much alum to add to a murky pond to de-suspend the particles.

I have done this once, but forgot the formulas. Tell you the truth, you might not have added enough.

[Cuz]

I am trying to clear my muddy pond, at least some. I did a water test with a jar mason jar. It set for four days and never cleared. So I was told to go with Alum Sulfate. #50. My pond is about 3/4 acre on the surface and about 20ft deep at it's deepest. There is not much plant life in it but the grass goes down to the water around %95 of it.
Any suggestions?