River Stones and Murky Water

[Greg Costanzo]

I just created a monster. I was just going to make a simple little
pond but as I started digging I couldn't stop myself. I know have a
1300 gallon pond - 7.5' x 12.5' ~ 3.5' deep... Problem is I bought
river stone and put it on my shelves (not on the very bottom). I just
started reading the posts of the pros and cons of gravel and I'm
worried.
To top that off, the first bag had some silt left after draining and
when we poured it in the pond it created a nice murky mess!!! It's
day 2 and still has shown no improvement -- I have an internal filter
and external filter both offering biological and mechanical filtration
with a 1300 gph pump. Should i just be patient or is this hopeless?
I added some Laguna Pond Clear and haven't really seen a huge change,
I'd like to see the bottom? is there hope? I'd rather try not to
drain the pond due to the expense of filling another 1300 gallons. I
just want clear water :-/

Please help a newbie!!



Thanks,
Greg

[Jerrispond]

>To top that off, the first bag had some silt left after draining and>when we
poured it in the pond it created a nice murky mess!!! It's
>day 2 and still has shown no improvement -

Give it time it will clear....think of the bright side...the longer it is
cloudy the longer the pea soup stays away LOL Jerri

http://www.fringeweb.com/Ponds/JerrisPond

[Lee B.]

Do you have any koi clay (calcium bentonite clay)? If so, mix about 2 Tbs.
per 1,000 gallons of water into a bucket of pond water, then distribute it
as evenly as possible around the pond. It will act as a flocculent and take
the dust to the bottom. Otherwise, just wait: it will clear eventually.
Ask BV <G>! He's our resident expert on suspended "stuff" (although his was
clay)!

Lee



"Greg Costanzo" > wrote in message
om...
> I just created a monster. I was just going to make a simple little
> pond but as I started digging I couldn't stop myself. I know have a
> 1300 gallon pond - 7.5' x 12.5' ~ 3.5' deep... Problem is I bought
> river stone and put it on my shelves (not on the very bottom). I just
> started reading the posts of the pros and cons of gravel and I'm
> worried.
> To top that off, the first bag had some silt left after draining and
> when we poured it in the pond it created a nice murky mess!!! It's
> day 2 and still has shown no improvement -- I have an internal filter
> and external filter both offering biological and mechanical filtration
> with a 1300 gph pump. Should i just be patient or is this hopeless?
> I added some Laguna Pond Clear and haven't really seen a huge change,
> I'd like to see the bottom? is there hope? I'd rather try not to
> drain the pond due to the expense of filling another 1300 gallons. I
> just want clear water :-/
>
> Please help a newbie!!
>
>
>
> Thanks,
> Greg

[Benign Vanilla]

"Greg Costanzo" > wrote in message
om...
> I just created a monster. I was just going to make a simple little
> pond but as I started digging I couldn't stop myself. I know have a
> 1300 gallon pond - 7.5' x 12.5' ~ 3.5' deep... Problem is I bought
> river stone and put it on my shelves (not on the very bottom). I just
> started reading the posts of the pros and cons of gravel and I'm
> worried.
> To top that off, the first bag had some silt left after draining and
> when we poured it in the pond it created a nice murky mess!!! It's
> day 2 and still has shown no improvement -- I have an internal filter
> and external filter both offering biological and mechanical filtration
> with a 1300 gph pump. Should i just be patient or is this hopeless?
> I added some Laguna Pond Clear and haven't really seen a huge change,
> I'd like to see the bottom? is there hope? I'd rather try not to
> drain the pond due to the expense of filling another 1300 gallons. I
> just want clear water :-/

I had a similar problem with clay, and found patience to be the only
solution. Using lime or another floculant can help settle it, but time is
the best solution.

BV.

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

IMHO, I'd calculate just how much that water really cost, probably <$5?
Especially since you put the gravel in. It is much nicer to remove clean
river rock (that can be resold or used else where) than river rock full of
muck and refill. ~ jan


(Do you know where your water quality is?)