Clearing up water in new pond?

I was looking at a magazine that sold barley balls that are to clear the water,has anyone used these and did they work? The pond is approximately 30'x50',6' deep in the middle.Is there something else to use? State of Misery(Mo.)

[Ken Scharabok]

I assume you want the mud and silt to settle out of the water. I have absolutely no idea why this works, but I have read several places where you can just buy square bales of hay. Walk around the pond and toss in chunks as you go. Somehow it feeds the micro-critters, who then filter out the silt.

I once talked to a guy who had a dike-type pond put in. After the equipment was done he planted grass with a heavy hay cover. This greatly helped, he said, in keeping the water clean as the pond filled with rainwater.

You might also toss in some fresh cattle manure as a starter for the micro-critters. I do so to mine a couple of times during the summer. Actually what happens is I let my small cattle herd mow my lawn*. Afterwards I pick up their fertilizer contribution and dump it in the pond. No one swims in it. If they did, I might not.

I have also pushed in round bales of hay too spoiled to feed to the cattle. They float around for a while and then disappear over time.

* My four wheel drive, fully-articulated, combination lawn mowing, fertilization and irrigation units. Easy to start too. Just open a gate and call "Come cows."

Ken S. in WC TN

[RANDEL]

the missouri conservation dept has some fine free publications pertaining to all aspects of pond construction, maintenance, and renovation. guest, if u haven't checked them out i urge u to do so.

[Don Armstrong]

My understanding is that barley straw releases something that will inhibit algal growth, thus in time clearing water of algae.

http://www.naturalsolutionsetc.com/BarleyAbout.htm
http://ohioline.osu.edu/a-fact/0012.html

I'll also assume your problem is suspended clay in water (silt and sand settle quickly). Clay stays suspended in water because it has ionic charges distributed on the outside of the minute clay particles, with the opposite charge hidden inside the particle. Water molecules are polar - positive and negative charges on opposite ends - and they can pick up the clay particles and keep them suspended.

To settle suspended clay from water, you need to change the ionic (electrical) environment in the water. To do this, you can introduce highly-charged ions. This implies heavy elements. Many heavy metals are poisonous, but one of the easiest safe sources of heavy ions is cement, which for this purpose provides calcium. Get two bowls or better still large clear glass jars of the muddy water, add a small pinch of cement powder (pure - not premixed with sand) TO ONE ONLY (keep the other for comparision), stir and then leave overnight. In the morning you'll find at least some of the suspended clay has flocculated (think of it as flocking together around the highly-charged heavy ions) into soft goop, and settled.

OK, take your cement to the pond. If you have a boat use it, otherwise get on the upwind side of the pond. Mix a little (cupful of) cement powder into a bucket of water, and throw it, spreading widely, into the pond. If you have a pump that can handle this without being damaged by the suspended cement powder, use it. Repeat, moving around the pond. You should place more of your effort from the upwind side, as you can throw the water further from there and the wind will also help spread it. You might also stir the water with a shovel after you throw each bucket in.

Don't overdo it. Come back every second day for a week and repeat. Oh, yes - take photos that show the colour of the water before you start each time, and at the end.

This won't clear it altogether, but it will sure help.

[Gary in ohio]

You said clear the water, What is not clear? Is it muddy silty or is is algee green? How big, how deep, what is your average temp?

Thanks for all the help. WOW Don ! State of Misery.