muddy pond help

[tom00_uk]

leave it and in time it will settle if its fish free. Be a shame to waste the water now its in there.

Take your time when you come to planting other wise you will stir it all up again. once you start getting algae etc colonising the sediment it will start to bind together and in future should settle out quicker

[slimrbp]

Originally Posted by triops

I know that this will give rise to more questions! When we made our pond I cleared it in a couple of days by putting in a bucketful of Daphnia. You'd need to find a local source, a fine net, and (probably) permission to collect them. Perfect natural filters.

You can also buy them online (sold as live fish food) and they do work wonders.

[Malcolm Banks]

Clay particles are very small and so a high clay content in a soil results in a relatively slow sedimentation and clearing rate. As others have said, it should clear in time and after your planting.
M

[nell]

Hi
thanks for all your welcomes, advice and replies - sorry for my delay in responding, I'm not a prolific computer user!

the pond has now been filled for 8 days, it hasn't cleared yet although it has been very rainy and windy - and I am reassured by your answers re the pond settling eventually, thank-you. I have found live daphnia online, pretty cheap so will give it a go.

We mixed some of the pond water in a jug with a bit of vinegar and the clay all settled, some reaction between acid vinegar and alkali clay I guess - can hardly fill the pond with vinegar though but it proves that the water can clear, albeit under vinegary conditions ...

We've been advised to leave the planting of the pond until late spring but we are going to plant the bog garden (when the gales stop). Hoping that will also help cheer up my partner who has wanted to build and plant a wildlife pond since his childhood and is just slightly heartbroken that it doesn't match the pond of his imagination!

nell

[tom00_uk]

Originally Posted by nell

Hi
thanks for all your welcomes, advice and replies - sorry for my delay in responding, I'm not a prolific computer user!

the pond has now been filled for 8 days, it hasn't cleared yet although it has been very rainy and windy - and I am reassured by your answers re the pond settling eventually, thank-you. I have found live daphnia online, pretty cheap so will give it a go.

We mixed some of the pond water in a jug with a bit of vinegar and the clay all settled, some reaction between acid vinegar and alkali clay I guess - can hardly fill the pond with vinegar though but it proves that the water can clear, albeit under vinegary conditions ...

We've been advised to leave the planting of the pond until late spring but we are going to plant the bog garden (when the gales stop). Hoping that will also help cheer up my partner who has wanted to build and plant a wildlife pond since his childhood and is just slightly heartbroken that it doesn't match the pond of his imagination!

nell

Most pond plants grow quickly so take this into account when buying plants, save some money and watch the gaps soon fill in, rather then create the instant finished effect

[Dogghound]

Its predominantly due to it being a new system, when a new pond is created it is very turbid due to all of the stirred up debris in the water column additionally you get high blooms of phytoplankton which benifit from the high nutrient levels in the soil/debris entering the pond. Soon the debris settles and soon zooplankton such as daphnia become established which graze on the phytoplankton which results in the water clearing.

Plants will also help (once established), ponds take time to develop.

P.S avoid putting chemicals in the pond as they are not required.