I was thrilled when I had a new wildlife pond and bog garden installed a
couple of weeks ago - but not so thrilled to see that the landscape
gardener had lined the pond with the subsoil that he had excavated from
"the hole" - because our subsoil happens to be horrible, yellow clay,
unlike the better, though sandy topsoil that he buried/left in a heap at
the side of the garden :-((.

Two weeks later, and the pond water still has a murky, yellow cloudiness
- which I assume is the suspension of fine clay particles still floating
around in it.

Questions - will it finally settle more (am I just being impatient?), or
am I doomed to cloudy water unless I drain the pond, scrape out the clay
and add another layer of larger particle topsoil?

To avoid this, is there any sort of flocculent that I can add to the
water to help to clear it - or will even that only be a temporary
measure?

Help, please - what can I do to get the reasonably clear water that I
was hoping to see by now?? I don't expect miracles, and I know that the
oxygenators and surface cover need to become established before I get a
decent mini eco system operating there - but the murk that I look at
each time I work there is horrible - and at the moment, I am very
disappointed.
--

Roz Cawley
Autumn Cottage Diary http://www.autumncottage.co.uk

Roz Cawley wrote:

I was thrilled when I had a new wildlife pond and bog garden installed a
couple of weeks ago - but not so thrilled to see that the landscape
gardener had lined the pond with the subsoil that he had excavated from
"the hole" - because our subsoil happens to be horrible, yellow clay,
unlike the better, though sandy topsoil that he buried/left in a heap at
the side of the garden :-((.


Roz,

When you say "wildlife pond" are we talking one of those great big
multi-acre things designed for waterfowl and such that doesn't have a rubber
liner?

Joe



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In article , joe
writes
Roz Cawley wrote:

I was thrilled when I had a new wildlife pond and bog garden installed a
couple of weeks ago - but not so thrilled to see that the landscape
gardener had lined the pond with the subsoil that he had excavated from
"the hole" - because our subsoil happens to be horrible, yellow clay,
unlike the better, though sandy topsoil that he buried/left in a heap at
the side of the garden :-((.


Roz,

When you say "wildlife pond" are we talking one of those great big
multi-acre things designed for waterfowl and such that doesn't have a rubber
liner?

Joe


I wish, Joe! - No - the dimensions are about 8' x 8' x 2.5' :-)
--

Roz Cawley
Autumn Cottage Diary http://www.autumncottage.co.uk

Roz,

Just so I'm clear, there IS a rubber liner and the gardener put dirt on it?

If so, and it were me with what I know today, I would empty the sucker and
get the dirt out and not put ANY dirt in it period. I guess the idea was to
grow plants, but most lilies are easier to deal with in containers.

There are still arguments about whether there should be anything other than
liner in the bottom of the pond - I have large rocks because I like the look
- but I can't think of any good reason why dirt would used.

Hope that helps

Joe


Roz Cawley wrote:

I was thrilled when I had a new wildlife pond and bog garden installed a
couple of weeks ago - but not so thrilled to see that the landscape
gardener had lined the pond with the subsoil that he had excavated from
"the hole" - because our subsoil happens to be horrible, yellow clay,
unlike the better, though sandy topsoil that he buried/left in a heap at
the side of the garden :-((.


Roz,

When you say "wildlife pond" are we talking one of those great big
multi-acre things designed for waterfowl and such that doesn't have a rubber
liner?

Joe


I wish, Joe! - No - the dimensions are about 8' x 8' x 2.5' :-)



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I have a 10 x 10 (foot) bog garden.
It is lined in rock.

In four years it has completely grown over.
All the dead plants over winter have turned into
nice slurry stinky mud, wonderful fertilizer!
It will be weeded this fall and we'll start over again as a shallow pond.

But to answer your question, yes, the clay will eventually settle out and the
pond should do nicely until it needs to be weeded.

I would not do mine differently, except use pea gravel instead of river rock,
as it is hard to walk around the bog over river rock.


k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html

"Roz Cawley" wrote in message
...
I was thrilled when I had a new wildlife pond and bog garden installed a
couple of weeks ago - but not so thrilled to see that the landscape
gardener had lined the pond with the subsoil that he had excavated from
"the hole" - because our subsoil happens to be horrible, yellow clay,
unlike the better, though sandy topsoil that he buried/left in a heap at
the side of the garden :-((.

If I am understanding you to say that he put a liner in and then covered it
with dirt, the first thing you need to do is stop payment on that check.

Two weeks later, and the pond water still has a murky, yellow cloudiness
- which I assume is the suspension of fine clay particles still floating
around in it.

Very likely. See google for threads on my orange water.

Questions - will it finally settle more (am I just being impatient?), or
am I doomed to cloudy water unless I drain the pond, scrape out the clay
and add another layer of larger particle topsoil?

It will settle with time, measured in weeks. I finally let mine alone and it
went gin clear. Now, my water is only murkey when I am messing with the
pond, which I try not to do, but end up doing every free moment that I get.

To avoid this, is there any sort of flocculent that I can add to the
water to help to clear it - or will even that only be a temporary
measure?

Calcite, or common garden lime as it is called in the big do it yourself
stores, will act as floc. I tried it with some mixes results. I am not sure
I would do it again. It helped but not enough to make it worth it to me.
Then again, I may have under dosed.
snip