"DavidM" wrote in message
...
* George wrote, On 12/04/2007 04:57:

Since pulling out two large iris plants the pond has taken on a very
cloudy consistency. They must have been planted in soil, which is very
rich in clay in our part of the UK.
I was advised in here to use Alum as a flocculant/coagulant, so I've
bought a tub of what I imagine contains Alum form the pond shop. I'll
see whether it works this weekend.

Or if you wait long enough, they will settle you out on their own,
costing you a whopping sum of zero.

No they wont. The clay particles are positively charged making them
hydrophilic, they are carried in suspension so wont settle out. Larger
particles caught up in the flow will fall out of solution in a vortex,
but these wont.
My pond was nice and crystal clear for years, this cloudiness appeared 14
months ago. It would have settled out by now had it been just small
particles.


--
DavidM
www.djmorgan.org.uk

I thought it had just happened, and you were trying to get advice on what
to do. Do partial water changes until it is flushed out. Unless, of
course, your pond is super-sized. And in that case, you could use the
flocculant you were advised to use (alum will work - ammonium alum is used
to purify water). Just remember that alum is acidic, so you need to
monitor your pH carefully.

George