Pond Muck – A Reduction Study Using Bacteria

Can we talk about something personal?  You know…*whispering* I’d like to ask you about your pond muck.

Although it’s not the top discussion taking place at most parties these days, I still think it’s important to dig into this messy topic and figure out what to do about it.

Pond muck and sludge can be made up of many things but we can really narrow it down into two categories…organic and inorganic.  There’s not really much we can do about the inorganic stuff other than try to physically remove it or limit it’s build up in some way.

On the organic side of things though there’s a lot we can do.

But first let’s talk about the reality of owning a pond.  You may be in denial that you have a muck problem at all.  Don’t worry, it happens to all of us at some point…it’s kind of like aging.

No, really, I’m not kidding about that.  It’s a factor of time (or aging) in that ponds do fill in as the years go by.  They all do.  And as this happens the muck can build up.

If you happen to have a lot of trees around the pond, this whole process kind of speeds up.  If you’ve treated a number of growths on the surface, like algae or weeds, those too will quickly add to the bottom build up.

And as I’ve noted quite often before, the best comparison we can make to this organic sludge is to call it compost, because that’s really what it is.  It’s rotting vegetation, and unfortunately this stuff can do wonders for your garden, and for your algae and weed growth in your pond.

But we don’t really want that there do we?

So I focus a lot on muck degradation and trying to reduce it as rapidly and reasonably as possible. 

In a smaller pond, I really wouldn’t mess with muck digesters as much as I would look to invest in a good pond vacuum.  Usually they’re quick to use and pretty effective at cleaning things up.  Here’s a good primer on how to choose the right pond vacuum for your situation.

In larger ponds though we don’t have the luxury of vacuuming.  Dredging might be considered but sometimes that can get pretty darned expensive. 

So what’s left you may ask?

It’s simple really.  Muck digesting microbes.  And yes they do really work well if you give them a chance (meaning time, and good oxygenation at the bottom of the pond).

This friendly bacteria, which is usually in a pelletized form, goes to work and in combination with enzymes, will break down the components in the muck, process the organic elements and turn them into mostly simple sugars, CO2, water, and what’s left is the inorganic elements.  Remaining bacteria, then use the sugars for more fuel.

Neat system if you ask me, but you can thank Mother Nature for that wisdom.

But does it work, and if so, how well?

I’ve talked with people over the last few years that really like the sound of all this, but they have a hard time grasping the fact that it actually works.  And coming in right behind that concern is the question of just how much good can one little microbe do?    How much  muck will be reduced?

Well you’re in luck today, because I’m going to share a bit of data from a pond study that was done by the University Of Wisconsin at Stevens Point.  They wondered too about the true effectiveness of muck and sludge reduction using bacteria so they put together a little research project that was quite revealing.

I’ll share a link to the full report in just a bit, but here’s a quick glance summary of what happened.

Using a sludge reducing bacteria, and actually the formula was and is used as a base for our PondBiotix ME pellets, there was a significant drop in total phosphorous levels in the sediment (and phosphorous is a nutrient that can feed algae growth), a major drop in the percent of organic elements to percent of solids, and a significant reduction in the depth of sediment build up on the bottom.

It’s this last finding that you’ll probably want to pay attention to.

Over the period of the 4 month study, the sediment depth lowered over 7 inches!  Yes, you read that right.  And water clarity nearly doubled in improvement as well.

One must keep in mind that with nature, there are many variables, and every pond is unique and somewhat different.  So what I’m trying to state clearly here is that your results may vary.  But I also want to be clear on this and tell you that in regards to pond restoration work, there’s not much that’s more important than getting the bottom cleaned up.

Doing so, will often dramatically improve the appearance of the pond at the surface, and make it healthier and more balanced throughout.

To read the full report which is in PDF format, click here.