we have built a pond about 8 years ago and the water has always been a brown color and we thought over time it would get cleaner but thats not the case. the pond right now is a chocolate milk color and can maybe see a inch down in the water. is there any chemical you can give me that will maybe clear the water up without killing the fish? its not a big pond maybe half an acre. when its full. any comments would be nice.
thanks

I always heard a bale of straw could clear up water in a tank like that.

You should start with the good old jar test to determine if it is a mechanical or chemical problem. Get a gallon glass jar and fill it with pond water then set it into a dark closet for 3-4 days. If the water settles out and becomes clear you will know the reason your lake is brown and turbid is mechanical. If the water does not settle then it is chemical. If the water does not settle you should then take a hand full of grass clippings and put them into the jar, wait another 3 days and check the jar again. If the water is clear this time you could use the barely hay as Jagg mentioned. If the water still does not settle you should probably try gypsum. Gypsum usually will solve the problem but it can be expensive. I would use gypsum rock not powder because the powder will dilute out quickly.

Also with such low visibility you may have develop quiet a thermocline and may want to consider aeration to increase water quality and improve the overall pounds of fish your lake can support.

When you say mechanical what are you meaning? We did the jar test but out in the sunlight and the jar with gypsum and the jar with only water reacted the exact same. What could be the problem?

Do the test in a dark closet. You need no sunlight for the test to work.

1. Water by itself (3 days) in dark closet. Doesn't settle? move to step 2.

2. Water with small amount of grass clippings in dark closet for 3 days. Doesn't settle? move to step 3.

3. Water with barley hay in a dark closet for 3 days. Doesn't settle? move to step 4.

4. Water with small amount of gypsum powder. It should settle

Point is.. follow the steps exactly as he said it. There needs to be only one variable (grass, hay, gypsum). Sunlight can cause a different reaction.

Location of pond?

It's in snook, Tx and it's not guarded by much wind. That may be the problem but it should still somewhat settle. The clarity is maybe a couple inches. We will try the closet test though

Ok we are gonna try something. I put out 4 1 gallon jugs at 3 45 in a dark room with no light coming in one is just pond water, one is grass clippings, one is vinegar(used for the hay) and one is gypsum

Gypsum started before I could even get to the camera. But I have let the 4 bottles set and will check them again tomorrow morning.
Will post pictures in the morning

So as of 10AM this morning here is what it looked like

The gypsum is definitely what is working best. Now I have to calculate how much to put in there.
Im trying to find something on the internet that you could select points on your land and it will tell you how many acres you have. Anyone know what I'm talking about or am I just sounding stupid?

If you have a hand held gps you can probably walk around the edge to get surface acres and multilpy that times average depth. That would give you a close estimate on acre feet of water. I think that would work.