Clay silt in pond

[Harvey Schneider]

I'm not sure which forum this belongs in. It isn't a chemistry problem, but it is a water quality issue.
My pond is new and does not yet have any fish in it. The water chemistry was just where I wanted it and everything was looking good. But the landscaper didn't get the grading of the hill quite right. As a result, the thunderstorm we had the day before yesterday washed clay silt into the pond.
I tried adding some floculant to the water and added some filter floss (pinky filter) to the waterfall filter and added a second pump that is discharging into a pillow case.
I have achieved some clearing of the silt, but at this rate it may take a month before I can see the bottom.
I have never had to face a problem quite like this so I am looking for advice from somebody who has.

 

[Mmathis]

Are you asking what to do about the silt in the water, or about the problem that caused it? As to the silt, you're doing about all you can. It actually shouldn't be an issue as we all end up with some junk in the pond that we didn't intend. If you're going to add fish, I would be concerned about anything like fertilizers, insecticides, etc.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Are you asking what to do about the silt in the water, or about the problem that caused it? As to the silt, you're doing about all you can. It actually shouldn't be an issue as we all end up with some junk in the pond that we didn't intend. If you're going to add fish, I would be concerned about anything like fertilizers, insecticides, etc.

I have already started regrading so that the runoff doesn't go into the pond. My question is "What can I do to clear the silt from the water?".
I came across another thread on settling clay that gave me some good ideas. My next step is to put a pump at the bottom of a bucket and then stuff the top with fiber floss. That gets sunk to the bottom of the pond. If that doesn't do it, I'll try gypsum.
Fish won't get added until I am conviced everything is stable.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Mmathis]

@Harvey Schneider If there's not too much, I wouldn't worry about getting out every bit of it as it's not going to hurt anything.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Drain and clean. Clay is extremely hard to filter out of water with conventionally available filter material and the clay that does settle is easily re-suspended into the water. I had this happen on a new install a couple o years ago after a 2 day deluge. Drained, cleaned and refillled the pond. This was quicker, cheaper and only a minute amount of clay remained.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Perhaps I paniced a bit too soon. The water still lacks the clean brilliance that it had, but I can see the wrinkles in the liner at the bottom of the pond now. I am sure that it will improve more when I clean the filters tomorrow.
Draining and refilling the pond is unthinkable. The well pump ran for about two days to fill it the first time.
Thanks, everyone, for the advice.