A dozen days later and it isn’t clean. I tried using panty hose (had some that I use for filtering other stuff) and it had no impact. I think I’ll just drain and refill at this point.
Oh don't do that! As others have already said, you're just starting all over if you go that route. Try to remember this isn't a swimming pool - it's a living, breathing organism and it will eventually balance itself. You did a lot of mucking around in there and added the pea gravel which was no doubt very dusty - it's impossible to clean. As time goes by, your plants will start to gather dirt from the water around their roots, so that will help. We've also noticed that the algae on the rocks will help "grab" on to the floating particles once it gets growing in the spring. Last week my pond was a bit murky. The weather warms up, algae gets active and BOOM! Clear pond.
Have you tried the quilt batting trick? Basically you pump water out of the pond and into a crate or basket that is filled with plain old quilt batting and let it flow through the batting and back into the pond. Depending on how the waterfall is constructed some people are able to put the basket or crate of quilt batting right under the waterfall and let it flow through. In either case, that will help filter out the fine particles. You do have to keep rinsing or replacing the batting but it's a tried and true pond hack!
Patience is your best friend right now. I know - it's hard. We've all been there. But chasing clear water will only make the process last longer.
