Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization The Jar test, what am i looking at?

Ok, here is the deal. Pond had another strong bloom 10 days ago where water went from 18" of a dark olive green visibility to 12" and now it has 10" visibility of a tan color with a light olive green color. Water looks more tan or dirty than it does olive green. I spent a whole day on the water checking DO.. Max DO was late afternoon with a 13.2 reading at most all depths. And two hr after dark I had 10 to 11 readings. Same at 4 am but by 6 am I had a 8.8. The morning before I had a 9.1 by 9 am.

So do you think this is the algae dying off or is it a Zooplankton bloom? I sampled two qt jars of water from arms length depths. I put one in a pitch black room and the other under a tube florissant light. The water was pretty clear under the light with a light green color. I am checking if the tan or dirty water is colloidal clays stirred by the diffusers, wright? What do the at test tell ya? Not sure what to look for when running this test? I have not been able to find a good answer in the archives.
Thanks

my old pond stayed brown more than it did green, and it wasn't clay particles. i could get in my little boat and ride around with the trolling motor and stir the surface a little and see green. it seemed the brown was just the first few inches. i believe it was zoo plankton.

i have a friend that has never had a green bloom. he has heavily limed and fertilized and nothing but green. pond management company told him it was tannins from the incoming watershed. it is heavily wooded.

See this thread for info. I had one that stayed brown with no suspended clay/dirt. Brown plankton.


http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=20172&Number=259527#Post259527

Scott69, thanks for your input. All information I can get is good information. This pond does not have Tannic water. I will have a nice dark olive color almost always. This is second (what I would call a heavy green bloom) that has happened this year. This bloom was green and then the water turned a dirty water look to it, that has never happened before after many blooms. The first heavy bloom this year was in July and lasted about 3 weeks. That is when I purchased a DO meter, recommendations from Todd Overton.

Eric, Once again, Thanks for all you do here. And my Thanks to Bill Cody also for the information provided. So, the Brown water pond was the most productive? That makes me feel better. That has to be to more Zooplankton wright? Hoping it's not just a brown colored plankton. The low visibility of 9.5 to 10" did or does concern me, that was the reason for checking the DO levels. Do you think it will go back to the dark olive color in time or will it continue to remain that dirty, sandy browninsh color to it?

Yes the Brown was more productive in that case. Most ponds that I have encountered cycle plankton blooms. Clear/cold then color as it warms a little, then green , then brownish as the plankton types/density change. Sometimes the cycles happen 2 -3 times a summer.

Algae composition changes as the pond ages and the nutrient balance is constantly changing due it production and consumption of nutrients. As the pond ages more types and species of algae are introduced. When conditions and competition are correct new species of algae in the plankton community can bloom to change color of pond water.

Jar test results on day 3: Jar from Pitch black room showed clear water with some tan colored material on the bottom of the qt.jar. It looked like sand until the jar was turned upside down and then it showed the tan or light colored brown material floating at or near the new top side. This material had shapes and size of dead or decayed particles that I could see.

Jar under the light had a light colored green tent to it and it also had some tan or light brown colored material on bottom. And when the jar was turned upside down it would show the material floating at or near the top side. Again it looked like dead or decaying material and not sand or dirt.

Thanks again guys, a pond is a learning experience for sure.