Wow, that aeration system creates quite a stink. Nasty. The water churning looks like tea. Horrible stuff. I can't wait for the water to get right.

A big thanks to Ted Lea Forevergreen and his peeps.

Sounds like some anaerobic decompostion by-products are coming up. Are you using a gradual startup schedule?

hi teresa, theo is right on with his question. i'm sure ted told you all this but i'll mention here for reference.

in a pond with alot of muck build-up, if you just installed it, started it up and left it going, you could potentially kill your fish with all those nasty things being churned up.

the recommended guidelines/procedure is to run it about a 1/2 hr the first time, an hour the next day, two hours the following day......etc. until yer where you want to be on runtime.

if i were you i'd turn it off, let the pond sit a couple/three days, and re-start following guidelines. that should help....good luck.

Yes, I am following the gradual start-up. I started with 15 minutes though. Each time I start it up it stinks. The pond is only 3 years old.........but sits under a lot of trees. We have taken out a lot of limbs. The leaves are a bit tough to get at.

Keep up the gradual start-up. A slower-than-usual time increase schedule may be warranted - with a lot of trees around, I bet it has built up a pretty good organics load in only three years. Hence the odors.

I cant tell what kind of trees you have around it. You need to have the water checked. If you have some pines, it may be high in acidity.

a lot of oaks. Pines in the yard, but not hanging over the pond. The needles could wash in though.

I haven't had the water tested by a pro. Just my little kit. Says the ph is low and the alkalinity is low. I have been slowly adding lime. Maybe too slow. Nothing changes on the reading. I even tested the tap water to make sure the thing works. yup, tap water is just perfect...pond water has acid indigestion.

I'll go slow on the start up. I was to run it two hours this am. did 1 1/2 instead. Just to be cautious. And I'm a big girly girl and don't want to kill anything....

Do get the PH and alkalinity tested and corrected to maximize on everything else your doing right, Good Luck, Hope those little cats are OK, Ted

Thanks Ted, the cats are fine. All our "junk" fish are doing well. I am going to look into the county extensions today and see about a professional water testing.