I have a two acre pond that is not near any trees or leaves. To add some cover, I added some cut limbs from a distant woods that have been on the ground for well over a year. I'm not sure if they were oak limbs or hard maple because the leaves have since been long gone and they are not fresh cut. I added these limbs in early April of this year.

After ice out, the pond water was it's usual less than clear self. It gets clearer as the plants are growing and filtering the water during spring and summer. This has been normal. But, lately the water is more of a brown color than I'm used to seeing. The weeds are a little less, except for some curly leaf pondweed and filamentous alage. I did add some grass carp early last year which may be keeping the weeds down, except for these two plant types. Or it could be the darker water. The SEKI is about two feet.

I don't know if this dirtier looking water (brownish, not muddy) is the result of 1) the tree limb brush piles I added (about five of them with about 7 branches in each), 2) the possible loss of some plants due to the grass carp, or 3) all of the rain we had this spring and the occasional rain we continue to have. I thought when the rain died down this month, things would clear up. Any thoughts on this from other members??

my pond is about the same. Cecil had problems too. starts to clear up , then another damn strom blows through with lots of rain and high winds. rains every day , i think i'm heading to Arizona :rolleyes:

Mark,
Oak will have a rough bark unless the branch is very small. Maple will be mostly smooth.
I doubt very seriously if the color is comming from the brush piles. The limbs would have had to have been hollow & filled with tannin to turn your whole pond brown.

Thanks, Ric. I was just about ready to pull them out of my pond this weekend. You saved me some work and some fish a home base. The limbs I put in my pond are not hollow by any means. They are not fresh-cut either. Like I said, they have been on the ground for at least 14 months. But, what does tannin look like? How does one tell if branches are the culprit? How do people get into the problem with tannins? What should I look for in the building of future wood piles to avoid any tannin problems? Still learning.

Actually after the oaks have dried they are prefered to put in ponds as they last longer.

Thanks, Ric. Just wondered if I made a mistake. I know that past posts said not to place frsh cut oaks in ponds, but I am safe there. I owe you a beer. I guess my pond is just not as clear because of all of the rain, wind, and nutrients going into by the filed surrounding it. Another wet spring.

Mark, You can test wood by putting a piece in untreated water and watching the results.

Good idea. On the wood that's in the water now, is there something I should look for? Such as hollow limbs as Ric mentioned. What does tannin look like in wood?

Mark,
The "hollow limbs filled with tannin" was just my stupid way of trying to emphazise how unlikely it is that your brush caused the color change in your pond.
Sorry if I mislead
Hopefully someone will help you with the color.

Mark , most tannins comes from leaves in the fall. you would get very little from some dead brush piles. i put a bunch of dead oak bundles and christmas trees this spring , made no diff.

Thanks, Ken and Ric. Checked my pond today and the water clarity was much better. It must have been weather related. Not the brushpiles. Added some fatheads. Now, I have to treat some weeds and algae next weekend. The joys of summer. Guess I need to add three or more grass carp to releive me of this next year. My dozen isn't enough. Thanks again!!

Mark, Tanin blackens the water. I totally destroyed my pond when it was first built. I had the dozers put a huge pile of recently cleared green post oak in for fish habitat. Rain came and within a week, the water blackened. After many chemical tries, I finally pumped it dry and let the Texas summer dry the wood and mud. The stuff was lethal to stocked fish and other life. Cows and wildlife stayed away but we had to move the much dumber horses. Bob Lusk once posted on this regarding tanin effects relating to soil types and resulting water consequences. I'll never take that chance again!

Have the same rust colored water in my 2 acre pond in East Tx. The pond and surronding 25 acre's are thick with Oak & Sweet Gum trees , what a mess in the fall . when the feeder go's off i can't hardly see the brim & c-cat take the feed. could this cause any fish problems. I don't aireate, & the deepest part is 8' but most of the pond is shallower. also have grass carp & black bass. plan to wait and see if it clears after the leaves decompose before thinking about aluminum sulfate. Any suggestions or comments. Harvey