Well I noticed the stuff in the picture below at about 1:00pm today. I had been gone since before daylight, so I am not exactly sure when it showed up, but I am sure that it was not there last night.
I am guessing that it is some type of algae bloom. It went out about 1-1/2' - 3' from the bank and covered about 300' of bank. I noticed that in places fat head minnows were eating it pretty good.
Then I went down to the pond about two hours later and the stuff was totally gone, not a trace of it. I don't think the FHM ate it all, but the wind had not shifted or anything. Where did is go so fast?
It may be unrelated, but it also seems like water has cleared slightly.

This is a new pond and I fertilized it for the first time on the 21st of this month, could that be related?

Thanks for your help,
Pat

Blue-Green algae from too high of a nitrogen:phosphorus ration?

Calling Dr Cody!!! Clean up in aisle 3!!

Looks like some kind of precipitate to me.

Maybe Cody knows?

Looks like some kind of disgusting snot vomit.. very weird it just disappeared. .

Get me a straw

Cecil, what is a precipitate?

I'm glad that you asked that. lol

A solid or semi-solid formed from a solution usually by a chemical reaction.

Yep I think that is what it is, a precipitate. lol

I was going to apply more fertilizer this Wednesday since it will be two weeks from my first application. Do you guys think that I should go ahead or would you wait? By the way the stuff has not returned.

Thanks again.

I'd wait. What is the current color of your water?? What little I saw in your picture looked like it still had a lot of colloidal clay suspended in it.

Fertilizer won't help, if needed at all, if light isn't penetrating.

I doubt it is a precipitate. Usually precipitates settle and do not float. Most offensive or nuisance bluegreen films look like that with various colors of green to bluegreen as that above. Some green algae species will form similar surface films but never that bluegreen color. Sometimes they can be 'up' and 'down' in the water column depending on time of day and species of algae. They can surface & disappear quickly or hang around for weeks. Most often, when they have the noticeable bluegreen color as that above, the stuff is in late stages of development or decay which is maybe why it quickly sank or wave action broke it up and then it sank. Numerous variables possible. If it returns and you really want to know what it is, send me a Private Message and I will tell you how to send me a sample of it. Bob Lusk calls me a microbiologist but actually I am an algal taxonomist - one who identifies algae. taxonomist - a biologist who specializes in the classification of organisms into groups on the basis of their structure, origin and behavior

My water has color to it for sure, but it seems to be clearing slowly but surely even though we have been getting a lot of rain.

It looks like suspended clay, but a water test showed that I had almost no TDS. I think that it is just tannic.

Right now it has a clarity of about 2'.

Thank you very much for the response. If it shows back up you will be the first to know.

Told ya Bill would know!

So what do you guys think, should I continue to fertilize?

I would watch and if it keeps clearing then add a small amount of fertilizer and note the changes in visibility.

TDS stands for Total DISSOLLVED Solids.....suspended clay is definitely not dissolved.

The reason I asked about color was because it looked high in nutrient with suspended clay. In my pond, putting a clear box in the water shower the "fertile" water was only an inch deep and the rest was yellow-brown clay.

I still vote on waiting, but if you want to rush the process, treating with Alum will get all the clay, and most of the phosphorus out of the water column. Once you have clear water, free of suspended solids, you may not even need to fertilize to get a nice bloom.

I just call you skinny and smart!

I can wait, I'm not good at it, but I can wait. lol

I am not sure what you are saying above, can you explain a little better?

By the way six weeks ago if you were to fill a 16oz water bottle with water from my pond, you literally could not see through it. Then I added 3-4 tons of lime per acre. Since then it started slowly clearing. Then I fertilized it and the clearing seemed to speed up. I filled a bottle yesterday and it looks crystal clear. But this came right from the bank. So are you saying a little deeper in the water column it may have a lot of suspended clay?

I know that I need to get me a secchi disc, I am waiting on my wife to finish off a bottle of Clorox so I can make me one, but it's not happening fast enough.

Sorry for all of the questions.

Thanks for the help,
Pat

Go to recycling center and get a empty bottle of Clorox or you may even find a white lid from a Cool-Whip or similar container to use for making a secchi disk.

Get a white painters bucket from Lowes, steal the lid. Put some black electrical tape or spray-paint a stark pattern on it you can easily see.

Pointless on my pond, I can see the rocks 10+ feet down.

LOl.

While everyone was giving suggestions, I was here at work making a Secchi disc instead of working.

I got a five gallon plastic bucket lid and cut an 8" round disc out of the center of it and then painted the black portion only since the lid was already white. I already had the eyebolt in stock, so as soon as my paint dries I will be good to go.

Thanks again for all of the help!

By the way, I am sure that I am the only one on the site that has been affected with this, but this whole pond thing can become somewhat addictive.

Mine is prettier than yours!!!

Well I think you may be right, but I am new at this. Give me a little time and there is no telling what I can do.

Sean, I'm thinking it may be time to call in some help.....any pond management pros in your area who can provide eyes-on site???

LOL..I am relatively new to this also...And believe me when I say it can consume you...

Pollen?

Nope, none. He lives in a vast wasteland, miles and miles from anybody.

He and I must be neighbors then!

LMAO@prettier

Alright I finally got to check my water with my secchi disc and I can see it up until between 36" and 38" deep.

This is pretty exciting to me, because for a while I thought my maximum clarity was going to be around 1-1/2"

I am loving being able to watch all of the CNBG on beds.

Rainman I am waiting to fertilize per your instructions, but I am not sure how long or until what point. lol

Thanks,
Pat