We have a 1 acre pond, moderately fertilized, no weeds or other plant growth, and stable fish population (bass, bream & catfish - like a good GA pond). For the last 2 years we have had a nice green hue to the water, until this year. Now we have a "nice" porta-potty brown (well maybe not that bad, but, you get the idea) color. The only substantial change I can identify is the intruduction of about 20 ducks. These guys are poop machines, and I have to think this is the culprit. I do plan to harvest 10 for the table, but I do like having a few around. Assuming this is the problem, can you offer any ideas as to how to counteract the poop? I have not tested the water yet, but will shortly. I have to think that the N level is off the scale. Any help is appreciated.

Also posted to "General Questions/Water Chemistry"
I will spare you here of the HUGE logo in the signature of the other post...

Thanks again,

Dob

Two ducks good . . . Twenty ducks bad.

I don't know what you could do at this point, other then wack a bunch of them and don't fertilize for a while.

You should probably have some emergency aeration on standby.

If you want to have ducks in the future, I would definitely install a aeration system, preferably a subsurface air-diffuser system (not a fountain). Check the resources portion of this site to find a dealer.

The ducks are most likely stirring up mud from the bottom. A couple duck visit my pond and I see this happening where they are hanging out. Adding gypsum might help the mud to settle faster.

Dobber,
A few years ago I had a similar problem. I almost lost my lake. I thought that I had over fertilized. My lake turn soup green and I just got lucky that all the fish didn't die. I couldn't figure it out. Then one afternoon I was sitting in the den looking out across the lake and thinking how beautiful it was to watch the hundreds and hundred of white egrets flying low across the water and roosting in the dead trees at the lower end of the lake. THE LIGHT BULB CAME ON !!! I ran the egrets off and the problem
has never happened again. Just think how much poop that 1,000 egrets were dropping in the water every night. People should be aware that poop can kill a lake.

Thanks for all of the help guys! I did, the next day after the post, take a sample in for testing, still waiting for the results... I also placed a call to Shan O'Gorman, Professional Ponds ( Professional Ponds ), who did the initial analysis on the pond when we bought. At the time he said it was in fine shape, could perhaps use some lime, but not necessary at the moment. I suspect it is at this moment. He also indicated that I am probably experiencing a zooplankton bloom, either way it does not sound hyper-threatening. Ten ducks are headed for the freezer in next week though!