Never heard of using black pepper but hey i'll try anything! We are having 2 inch rains one after another here and i'm tired of watching water come up to the new level then slowly go back down to where it's currently sealed off! I hate to let all this good rain seep back down into the earth but i'm not sure what to do?? I may go ahead and get another 6 gallons of the DB110-or200 and see If i can get it to fill on up. It will be nice to worry about something else other than seeping pond one day. I'd like to move on to stocking and actually fishing and enjoying the pond for a change!