Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Water chemistry Pond dies, good or bad

I just started using pond dye last week.

I think you can look at it from two perspectives.

On one side, to have a balanced fishery, regardless of the type of fish, you have to have ample forage. That forage base runs all the way down to your phytoplankton algae (PA), which is necessary to give your new hatches the food they need until they get big enough to feed on anything smaller than themselves. Dye, because of it's UV blocking characteristics, reduces the amount of PA your water can produce, thus limiting the amount of food available to new fry. So in that regard, I would say dye is detrimental to producing big fish.

On the other side, because of those characteristics, dye allows for much cooler water temps (less stress on the fish) less vegetation growth at deeper depths and (in my very uneducated opnion) more stable DO, since your pond experiences a lower volume of nighttime respiration without the excessive plant growth (which includes PA)

Dye, by itself, is definitely a step back when the goal is a well balanced fishery. Now here's my twisted thinking...when combined with supplemental feeding, adequate aeration and possibly a fertilization program, I think those goals might still be reached. I'm sure most all of our attending biologists will think I'm nuts.

I never realized just how heavy my bloom was until I added dye. The reduced UV penetration has inhibited PA growth to the point of almost complete surface coverage of dieing algae at times. Its getting better with the aid of a little copper sulfate (which I hate using), but it's a waiting game to let the pond balance out, and can be frustrating.

That fluffy green stuff you mentioned may be Chara, which is actually a form of algae.