Yep Al, it's the tannins. Years ago I built a pond and had to clear lots of post oaks. I thought it would be a neat idea to have the dozer push them to the bottom of the pond for structure. We got a good rain and the water turned black. I bought some BG, CC and, fatheads. They died within hours. Then I bought some crawdads. They lasted about a day. More rain came and nothing changed. The water was still lethal. I added enough chlorine to kill everything in a couple of Olympic sized swimming pools. It lightened a little but was still lethal to fish. I pumped it almost dry and blew the motors on 2 pumps. I quit pumping in July and the summer took care of the rest. A year later, it was OK after drying.

Lusk told me that they will not effect all water the same way depending on alkalinity, etc. To test, cut a piece of wood and toss it into a bucket of the pond water. If it stays clear, it will be OK. However, I'll stay with cedar and plastic.

Last edited by Dave Davidson1; 11/13/12 09:08 AM.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP