Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Water Color

Just a quick question. Do leaves that accumulate in the winter in ponds tend to leave it a tea color? It almost looks like it is dyed a light brown. I use agua 5(bacteria) and also all tests are good. It has 24 inches of clarity, and in the summer the water has a typical pond color (a slight green tinge) with the right amount of alge and limited moss.

Thanks
jdm

Absolutely. I have a small holding pond that is lined and had some maple leaves blow into it and sink to the bottom. The water is now tea colored.

The softer the water, the more tea colored it becomes. Tannins from decaying leaves leach into the water, and give it that tea look But hard water, with carbonate or bicarbonate buffers the water, and makes it resistant to that tea color.
So, check the alkalinity of your water, see what it is. You may want to lime.

I don't know Bob. There must be exceptions as the well water I use to fill the holding pond is about as hard as it gets with high alkalinity too. Hardness as CaCO3 is 362 mg/l and Total Alkalinity as CaC03 is 343 mg/l.

The soil is very acidic, I even get some white Alkali on the banks that show up. The well that i drilled to fill the pond is near my house well and i'm sure it is the same water source. If my soft water conditioner runs low on salt man does the water get hard. Maybe I am thinking about this wrong but I wouldn't think the water would need lime in this situation. Am I thinking about this wrong. Thanks Cecil and Bob for your advice. If I do need to add lime how much for a 1/2 acre lake at 3-8 ft deep.

Jeff

Cecil and Bob-I forgot to add that I have huge Cottonwood trees that hold a ton of leaves and i try to keep as many of them out as possible with snow fences and hand work as well. Would super aereating the water help the decaying process or should i just let mother nature take care of it? I have two aereators, one top water for a 3-5 acre lake and a diffuser on the bottom. The only reason i thought it was changing colors from the leaves is that my two little girls have a fish tub out in the yard and i noticed the water looked the same as the lake, it also looked light tea colored.

Check your pH, and alkalinity, through a water analysis lab. If your alkalinity is higher than 25 ppm, tannins from decaying leaves won't cause a problem. But, too many decaying leaves, or any other organic matter, can disrupt other aspects of water biology and chemistry. But, tannins won't be the source of a problem in hard water.

I HAVE A 3-4 ACRE POND IN CANTON,TX. WITH A BIG LEAF PROBLEM - ALSO MY WATER HAD THAT TEA COLOR SO I PUT IN 11 TONS OF LIME PH IS 7 NOW AND WATER IS CLEAR - MY WIFE HATED THE COLOR SO I ADDED AQUASHADE - THE WATER IS A NICE GREEN COLOR ALSO FERTILIZED TWICE BEFORE COOLER WEATHER - I WONDERED ALSO IF ALL THE SWEET GUM ? OAK LEAVES WOULD CREATE A SILT PROBLEM OR CAUSE ANY OTHER PROBLEMS - THE DEEPEST SPOT IS 8 FT.

I live in Atlanta GA, but I have a large pond in middle GA (Sandersville). I notice this water coloration as well. In the Atlanta area the water from creeks, streams, and springs, are always either clear or have a greenish tint when they go into a pond or lake. But when I go to the middle or southern part of the state I always notice that the water has a dark tint to it...like tea, and this is for most all water sources in this part of the state, even my pond. I also observed that this difference in coloration occurs just below what is called the "Fall Line", which runs all the way up and down the south east coast (Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina). Is there an advantage or disadvantage to either type of water? If there is what is it? This could be influential to the sites I chose to look for my next pond or lake..

Water quality plays a big role in fish production. Look at world famous Lake Fork, in east Texas. That lake is known for producing huge bass, and the water is mostly tea stained, soft, and slightly acidic.
But move west, to the lake which currently holds the private lake record bass in Texas, and the water is so hard and alkaline, you might walk across it.
Here's an interesting fact...people with soft, acidic water MUST dissolve lime into the water to put enough calcium to support plankton and fish growth. So, when choosing a site, I would look at all factors, watershed size, soils, soil chemistry, that sort of thing, to make the decision where to build a lake.
Water chemistry, while important, tends to be one fabric in your lake's tapestry, not more or less important than all factors combined. In our work, I see more problems with population dynamics and fish production issues than water chemistry.
Here's the biggest issues of water chemistry...Soft, acidic water can't dispose of organic matter as quickly, it can change chemistry dramatically, with leaves, with runoff, with influxes of mud, or chemicals. Hard water, on the other hand, buffers many changes, especially changes relating to acid. Hard water has plenty of antacid, like Rolaids for your pond. Hard water can take some of those changes more gracefully than acidic water.
You asked about aeration. Aeration is good. Be careful, though, especially in the north. Bottom water is warmest this time of year. Look elsewhere on this board. Several experts chime in on that topic, and have provided all the information you might ever want to know about aeration.