Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Its been a year

A new pond has zero accumulated organic sediment. All ponds, as they age, pick up more organic wastes and debris. These tend to use up oxygen as they decay, increasing the demand for oxygen in the water beyond what is required to support the fish (and, at night, the plants).

While the build up of organics can't be eliminated, there are factors which control it's rate and steps that can be taken to lower it. The more trees near the pond depositing leaves in it each year, the more organic accumulation. The more fish feed (or fertilizer) that is added to the pond, the more organics build up. Note that these latter two (feed & fertilizer) are things we usually want to do in order to increase the productivity of our ponds.

On the good side, ponds with a good flow-through of water tend to have some amount of organics wash out. When we remove fish from our ponds (or when Mother Nature's Little Helpers remove dead tilapia which have consumed large amounts of FA), organics are removed. And thorough top-to-bottom aeration (performed by an adequately sized and placed aeration system) helps break the organic sediments down in an oxygen-rich environment, reducing muck volume and helping to prevent an oxygen deficit later on.