Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Fertilization muddy looking pond

I have a 1/2 acre pond....pretty old, with cottonwoods and spruce trees surrounding it. For the first few years after we moved here the pond was pretty clear, but as the years have gone by it 'appears' to have a kind of muddy appearance. It has a natural sand bottom....we live next to Lake Michigan in the sand dunes area.

It now has a covering of greenish brown....with a little red tint, of sediment sitting all over the bottom. I rake leaves out of it all year round when there is not ice on it and try to keep at least the edges of it clean. When I rake it out and the sand shows through the water is clear, but you can see this sediment lying on the bottom. It is light and moves around when raked, but settles on the bottom again....the water still clear on top of it.

I have no fish in it, but minnows, frogs, crayfish and turtles.
I use beneficial bacteria, muck reducer and algacide in it during the warmer months as soon as the water comes to 50 degrees. I don't know what else to do for it.

Could it be from the run off from the lawn which is fertilized....or is it from the decaying leaves? I almost want to say its some form of algae, but I treat it for algae all summer long. Any ideas??

Welcome Weesie!!!

My guess is that your water is overloaded with nutrients. Every time it rains, fertilizer enters....using algacide kills whatever is growing, but the nutrient never leaves and just regrows over and over.

If the "water is clear on top", I'd say the muddy "look" is just an optical illusion.

Decaying leaves leach out tannins that will stain the water, much like tea leaves, but is usually a blackish "tea" color.

Pond dye can help cut sunlight penetration, which will reduce the algae growth.

Without aeration to oxygenate the bottom water in summer, aerobic beneficial bacteria never has a chance to help.....those bacteria need well oxygenated water to thrive and digest plant detritus.

Weesie!!

Welcome to the forum from another MI pond owner. Pictures would help us a lot. Also some of the sediment in a small glass jar or on some white paper may help. Do the jar test where you take the colored debris and see how long it takes to settle in a jar that is stored in a dark area at room temp.