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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32
OP
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Blue stuff in pond????
I have a new pond (<6 months old) that has been going through a lot of different looks - clumps of algae - suspended algae blooms, clearing, more algae blooms etc - but now I have strange looking BLUE stuff on the surface along with green algae. The pond it just under 3/4 acre, ph ~8.2, coppernose blue gill stocked about 2 months ago (and growing well) - (feed program). The pond has been aerated since stocking as well - Does anyone know what this stuff is (see pics) and what do I do about it?
thanks in advance - I look forward to reading ALL of the forum posts this week!
Mook
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099 Likes: 23
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame  Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,099 Likes: 23 |
Looks like an oil sheen to me in the pics...
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32
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OP
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32 |
Its not oil - the blue is very blue - the pics do not do it justice
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,490 Likes: 265
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,490 Likes: 265 |
I think that is some form of algae.
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 32
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 32 |
it does look like some sort of algae? does it have any odor?
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Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,721
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,721 |
If I were seeing this in my water I would be concerned about the water quality. It appears to me you have an overabundance of nutrients.
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32
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OP
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32 |
There is a smell but to be honest it smells like a pile of cut grass that has decayed. Since my pond has gone up over 2 feet in the last two months a lot of native weeds and grasses have grown and are now dying due to being partially submerged - do you guys think it could be related to this?
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Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,490 Likes: 265
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
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Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,490 Likes: 265 |
Yes it could be related to being a new pond.
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 7,615 Likes: 5
Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador
Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 7,615 Likes: 5 |
Although different in color it looks a little similar to the Euglena that we had at our pond and that Greg Grimes identified.
Perhaps you could get a sample of some of it and send it off to Bill Cody as a belated birthday present.
JHAP
~~~~~~~~~~
"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
...Hedley Lamarr (that's Hedley not Hedy)
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 100
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 100 |
Mook,
That is blue-green algae. I have seen it hundreds of times in fertile commercial production ponds. Certain forms will turn a shocking shade of blue when piled up on the surface and exposed to the sun. I usually see it piled up on downwind corners and blown up on the bank. The blue is actually algae that has recently died from over-exposure to sun. Don't worry about the blue stuff being a problem. Blue-green algae present is a sign that your pond has a high level of nutrients and this could present a problem with regards to creating an algal bloom which is too heavy. Heavy algal blooms sometimes experience rapid and volatile die-offs which create periods of low dissolved oxygen in the water which can kill fish.
-HH
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32
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OP
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32 |
Since this is a new pond, the water is quite new and it primarily run-off from neighboring pasture. Would you guess the high nutrients are from the runoff (some horse and cattle but not a whole lot) or would you guess that it may be from over feeding?
Also, I do have an aerator in both the deep end and the middle of the pond - would I still be at risk for low DO and a fish kill?
Mook
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