Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Oak leaves in pond

Tannin leached from tree leaves will not be your problem with tree leaves in the new pond. Leaf problems are mainly two fold: 1. water soaked and sunken tree leaves and all wind blown organic materials in the pond contribute to muck accumulation which prematurely ages the pond by filling it in with dead organic materials. I have seen tree leaves in a wooded area pond accumulate about 1ft of leaves per year. 2. decomposing leaves consume dissolved oxygen(DO) and is directly proportional to the amount of leaf input. The leaf caused DO loss is additive to the regular DO loss caused by normal biological activity in the pond. Most DO loss in a pond you are proposing will be in Mid-summer and late winter especially after snow has been in the pond for more than 4 weeks. If you Mercer County get lake effect snows, you better be digging the pond 16ft -20ft deep with steep sides to improve DO stability during winter especially in later years of the pond.