Why Pond Invertebrates are the Most Reliable Water Quality Indicator You Have Water chemistry tests give you a snapshot. Invertebrates give you history. A biotic assessment, simply observing which invertebrates are present and in what abundance, reflects weeks or months of water quality conditions, not just what the water [...]
By Jim Kennedy, National Pond Service Summer arrives quietly on most upstate New York ponds. The water warms. The lawn goes lush right to the shoreline. Maybe there's a family of Canada geese you've tolerated since May. Everything looks fine, and that's exactly the problem. June is the month [...]
By Jim Kennedy, National Pond Service If you have noticed crayfish in your pond, those hard-shelled, lobster-like creatures scuttling along the bottom, you may have wondered whether they're a help or a headache. The answer, as with most things in pond ecology, is: it depends. When their populations are [...]
How does a Photo Bioreactor help your pond? This term sounds like a NASA project but it really is quite simple and may already be happening in your pond to maintain a balance between water quality and nutrient management. A photo bioreactor (PBR) processes sunlight and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, [...]
Natural Ways to Clean Large Ponds Without Chemicals: A Pond Owners Guide Larger ponds require specialized natural cleaning approaches due to their size and complexity. In this article, we want to discuss effective solutions for large pond muck and algae management. The five most effective chemical-free methods include: Comprehensive [...]
Adding pond dye colorant soon after the ice leaves your pond is a common method to make the pond water look more attractive but comes with precautions. Too much pond dye may lead to less photosynthetic oxygen production at the surface water air interface due to less light penetration. [...]
Dissolved organic carbon is an important nutrient source for heterotrophic bacteria cultures and their support staff that exist on the bottom of your pond where all the organic matter accumulates. Organic matter has a high concentration of organic carbon, about 58%. The common sources of DOC in a maturing [...]
The composition of black muck (organic matter) varies a little depending in what part of the country your pond is located. From our research we have learned what is in black muck and the approximate percentages. Cellulose [...]
Black Muck also referred to as organic sediments accumulates on the bottom of the pond but mostly on the sloping side walls. As ponds mature the percentage of black muck increases to the point of becoming a problem. Leaves form deciduous trees, branches, dead plants and expired critters are [...]
These are a couple of scenarios that could happen to your pond that may encourage you to check the dissolved oxygen level rather quickly. You notice most of the fish at the surface during early morning hours trying to get oxygen After a heavy rain storm or after the [...]