My dad's neighborhood pond has gotten really murky in the last few years, and I am trying to figure out if it is just suspended clay particles, or some kind of oxygen level issue.

The pond used to be choked with coontail moss until a neighbor had grass carp put into the pond. Now, there is no more coontail moss, but the water is brown and murky, and we have about 1 foot of sludge on the bottom of the pond.

I'm looking to test the water, but don't know if I should buy a home test, or send it off. If I do that, where is a good place to send it around Houston?

Any help / tips on water clarity management would be appreciated. The pond is about 3.5 acres, and about 8 foot deep on average.

I would suggest a call to the county Ag Extension Srve office for both testing and mgt help.

I do not know anything about pond management; however, I have had to get water tested for work a few years back. We were having come accelerated corrosion and needed to figure out what was going on.

Look for a lab that does wastewater testing. Drinking water testing is more general because the purpose is to see if it is safe to drink.

Since you mention oxygen make sure you call the lab first. They will give you any specific requirements. They will go through sample collection procedures. Also, some tests need to get to the lab within a certain time frame.

It wasn't too expensive. We had a lot of tests done and it was worth it. They will be able to tell you exactly what's in the water and maybe even some management tips.

BusterAg said:

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My dad's neighborhood pond has gotten really murky in the last few years, and I am trying to figure out if it is just suspended clay particles, or some kind of oxygen level issue.

The pond used to be choked with coontail moss until a neighbor had grass carp put into the pond. Now, there is no more coontail moss, but the water is brown and murky, and we have about 1 foot of sludge on the bottom of the pond.

I'm looking to test the water, but don't know if I should buy a home test, or send it off. If I do that, where is a good place to send it around Houston?

Any help / tips on water clarity management would be appreciated. The pond is about 3.5 acres, and about 8 foot deep on average.

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That moss was probably consuming the nitrogen and now that it is gone, the nutrients are available to other algae.

You could try some coontail moss. Might help clear up the water.

Ive never understood the broad hate of aquatic vegetation. It's food for ducks, cover for fish, it supports an entire ecosystem. And it keeps the water clean.

Try the local NRCS/ARS office.

CS78 said:

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You could try some coontail moss. Might help clear up the water.

Ive never understood the broad hate of aquatic vegetation. It's food for ducks, cover for fish, it supports an entire ecosystem. And it keeps the water clean.

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When my Dad bought the house in the early 1990's, the pond was so choked with coontail moss that there was only about 40 yards of water in the middle of the pond that didn't have coontail moss on the surface.

When we put the grass carp in, we had about 10 years of goldilocks vegetation. Enough to be helpful, not so much that the lake was basically just a moss tub.

We are way past that now. No vegetation left, and I fear adding any new vegetation will be just feeding the cows.

Call the Pond Boss Bob Lusk '79.
https://www.pondboss.com/Home
(903) 564-6144

BusterAg said:

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No vegetation left, and I fear adding any new vegetation will be just feeding the cows.

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There's your problem. Cows are hell on a pond. Water will stay muddy if they use it very much.

If the carp are still in there, that could be part of the problem also. With no vegetation for them to eat they will keep the bottom disturbed looking for food.

Get a couple of Mason Jars. Fill them with water from different parts of the pond. Put the jars on a shelf for 24 hours undisturbed. The particulate matter will settle to the bottom of the jars and is easily seen. If no matter then you have some type of colloidal dispersion or chemical problem. Many ponds are turbid right now because with the strong cold front last week water temps dropped so low that additional aquatic vegetation is under going senescence (die-back), which creates turbidity.

I've gone to several pond management extension classes. I think the problem is you have no plant life left to filter the water. I ruined my tank with grass carp. Finally killed them all last year so hopefully the water will clear up this year.

Most pond issues boil down to excess nutrients causing algae blooms. Vegetation uses up the available nitrogen in the water, preventing algae from growing. If you introduce carp to eat all the vegetation, they convert the vegetation into available nitrogen by pooping it all back out. Voila, algae! If you have other sources of nutrients like lawn runoff or cattle, you need the vegetation that much more to eliminate the additional nitrogen.

Thanks for this thread.

I talked to the ag extension agent in my county.

I'm going carp hunting. I'll check in next xmas.