Koi pond turning black. Help!

sissy

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poor kitties will have nothing to poop in if all the ponders buy there kitty litter .Glad there are lots of kinds that are not clay .
 

j.w

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at sissy
 
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I wouldn't do anything. I have no reason at this point to think this is dangerous. I've seen some strange algae but all were fairly short lived.

My biggest concern would be that this is just dead algae from the recent bloom. Emptying the pond, cleaning and starting over could just put you right back in the same boat. More details on the substance could save you a lot of needless work. Is the stuff growing? Or does it stir into dust? Smear some on white paper and post a picture. That will show us the texture and color.
 
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first you must identify the problem... because if it's what I've had in my pond, it's not "nothing" that will just get better.
 
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http://www.ehow.com/how_5571398_kill-black-algae-fish-ponds.html

on some other pond website they mention a better aeration system. At that time we didn't have one in this pond and since I was away the waterfall had not been turned on in weeks.

This algae had even clogged the pump...I guess with the right conditions it has grown really fast. Worst part being to be unable to save my fish :(

good luck and if you have a picture :)
 
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Lets say the lilies did cause this, which may be true, may be not. Say you remove the lilies and clean them in some way that kills every bit of whatever this is, which probably isn't possible without killing the plant. I don't see how that would fix anything. The stuff is in the pond.

If you're really freaked out by this black stuff you should remove and throw out the all plants. The pond should be emptied, power washed, and filled with water and treated with chlorine just like a swimming pool (shock treatment). If it is algae or a fungus you have to kill just about every bit of it. I wouldn't, but I don't know your level of anxiety over this. Many people like to do things to their ponds to lower anxiety, to feel they're doing something.

OR, figure out what it is and then come up with a plan. This does require some work, reading and learning. I don't know your desire level for this type of thing, many people are strongly adverse to this and will only except very simple "answers".

OR, let the pond deal with whatever it is. Your pond is very good at this. Bacteria, other plants and fungus, will all be testing this stuff and will at some point in this stuff's life cycle, figure out a way to eat it. Ponds are a constant cycle of some things eating other things. Some grow in population for awhile, some decline.
 

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