Pond crud

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So - this is my first year of having the pond come out of winter. Fish are great and the water is crystal clear. The plants have been going in and out of growth phases with our wacky southern weather. Lots of marginals are going. Parrot's Feather getting fluffy and lily pads up! Water celery looks lush!
I know there are stages the pond will go through, especially with algae - blooming before the plants really get going to use up the nutrients. When the trees all leaf out and make some shade, that will make a difference too.
My question is about the grey-green, almost powdery, crumbly looking stuff that is on the bottom and sitting on all the flat surfaces of the pond. If I swirled my hand, I could stir it up. Is this dead algae or just crumblies of dead microscopic aquatic life? It's not pretty, but I know the water surface will soon have so many plants on it, it won't be noticeable. Is this the pond equivalent of leaf mold on a forest floor?
Will the pond life cycle eventually absorb this? Or is this what that expensive jar of "beneficial bacteria" is for?
It doesn't seem to be hurting a thing. As I said - fish are super happy and the water is clear as can be.
 

Jhn

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Dead organic matter most likely, Algae, Other decaying plant matter, the pond will as you said absorb some of it, but just stay ahead of it. As you don't want to let it build up into a layer of silt or muck on the pond bottom, because if it gets thick enough it can create an anoxic layer.

Just removing leaves, old lily pads and other decaying plant matter will help reduce it.
 
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Yup - plant matter breaking down. I will sometimes stick the garden hose under the water and swish it around to get it moving so it can get filtered out. Or I just leave it be. It won't hurt anything.
 
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Is this the appropriate situation for using the beneficial bacteria? We've established it is sort of a waste of money, but since I already have it sitting here, would it help break some of that stuff down?
 
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Not really. But go ahead and use it up if you already bought it. It doesn't hurt anything.
 

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