Pond Color
What determines the color of a pond’s water? Many pond owners travel the neighborhood and see a large variety of ponds with multiple varieties of colors. What causes such a large variety of colors in ponds?
Many natural phenomena can have a profound effect upon a pond’s color. Tannins, a pigment released from decaying leaf matter, are a typical particle that affects pond color. Tannins add a tea brown color to a pond. If pond dyes are added, they will mute the effect and cast it into a browner appearance, or, in some cases, make it appear that the dye is not even there. Another particle that can appear in a pond that affects the color is the presence of minerals. Minerals are typically added to a pond through a natural spring that empties into a pond. Most minerals added to a pond cause the water to naturally appear blue or blue/green in appearance with no addition of dyes. If one chooses to add Crystal Blue or Ocean Blue to a mineral laden pond, then the color will be an enhanced blue or blue/green. Planktonic algae can cause the pond to appear blue/green or green. If dye is added, the pond will remain blue/green or green. Loose muck and partially digested debris can cause a very dark appearance to a pond, especially when a turn-over event occurs. Pond dyes will have essentially no effect in a pond with this much organic matter being suspended and will appear to be a complete failure in producing a blue or blue/green color to the water. Finally, newer ponds with muddy water or ponds with grass carp that are damaging pond banks will have a muddy brown appearance to the pond water. The addition of pond dyes will have little effect on muddy waters, as the dyes will tend to attach to the clay particles and flocculate these particles out of the water column.
Sometimes other colors such as orange and reddish colors are noted on ponds. These events are usually caused by another type of algae called euglena. These algae turn red or orange upon flowering and are unaffected by pond dyes and cannot be controlled by chemicals once they turn red. A steady dose of copper products should be applied early in the season and continued all the way through the season.
