Lee,
Thanks for the local reply, I am beginning to agree with this theory,
you are the second person to say the same thing. If it is "dead"
algae and since I don't have any plants in yet (just a few bunches of
anacharis) do you think I should try brushing it off and vacuuming it
out. Can I do this without draining it, I hope? If you think that is
possible I'd give it a shot. Then I am going to plant the pond and
try to wait it out. I have gotten my hands on a few plants and about
20 bunches of anacharis, also a friend is going to give me some of her
plants. So It's a start. Have an order in to Aqua Mart which will
ship mid march and maybe more local stuff will be around before then
also. My stream seems to be growing some green string algae also,so
hopefully this will help. That's another reason why I hesitate to try
to kill the rust stuff, if it is not dead already. Water temps have
varied from 45 to 55 and I had seen green algae growing before this
rust stuff, so maybe it is "dead" algae. Again, Thanks for your
input, it's nice to get info from a simular weather area. E-mail me
if you can get a chance to take a ride and come see the project. The
Kids did a great job. I'd love to get to see yours too.

Sue W

"Lee Brouillet" wrote in message ...
Sue, you're farther north than I am, and I my algae turned colors, too: from
the cold. The water dropped to 48 degrees or so, and the algae turned from
green to a rather ugly brown (your rust color, or something else???). It's
flaking off now, being replaced by the green stuff again. I have to clean my
pre-filter every other day because of it. Are you *sure* it's "something"
and not a response to the cold?