Problem with turbidity in a wild life pond. No fish, not even small ones,
are in the pond.

I have been monitoring the microscopic life over the last few years and have
been very disappointed over the last 6-9 months as the water has become very
turbid due to the presence of bacteria. I am unable to tell which as they
are two small to see even under x1000 oi examination. The bacteria are
suspended in the water at most depths and are separate and spherical rather
than in strings.

The pond is not overhung by trees and so decaying leaves have probably not
caused the problem.

Any ideas as to how the bacteria are doing so well?

To sum up: no fish polluting water;
no decaying leaves;
very little of interest to see apart from bacteriophages
such as Vorticella.

Any suggestions please?

Robert

Robert wrote Any ideas as to how the bacteria are doing so well?

Well, this is a new one on me!

To sum up: no fish polluting water;
no decaying leaves;
very little of interest to see apart from bacteriophages such
as Vorticella.


Went and googled those up, the Bacteriophage thing-a-ma-jigs and got
Bacteriophage ("bacteria eaters") are viruses that attack bacteria cells.

Then I looked up Vorticella.
For heaven's sake, they have a home page
http://www.vorticella.com/
Does that mean I have a band in my pond, as well as
the one in my family room...?

Okay, back to the subject
Vorticella are Vorticella are protists which are ciliates. They are related
to other protozoans
such as the Paramecium.
and
All varieties feed mostly upon suspended bacteria

They are not doing their job if you feel the bacteria is taking over.
But
on the other hand
like I said, this is a new one for rec.ponds
and we'd like to hear more,
like what does your pond look like during this turbid period.
I'm wondering if you are seeing foamy water?
Who old is your pond, have other winters been like this?

And this question brings to mind a book I like that may help
THE BIOLOGY OF LAKES AND PONDS
by Christer Bronmark and Lars-Ander Hansson
written by two fellows from Sweden
Oxford University Press

Hope to hear more from you ;-)



kathy

Robert wrote Any ideas as to how the bacteria are doing so well?

Well, this is a new one on me!

To sum up: no fish polluting water;
no decaying leaves;
very little of interest to see apart from bacteriophages such
as Vorticella.


Went and googled those up, the Bacteriophage thing-a-ma-jigs and got
Bacteriophage ("bacteria eaters") are viruses that attack bacteria cells.

Then I looked up Vorticella.
For heaven's sake, they have a home page
http://www.vorticella.com/
Does that mean I have a band in my pond, as well as
the one in my family room...?

Okay, back to the subject
Vorticella are Vorticella are protists which are ciliates. They are related
to other protozoans
such as the Paramecium.
and
All varieties feed mostly upon suspended bacteria

They are not doing their job if you feel the bacteria is taking over.
But
on the other hand
like I said, this is a new one for rec.ponds
and we'd like to hear more,
like what does your pond look like during this turbid period.
I'm wondering if you are seeing foamy water?
Who old is your pond, have other winters been like this?

And this question brings to mind a book I like that may help
THE BIOLOGY OF LAKES AND PONDS
by Christer Bronmark and Lars-Ander Hansson
written by two fellows from Sweden
Oxford University Press

Hope to hear more from you ;-)



kathy

still deep water is going to go anaerobic. if there is light there will be
significant algae. bacteria is everywhere. if everything except bacteria were gone
we would see the outline of everything on earth.
drop in a couple good sized airstones and a pump and move that water and it will
clear. Ingrid


"Copepod" wrote:

Problem with turbidity in a wild life pond. No fish, not even small ones,
are in the pond.

I have been monitoring the microscopic life over the last few years and have
been very disappointed over the last 6-9 months as the water has become very
turbid due to the presence of bacteria. I am unable to tell which as they
are two small to see even under x1000 oi examination. The bacteria are
suspended in the water at most depths and are separate and spherical rather
than in strings.

The pond is not overhung by trees and so decaying leaves have probably not
caused the problem.

Any ideas as to how the bacteria are doing so well?

To sum up: no fish polluting water;
no decaying leaves;
very little of interest to see apart from bacteriophages
such as Vorticella.

Any suggestions please?

Robert




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

still deep water is going to go anaerobic. if there is light there will be
significant algae. bacteria is everywhere. if everything except bacteria were gone
we would see the outline of everything on earth.
drop in a couple good sized airstones and a pump and move that water and it will
clear. Ingrid


"Copepod" wrote:

Problem with turbidity in a wild life pond. No fish, not even small ones,
are in the pond.

I have been monitoring the microscopic life over the last few years and have
been very disappointed over the last 6-9 months as the water has become very
turbid due to the presence of bacteria. I am unable to tell which as they
are two small to see even under x1000 oi examination. The bacteria are
suspended in the water at most depths and are separate and spherical rather
than in strings.

The pond is not overhung by trees and so decaying leaves have probably not
caused the problem.

Any ideas as to how the bacteria are doing so well?

To sum up: no fish polluting water;
no decaying leaves;
very little of interest to see apart from bacteriophages
such as Vorticella.

Any suggestions please?

Robert




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

wrote in message
...
still deep water is going to go anaerobic. if there is light there will
be
significant algae. bacteria is everywhere. if everything except bacteria
were gone
we would see the outline of everything on earth.
drop in a couple good sized airstones and a pump and move that water and
it will
clear. Ingrid
snip

I concur fully. Sounds like the water is stagnant, so life has moved in.
Life you don't want, but life anyway. I'd add a few plants to Ingrid's
recipe as well.

BV.

wrote in message
...
still deep water is going to go anaerobic. if there is light there will
be
significant algae. bacteria is everywhere. if everything except bacteria
were gone
we would see the outline of everything on earth.
drop in a couple good sized airstones and a pump and move that water and
it will
clear. Ingrid
snip

I concur fully. Sounds like the water is stagnant, so life has moved in.
Life you don't want, but life anyway. I'd add a few plants to Ingrid's
recipe as well.

BV.