permaculture

["John Schinnerer" <john@eco-living.net>]

Aloha,

>This year ( year 2) it's  scummy, dead looking... blech!

Just on top, or does the 'scum' fill the whole volume?

> What went wrong ? I figured the "right " bacteria/microorganisms along
> with plants for aerationn/purification would cut the mustard, instead
> it's the water itself that looks thick enough to be cut....

I say observe it for a while longer; if nothing changes and you run out of
patience try tweaking it some more.

There's a classic demonstration of closed ecosystem homeostatis (balance)
where one takes a large glass jar and scoops up some pond water, puts on a
snug lid, puts it on a sunny windowsill and watches all the balancing
acts.  Sometimes the starter mix reaches a 'balance' like where your pond
is at and has to be perturbed or restarted.

Either that or your 'pond liner' is leaching into the water and poisoning
everything... :-O  ;-)



John Schinnerer, MA
-------------------------
- Eco-Living -
Cultural & Ecological Designing
People - Place - Learning - Integration
john@eco-living.net
http://eco-living.net