---
title: "Pond and lake problems, diagnosed | Alchemal"
url: "https://alchemal.com/problems/"
description: "Green water, odor, fish loss, muck. Find your symptom and see what is actually happening in the water."
source: "Alchemal — alchemal.com"
---
# What's wrong with my water?

Start with what you can see or smell. Each page explains what is actually happening in the water and what usually fixes it.

38 problems · five waters

## What are you seeing?

- [Pond algae: fix the conditions that favor it Green water, string algae, mats that return on schedule. See what favors the bloom and what changes it.](https://alchemal.com/problems/pond-algae/)
- [Murky pond water: find the cause, then clear it Brown, cloudy, or hazy water can have several causes. The fix depends entirely on which one you have.](https://alchemal.com/problems/murky-pond-water/)
- [Pond muck: digest the organic layer Years of sludge on the bottom and dredging feels like the only option. See what oxygen can digest, what it can't, and how we measure it.](https://alchemal.com/problems/pond-muck/)
- [Blue-green algae: safety first, then restoration Suspect a toxic bloom? Keep people and pets out and get it tested. Safety steps come first; the restoration conversation comes later.](https://alchemal.com/problems/toxic-algae-blooms/)
- [Aquatic weeds: what oxygen can and can't do Weeds taking over, or is it algae? The fix is different for each, and telling them apart comes first.](https://alchemal.com/problems/aquatic-weeds/)
- [Stagnant water and mosquitoes: what actually works Still water and a mosquito season that won't quit. Here is the ecology behind it, and which tools act now.](https://alchemal.com/problems/stagnant-water-mosquitoes/)

## What are you smelling?

- [Pond odor: the smell is your pond out of oxygen Rotten eggs or sewage at the water's edge. See what makes the smell, why surface fixes never hold, and what stops it.](https://alchemal.com/problems/pond-odor/)
- [Lagoon odor and sludge: keep the column aerobic Odor complaints, crusting, and sludge that makes pumping harder. One anaerobic cause sits behind all three.](https://alchemal.com/problems/lagoon-odor-sludge/)

## What are you losing?

- [Fish kills: the overnight oxygen crash, prevented Fish gasping at the surface, a loss overnight. See what causes the oxygen crash and how a continuous reserve prevents the next one.](https://alchemal.com/problems/fish-kills-low-oxygen/)

## Tired of treating it?

- [Tired of algaecide every month? Exit the treadmill You've done the math on the jugs already. See why the monthly cycle escalates and what it costs to step off it.](https://alchemal.com/problems/tired-of-pond-chemicals/)

## On working water?

The same failures show up where water has a job: a hatchery, an irrigation reservoir, a livestock lagoon, a treatment works. Each has its own page of problems as they publish.

- [Aquaculture](https://alchemal.com/aquaculture/problems/)
- [Irrigation](https://alchemal.com/irrigation/problems/)
- [Livestock](https://alchemal.com/livestock/problems/)
- [Wastewater](https://alchemal.com/wastewater/problems/)

## Your symptom might not be listed yet.

Describe what the water is doing and a specialist will tell you what it usually means.

[Get a free assessment](https://alchemal.com/assessment/)