Dark Red rust like ? on everything in garden pool

[chuckinnc]

I bought a 8' x 2' metal galvanized livestock watering tank to make a gold fish pond for the garden / patio area. It worked ok
last year until last fall it developed dark red (rust color) fuzz on everything in the pond, plants, cement plant stands, tank. The
tank was made to hold water for livestock so It should be safe, I was wondering what could be causing this? Best I can describe it is, looks like a pile of metal has been in water for along time and formed heavy rust.. I thought maybe the cold winter would kill whatever it is but even with temps in single digits, nothing has changed.

 

[MitchM]

Do you have any pictures you can post here?

 

[brokensword]

Do you have any pictures you can post here?

Mitch; you thinking red algae?

 

[MitchM]

Mitch; you thinking red algae?

or cyanobacteria.
Hard to say with a zinc coated trough.

 

[sissy]

Could it also be from the water .I know here we have iron in our water and Marty my neighbor cannot use metal troughs for his horses as the water looks rusty color .He had galvanized tanks and changed to plastic

 

[chuckinnc]

Could it also be from the water .I know here we have iron in our water and Marty my neighbor cannot use metal troughs for his horses as the water looks rusty color .He had galvanized tanks and changed to plastic

I had plastic pools before without problems so I don't think it's the water, I usu rainwater from gutter collection system, not well water. I can't get a good photo, in the water, but will keep trying.

 

[sissy]

But galvanized can react to all kinds of things .That is what Marty could not figure out was it his well or the rain water.He even considered things that could blow in from the trees .The stock tanks have not had the same issues .

 

[chuckinnc]

Yep, I am thinking the galvanized has something to do with it, maybe time to drain it and find a black plastic liner or
a pool liner. Being 8'2" by 2' 4" it maybe hard to find a pool liner that size, most start at 12' dia, so I may go with black plastic and see how that does for this year.