What is muck?
Muck is many things. It comes in many colors, sizes, shapes, and is called many different names, is composed of many different materials, and is defined differently. The least scientific definition: muck is sediment usually located in places where people do not want it. In other words, muck - is a cluster of smelly, blackish tar-like sludge at the bottom of most ponds and lakes.
Muck in lakes is deposited in the form of fairly thick layers; they are distinguished by a dark gray or bluish-gray color, high content of sulfur compounds, and a significant amount of organic matter content consisting of decaying plant matter and fish waste.
Usually, muck is formed in standing fresh waters (lakes, ponds, etc) where there is no water movement.
Several serious problems can come from allowing muck to accumulate at the bottom of the pond. The three main ones have decreased water depth, foul odors, and excess nutrients that encourage algae growth.
1
Decreased water depth - This can vary from pond to pond, but if you don't check it, you'll never know you have a problem. Too much muck makes the water hard to manage. If the muck is not regulated, your pond becomes shallow, creating problems for pond life. It is much rader to aerate shallow ponds properly, causing stress to the wildlife.
2
Foul odors - dad smelling sludge makes any lake or pond undesirable. Also, if you have a beach and your family or pets prefer to swim there, it creates a big problem. In addition to being hard to remove from skin and fur, it also stinks so badly that it requires immediate cleaning.
3
Excess nutrients - sludge layer provides essential nutrition for all plants as it is rich in phosphorus and nitrogen. This sounds positive until you get too much sludge. Then algae blooms occur, which deprive the water of oxygen and make your pond less livable for fish and other inhabitants. Also, these nutrients stimulate aquatic plant growth, which often gets out of control. The algae in your lake, at some point, will die and fall to the bottom. This dead organic matter decomposes and replenishes the silt layer. As more minerals are now available to boost the growth of algae, the cycle continues to "feed" itself.