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5. Your Pond water is stagnating
Water tends to stagnate for several reasons. Firstly, if there is little or no movement in the flow of the water. Secondly, oxygen levels tend to be very low in stagnant water. And thirdly, waste from fish or from rotting vegetation can also contribute to the water taking on a murky, smelly nature. Generally speaking, fish and amphibians will tend to die off due to low oxygen levels, and the water can also become a breeding ground for certain insect and mosquito larvae. In other words if you want a decorative fish pond, you want to avoid it.
The good news is that with the correct plants, water stagnation shouldn't necessarily be much of a problem. Make sure you have some oxygenating plants such as Canadian Pond Weed, Starwort, or Hornwort. These will also help filter excessive nutrients from the water. (Blanket weed is also good for this, but has the drawback of being extremely fast growing and potentially invasive). If you have no fish in the pond, you probably needn't worry too much about stagnation. But if you do have fish, you may want to introduce a pond filter, which will help remove the toxins from the water as well as helping to circulate the water and increase oxygen levels.
Similarly, you may wish to add a water feature such as a fountain or a pump-driven stream. Again, by helping the water to circulate it will increase oxygen levels and help prevent stagnation.
In summary, probably your best solution to keep your pond water healthy is by introducing plenty of plants. They're great natural filters and oxygenators and look good too!
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