Question:

Hi all, I’ve had my pond up and running for about 3-4 months with much success and enjoyment. First frogs, now a bunch of tadpoles, A few feeder goldfish and now babies, dragonflies , beetles and all the other bugs that go with the pond. I’ve had clear water up till now.For the past week it has slowly gotten murky and getting worse. I can still see bottom but not for long if this keep going on. Question? Is this an algae bloom or some other problem ,maybe with the bio filter and bacteria or something else . how long do algae blooms last and is there anything to do to shorten it . any help would be appreciated. Thanks  : )

Response:

Time to post the green water tips! (You don’t have to do them all Green water solutions ~ learning as much as you can about the natural balance of a pond and realizing that new ponds must go through a growth period which usually means green water before balance occurs. ~ Mother Nature designs pond to have few fish, many plants and subtraction and addition of new water from time to time. She lets the fish find food on their own, lets the fish fertilize the plants, encourages predators and lets the plants run rampant. She never cleans her ponds out unless she sends a flood. If things really get out of control she throws up her hands and lets the chips fall where they may – lets the pond fill in, turn emerald green, flood it out, earthquakes, hurricanes, record snowfall, elections too close to call – whatever… ~We pondkeepers stuff in lots of pretty fish, spoil them rotten with tasty fish chow, over fertilize our plants and do everything possible to discourage predators. ~Plan on 20 gallons of water per goldfish and 100 gallons of water per koi and as many plants as you can stuff in. ~ do not use chemicals, killing algae just makes lots of suddenly dead algae, rotting algae robs the pond of oxygen and makes more stuff for the new algae to feed on (unless you have a bottom drain to get it out).  ~lower fish stocking, not over feeding fish – algae loves fish waste (lots of yummy phosphorous)  ~ lots plants of any type, marginal plants such as reeds, cattails, iris, pickerel weed, arrowhead, floaters such as water hyacinth, water lettuce and lots of underwater plants such as anacharis uses the nutrients up that the algae would like. ~ shade (lilies, the floaters and artificial shade – shade cloth, umbrella, arch or trellis planted with vines) no sun for the algae ~ cleaning up debris from the bottom of the pond and stocking snails to chew up the debris – less decaying stuff for algae food. ~ cut back or stop fertilizing  plants – same principle. ~ planting in _well_ rinsed plain kitty litter, sand or fine gravel. ~ mechanical filtration of the fish waste. ~ biological filtration – more than you think you need as your fish are going to grow and you will probably add more fish to your pond via purchase or your fish breeding in the pond. ~ veggie filter – an area, 10% to 20%, of the size of your pond surface area. A couple of inches deeper than the plant baskets (the rigid black mesh baskets made specifically for water plants) you are going to use to plant in. Plant the baskets with marginal plants with fine gravel. Pump the pond water  through at a turnover rate per hour 1/2 to 1/4 of the pond volume. Veggie filter uses up many of the nutrients and provides a good place for bacteria to grow. Build it with a bottom drain (or two) for ease of cleaning – very important or you’ll end up with backups and leaking over the edge. Go here to read a great description about how to build one http://hometown.aol.com/k30a/myhomepage/garden.html ~ a sludge eating product – concentrated bacteria culture. ~ some folks love their UV sterilizer. Does cost some $. ~ adding a bale of barley straw to your pond. Read this webpage http://hometown.aol.com/rosiedawg/myhomepage/collection.html – Phosphate Remover – It comes in a large clear container (maybe about gallon sized) but it’s also available in a smaller quart sized carton.  It’s usually near the aquatic plant fertilizers and different chemicals available such as ammonia remover and such.  You measure out the amount suitable for your pond size, place it in a mesh bag, and first soak it in a pail before you put it in your filter.  You need to soak it because it gives off heat when it first gets wet. ~ do not worry about green fuzzy algae on the side of the pond, that is good algae and helps balance your pond. ~ ignoring a little string algae. ~ installing bottom drains and skimmers for ease of removing sludge and debris. ~ netting the pond during the Fall to keep leaves out of the pond. ~ trimming dead growth from the plants and removing floating tropicals if you live in colder climates. ~ Sacrifices to the Pond Goddess. Run to your nearest garden center and buy a gazing ball, a dragonfly garden stake and bullfrog spitter. Place around your pond and ask humbly for clear water. ~ patience, patience and eternal optimism. K30A pond tips http://hometown.aol.com/k30a/myhomepage/writing.html

Response:

I had the same thing, and installed a UV (25W for 2000Gal) Clear water 4 days later – fantastic!

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi all, > I’ve had my pond up and running for about 3-4 months with much success > and enjoyment. First frogs, now a bunch of tadpoles, A few feeder > goldfish and now > babies, dragonflies , beetles and all the other bugs that go with the > pond. > I’ve had clear water up till now.For the past week it has slowly gotten > murky and getting worse. I can still see bottom but not for long if this > keep going on. > Question? Is this an algae bloom or some other problem ,maybe with the > bio filter > and bacteria or something else . > how long do algae blooms last and is there anything to do to shorten it > . > any help would be appreciated. > Thanks  : )

Response:

Hi all, I’ve had my pond up and running for about 3-4 months with much success and enjoyment. First frogs, now a bunch of tadpoles, A few feeder goldfish and now babies, dragonflies , beetles and all the other bugs that go with the pond. I’ve had clear water up till now.For the past week it has slowly gotten murky and getting worse. I can still see bottom but not for long if this keep going on. Question? Is this an algae bloom or some other problem ,maybe with the bio filter and bacteria or something else . how long do algae blooms last and is there anything to do to shorten it . any help would be appreciated. Thanks  : )

Response:

Time to post the green water tips! (You don’t have to do them all Green water solutions ~ learning as much as you can about the natural balance of a pond and realizing that new ponds must go through a growth period which usually means green water before balance occurs. ~ Mother Nature designs pond to have few fish, many plants and subtraction and addition of new water from time to time. She lets the fish find food on their own, lets the fish fertilize the plants, encourages predators and lets the plants run rampant. She never cleans her ponds out unless she sends a flood. If things really get out of control she throws up her hands and lets the chips fall where they may – lets the pond fill in, turn emerald green, flood it out, earthquakes, hurricanes, record snowfall, elections too close to call – whatever… ~We pondkeepers stuff in lots of pretty fish, spoil them rotten with tasty fish chow, over fertilize our plants and do everything possible to discourage predators. ~Plan on 20 gallons of water per goldfish and 100 gallons of water per koi and as many plants as you can stuff in. ~ do not use chemicals, killing algae just makes lots of suddenly dead algae, rotting algae robs the pond of oxygen and makes more stuff for the new algae to feed on (unless you have a bottom drain to get it out).  ~lower fish stocking, not over feeding fish – algae loves fish waste (lots of yummy phosphorous)  ~ lots plants of any type, marginal plants such as reeds, cattails, iris, pickerel weed, arrowhead, floaters such as water hyacinth, water lettuce and lots of underwater plants such as anacharis uses the nutrients up that the algae would like. ~ shade (lilies, the floaters and artificial shade – shade cloth, umbrella, arch or trellis planted with vines) no sun for the algae ~ cleaning up debris from the bottom of the pond and stocking snails to chew up the debris – less decaying stuff for algae food. ~ cut back or stop fertilizing  plants – same principle. ~ planting in _well_ rinsed plain kitty litter, sand or fine gravel. ~ mechanical filtration of the fish waste. ~ biological filtration – more than you think you need as your fish are going to grow and you will probably add more fish to your pond via purchase or your fish breeding in the pond. ~ veggie filter – an area, 10% to 20%, of the size of your pond surface area. A couple of inches deeper than the plant baskets (the rigid black mesh baskets made specifically for water plants) you are going to use to plant in. Plant the baskets with marginal plants with fine gravel. Pump the pond water  through at a turnover rate per hour 1/2 to 1/4 of the pond volume. Veggie filter uses up many of the nutrients and provides a good place for bacteria to grow. Build it with a bottom drain (or two) for ease of cleaning – very important or you’ll end up with backups and leaking over the edge. Go here to read a great description about how to build one http://hometown.aol.com/k30a/myhomepage/garden.html ~ a sludge eating product – concentrated bacteria culture. ~ some folks love their UV sterilizer. Does cost some $. ~ adding a bale of barley straw to your pond. Read this webpage http://hometown.aol.com/rosiedawg/myhomepage/collection.html – Phosphate Remover – It comes in a large clear container (maybe about gallon sized) but it’s also available in a smaller quart sized carton.  It’s usually near the aquatic plant fertilizers and different chemicals available such as ammonia remover and such.  You measure out the amount suitable for your pond size, place it in a mesh bag, and first soak it in a pail before you put it in your filter.  You need to soak it because it gives off heat when it first gets wet. ~ do not worry about green fuzzy algae on the side of the pond, that is good algae and helps balance your pond. ~ ignoring a little string algae. ~ installing bottom drains and skimmers for ease of removing sludge and debris. ~ netting the pond during the Fall to keep leaves out of the pond. ~ trimming dead growth from the plants and removing floating tropicals if you live in colder climates. ~ Sacrifices to the Pond Goddess. Run to your nearest garden center and buy a gazing ball, a dragonfly garden stake and bullfrog spitter. Place around your pond and ask humbly for clear water. ~ patience, patience and eternal optimism. K30A pond tips http://hometown.aol.com/k30a/myhomepage/writing.html

Response:

I had the same thing, and installed a UV (25W for 2000Gal) Clear water 4 days later – fantastic!

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi all, > I’ve had my pond up and running for about 3-4 months with much success > and enjoyment. First frogs, now a bunch of tadpoles, A few feeder > goldfish and now > babies, dragonflies , beetles and all the other bugs that go with the > pond. > I’ve had clear water up till now.For the past week it has slowly gotten > murky and getting worse. I can still see bottom but not for long if this > keep going on. > Question? Is this an algae bloom or some other problem ,maybe with the > bio filter > and bacteria or something else . > how long do algae blooms last and is there anything to do to shorten it > . > any help would be appreciated. > Thanks  : )

Response: