Sue: Yes, the waterfall adds oxygen to the pond, depending on the drop. I
have 3 waterfalls, but the 2 that enter the pond are only a shallow drop,
and don't add much in the way of surface disturbance. If you have a drop of
18" or so, you may be OK. However, extra O2 is *never* a bad idea. I'd place
the airstone about 2/3 of the way from the waterfall: the airstone will
ensure that the far end of the pond also is properly aerated.

Your "brown algae" doesn't "quite" sound normal. New ponds usually grow nice
green stuff, not brown stuff. Especially brown stuff that breaks loose and
clogs the filter. Do you have any Koi Clay? Among its many benefits, it
also acts as a floculant: it gathers the stuff floating in the water column
and takes it to the bottom, leaving you with clear water. Considering that
your water is pretty clouded, if you have some, I'd mix about 1/2 cup in a
bucket of pond water, mix it up to disolve it, and pour it around the pond
edges. Try to get it mixed in with the water. It will turn your pond gray
for a few hours, but should clear over night. It may help, but it definitely
won't hurt. Another thing you could try: replace your skimmer mat with a
lingerie bag stuffed with netting, the kind you use for crafts (like coarse
bridal veil). It will catch a lot of the "fines" that are going through it,
which will also help clear your water. BE FOREWARNED: I have to clean mine
twice a day, but my water's gin clear! Just take the bag somewhere where you
can blast the blazes out of it with a water hose, then plunk it back in. If
you've got what I think you have (cyanobacteria), it will be an on-going
effort until the water cools again. It works in cycles; I'm on my third
since Spring.

As far as fish in the skimmer: I've got to tackle that one myself this
weekend. My fish don't get trapped, but the go in looking for food and get
stuck. I'm constantly finding scales they ripped off trying to get back out.
The problem is, you can put anything over it that will block the water flow.
But it has to be large enough to keep the fish out. But as long as they
don't get sucked against the water intake, they'll be ok.

Lee


"Sue Walsh" wrote in message
om...
Nedra,
Actually both you and Lee agree that I should keep up with the baking
soda. So by your calculations I can add 1& 1/2 cups for my pond and
still be safe for the fish. OK, I will do that 3 days running,
between the rain drops (actually torrents & lightning strikes).

Lee,
Basically it's brown water that gets worse when stirred by rain, I can
only see down about 8" maybe 10" into the pond. The liner, edges of
the leaves and stems get covered with the brown stuff. The filter
gets clogged in a few days and we need to keep cleaning it. It looks
like dirty bropwn water, but the pond guy around here says its brown
algae.

Doesn't the waterfall do enough to add oxygen to the water, it comes
in at a pretty good rate from the stream? I never see the fish up top
looking for air. They do occasionally swim thru the waterfall. Had
one in the skimmer yesterday, got it out and it seems to be OK, anyway
to stop that happening again?

Will Get the biofilter up and running and then just wait it out. It
would be so nice to be able to see my fish where ever they are!

Should I be doing 25% water changes in the pond at this point? I used
to do it in the barrel garden, but I'm not sure if it would do any
good here or just slow up the process of balancing.

Thanks, Sue W