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#1
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water quality
hi all, i have a well established pond, had it for about 12 years now, it measures 14ft by 9ft by 4ft deep and holds about 3145 gallons i have two large filter boxes, a uv clarifier and a submersible pump which shifts about 3000 gallons an hour it also has two smaller pumps powering two waterfalls. the fish i have in it are koi, goldfish, orfe, 2 barbel and 2 catfish. we used to have really clear water but the last 2 years in late summer the water has turned very green and cloudy and has a lot of particles in it. the pump is checked twice a day for blockages. about 3 years ago the goldfish had babies, about 20 of them and when they grew to a reasonable size i gave all but 2 of them away. i dont think the pond is overstocked, all the fish seem perfectly healthy but this cloudy water is driving us nuts. has anyone any idea what might be causing it ? my partner insists each year that we empty the filter boxes out and clean the media and the water does improve but i'm sure by doing this we upset the biological balance of the filter and as i'm now suffering from arthritus it's also becoming a pain in the backside each year. if anyones got any suggetions on why this is hapening and how to stop it i'd be grateful.
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#2
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water quality
"thorny rose" wrote in message ... hi all, i have a well established pond, had it for about 12 years now, it measures 14ft by 9ft by 4ft deep and holds about 3145 gallons i have two large filter boxes, a uv clarifier and a submersible pump which shifts about 3000 gallons an hour it also has two smaller pumps powering two waterfalls. the fish i have in it are koi, goldfish, orfe, 2 barbel and 2 catfish. we used to have really clear water but the last 2 years in late summer the water has turned very green and cloudy and has a lot of particles in it. the pump is checked twice a day for blockages. about 3 years ago the goldfish had babies, about 20 of them and when they grew to a reasonable size i gave all but 2 of them away. i dont think the pond is overstocked, all the fish seem perfectly healthy but this cloudy water is driving us nuts. has anyone any idea what might be causing it ? my partner insists each year that we empty the filter boxes out and clean the media and the water does improve but i'm sure by doing this we upset the biological balance of the filter and as i'm now suffering from arthritus it's also becoming a pain in the backside each year. if anyones got any suggetions on why this is hapening and how to stop it i'd be grateful. You have an algae bloom caused by excessive nitrates. Do you have any water plants planted in your pond? The more plants you have, the lower the concentration of nitrates you will have in your pond. Also, you can add beneficial bacteria and enzymes to the water that, once established, will out-compete the algae for nutrients and help keep the water clear. You can obtain this product at just about any fish dealer or garden shop. And yes, you should clean out your filters periodically and do periodic small water changes. This should help, but at this point in time, it will take time to clear it up. George |
#3
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water quality
Have you any plants or a veggie filter?
Jim |
#4
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water quality
On Sun, 2 Sep 2007 15:37:49 CST, thorny rose
wrote: hi all, i have a well established pond, had it for about 12 years now, it measures 14ft by 9ft by 4ft deep and holds about 3145 gallons i have two large filter boxes, a uv clarifier and a submersible pump which shifts about 3000 gallons an hour it also has two smaller pumps powering two waterfalls. the fish i have in it are koi, goldfish, orfe, 2 barbel and 2 catfish. we used to have really clear water but the last 2 years in late summer the water has turned very green and cloudy and has a lot of particles in it. the pump is checked twice a day for blockages. about 3 years ago the goldfish had babies, about 20 of them and when they grew to a reasonable size i gave all but 2 of them away. i dont think the pond is overstocked, all the fish seem perfectly healthy but this cloudy water is driving us nuts. has anyone any idea what might be causing it ? my partner insists each year that we empty the filter boxes out and clean the media and the water does improve but i'm sure by doing this we upset the biological balance of the filter and as i'm now suffering from arthritus it's also becoming a pain in the backside each year. if anyones got any suggetions on why this is hapening and how to stop it i'd be grateful. Are you doing water changes? Like the other said, nitrates, water changes should be done once/week 10%. In your currently state I'd do them every other day till the water clears up. What are your water parameters? Ammonia, Nitrites, pH & KH? ~ jan ------------ Zone 7a, SE Washington State Ponds: www.jjspond.us |
#6
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water quality
There is some info on veggie filters in
the first site in my sig ~ k :-) http://tinyurl.com/6bguh ~ new pond keeper info http://tinyurl.com/yp64db ~ slide show of pond |
#7
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water quality
"thorny rose" wrote in message ... i have quite a few plants in the pond, 4 lillies, parrots feather, canadian pondweed, various iris, mimulus and a few water soldiers. i haven't done a water test for ages and i'm due a water change soon. i will also get the filter media cleaned as soon as poss. can someone give me some info on veggie filters, what plants do you have in them and what do you do in winter when the plants die back. thanks. ========================== I fill my veggie filter with fast growing plants such as pickerel weed, iris, parrots feather and wherever there's space, a few water lettuce. My VF acts as a settling tank also, catching a large amount of "crud" or mulm as the water goes past the plant roots. By the time they die back in fall, the pumps and filters are about already to be turned off for the winter. -- RM.... Frugal ponding since 1995. rec.ponder since late 1996. My Pond & Aquarium Pages: http://tinyurl.com/9do58 Zone 6. Middle TN USA ~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö |
#8
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water quality
my two main plants are water celery and cyperus. in winter I drag the
cyperus into the basement and put it in a tank under a light. the celery I start new every year by digging little plants up that volunteer next to the pond. wash the roots, stick them in the veggie filter. in winter I just run a bucket filter, the water lily stays green and the algae comes back. Ingrid On Tue, 4 Sep 2007 16:00:25 CST, thorny rose wrote: i have quite a few plants in the pond, 4 lillies, parrots feather, canadian pondweed, various iris, mimulus and a few water soldiers. i haven't done a water test for ages and i'm due a water change soon. i will also get the filter media cleaned as soon as poss. can someone give me some info on veggie filters, what plants do you have in them and what do you do in winter when the plants die back. thanks. |
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