Hi all ... been lurking for a while, and you guys & gals seem like a
friendly bunch ... so, I finally decided to post, need some help here
.... chemical or otherwise. Have 2 ponds in our backyard - the first one
is on the smaller side (125 gallons - prefab), which we've had for close
to two years, under the shade of a huge oak - has been a breeze to take
care of .. healthy fish, healthy plants .. no problems whatsoever with
this one. The problem is with the new pond that hubby put in about a
month ago (heh, the reason he gave for building a new pond was so I
didn't have to throw plants out ... though, I think that was only an
excuse, he's already talking pond #3 - he's hooked!). Anyway ... this
new one is slightly larger than the first ... 160 gallons, and in full
sunlight. When he had everything set up, thought it might be a good
idea to transfer some water from the first pond to speed things up a bit
- so, I did that. Placed excess plants from the first one in there - and
waited a couple of weeks to put fish in. No fish deaths, but ...
Hyacinths & Lettuce are turning yellow (lack of nitrogen?) Noticed about
a week ago that ONE single blade of grass has punched through the liner
(6 mil, white) ... that was kind of a surprise, wasn't expecting that
(and could this be part of the problem?) Have a pump in there that is
circulating the water (can't state the specks on it ... I'd have to dig
up the package) We've had LOADS of rain within the past month ... so,
the next thing is something that I was not expecting so quickly. Walked
outside a few days back to feed fish, and noticed that the water was
slightly green - within the following days, it got progressively worse.
Today, couldn't even see the bottom - so, dumped half the water and
replaced it - which did not make much of a difference. I realize that
with this new pond being in direct sunlight, the upkeep is going to be a
bit more difficult as far as algae is concerned ... (could a shift in PH
levels help this .. currently at 8.0) but, what do I need to do to
stabilize this thing and get rid of the hideous murky green water?
Thanking everybody in advance

~Raven~






***********************
~"Normal" people scare me!~

If the WH & WL came from a shady pond, then the sun is frying them because
they are not acclimated to that much hot sun. The WH will adjust, I doubt
the WL will. At least IME it prefers a partially shady pond, especially in
the afternoons.

The green murkiness, live with it, the pond is cycling, let it. Do not
change the water, do add more plants, do not add more fish. Wait it out.
Your pH of 8.0 is fine. ~ jan


On Thu, 10 Jul 2003 22:48:28 -0500, Raven
wrote:

Hi all ... been lurking for a while, and you guys & gals seem like a
friendly bunch ... so, I finally decided to post, need some help here
... chemical or otherwise. Have 2 ponds in our backyard - the first one
is on the smaller side (125 gallons - prefab), which we've had for close
to two years, under the shade of a huge oak - has been a breeze to take
care of .. healthy fish, healthy plants .. no problems whatsoever with
this one. The problem is with the new pond that hubby put in about a
month ago (heh, the reason he gave for building a new pond was so I
didn't have to throw plants out ... though, I think that was only an
excuse, he's already talking pond #3 - he's hooked!). Anyway ... this
new one is slightly larger than the first ... 160 gallons, and in full
sunlight. When he had everything set up, thought it might be a good
idea to transfer some water from the first pond to speed things up a bit
- so, I did that. Placed excess plants from the first one in there - and
waited a couple of weeks to put fish in. No fish deaths, but ...
Hyacinths & Lettuce are turning yellow (lack of nitrogen?) Noticed about
a week ago that ONE single blade of grass has punched through the liner
(6 mil, white) ... that was kind of a surprise, wasn't expecting that
(and could this be part of the problem?) Have a pump in there that is
circulating the water (can't state the specks on it ... I'd have to dig
up the package) We've had LOADS of rain within the past month ... so,
the next thing is something that I was not expecting so quickly. Walked
outside a few days back to feed fish, and noticed that the water was
slightly green - within the following days, it got progressively worse.
Today, couldn't even see the bottom - so, dumped half the water and
replaced it - which did not make much of a difference. I realize that
with this new pond being in direct sunlight, the upkeep is going to be a
bit more difficult as far as algae is concerned ... (could a shift in PH
levels help this .. currently at 8.0) but, what do I need to do to
stabilize this thing and get rid of the hideous murky green water?
Thanking everybody in advance

~Raven~






***********************
~"Normal" people scare me!~


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Raven, As for the green water you need more time and more plants and
some shade. I have a small pond in full sun that I use a potted palm
(that I bring inside for the winter) to filter the hot afternoon sun.
As for the liner, 6mil sounds real thin and if grass came through in a
couple of weeks I don't know what a whole summer and some oak tree
roots have in store for you.
You mentioned a pump but no filter ......... more plants, less
fish , wait longer, more shade.
Let us know what happens ............ Is your liner RV roofing????
(White EPDM rubber)

"Raven" wrote in message
...
Hi all ... been lurking for a while, and you guys & gals seem like a
friendly bunch ... so, I finally decided to post, need some help
here
... chemical or otherwise. Have 2 ponds in our backyard - the first
one
is on the smaller side (125 gallons - prefab), which we've had for
close
to two years, under the shade of a huge oak - has been a breeze to
take
care of .. healthy fish, healthy plants .. no problems whatsoever
with
this one. The problem is with the new pond that hubby put in about
a
month ago (heh, the reason he gave for building a new pond was so I
didn't have to throw plants out ... though, I think that was only an
excuse, he's already talking pond #3 - he's hooked!). Anyway ...
this
new one is slightly larger than the first ... 160 gallons, and in
full
sunlight. When he had everything set up, thought it might be a good
idea to transfer some water from the first pond to speed things up a
bit
- so, I did that. Placed excess plants from the first one in there -
and
waited a couple of weeks to put fish in. No fish deaths, but ...
Hyacinths & Lettuce are turning yellow (lack of nitrogen?) Noticed
about
a week ago that ONE single blade of grass has punched through the
liner
(6 mil, white) ... that was kind of a surprise, wasn't expecting
that
(and could this be part of the problem?) Have a pump in there that
is
circulating the water (can't state the specks on it ... I'd have to
dig
up the package) We've had LOADS of rain within the past month ...
so,
the next thing is something that I was not expecting so quickly.
Walked
outside a few days back to feed fish, and noticed that the water was
slightly green - within the following days, it got progressively
worse.
Today, couldn't even see the bottom - so, dumped half the water and
replaced it - which did not make much of a difference. I realize
that
with this new pond being in direct sunlight, the upkeep is going to
be a
bit more difficult as far as algae is concerned ... (could a shift
in PH
levels help this .. currently at 8.0) but, what do I need to do to
stabilize this thing and get rid of the hideous murky green water?
Thanking everybody in advance

~Raven~






***********************
~"Normal" people scare me!~

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water. Let the green water sit and
hopefully it'll clear. Changing the water only gives the algae new trace
minerals. I bet your phosphate levels are high.

Sam

"Raven" wrote in message
...
Hi all ... been lurking for a while, and you guys & gals seem like a
friendly bunch ... so, I finally decided to post, need some help here ...
chemical or otherwise. Have 2 ponds in our backyard - the first one is on
the smaller side (125 gallons - prefab), which we've had for close to two
years, under the shade of a huge oak - has been a breeze to take care of ..
healthy fish, healthy plants .. no problems whatsoever with this one. The
problem is with the new pond that hubby put in about a month ago (heh, the
reason he gave for building a new pond was so I didn't have to throw plants
out ... though, I think that was only an excuse, he's already talking pond
#3 - he's hooked!). Anyway ... this new one is slightly larger than the
first ... 160 gallons, and in full sunlight. When he had everything set up,
thought it might be a good idea to transfer some water from the first pond
to speed things up a bit - so, I did that. Placed excess plants from the
first one in there - and waited a couple of weeks to put fish in. No fish
deaths, but ... Hyacinths & Lettuce are turning yellow (lack of nitrogen?)
Noticed about a week ago that ONE single blade of grass has punched through
the liner (6 mil, white) ... that was kind of a surprise, wasn't expecting
that (and could this be part of the problem?) Have a pump in there that is
circulating the water (can't state the specks on it ... I'd have to dig up
the package) We've had LOADS of rain within the past month ... so, the next
thing is something that I was not expecting so quickly. Walked outside a
few days back to feed fish, and noticed that the water was slightly green -
within the following days, it got progressively worse. Today, couldn't even
see the bottom - so, dumped half the water and replaced it - which did not
make much of a difference. I realize that with this new pond being in
direct sunlight, the upkeep is going to be a bit more difficult as far as
algae is concerned ... (could a shift in PH levels help this .. currently at
8.0) but, what do I need to do to stabilize this thing and get rid of the
hideous murky green water? Thanking everybody in advance
~Raven~





***********************
~"Normal" people scare me!~

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:23:25 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote:

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water.

I believe yellowing pond plants can be caused by a lack of several
things, potash, magnesium, nitrogen to name the ones I'm familiar
with. Never benefitted from adding iron to the pond.

Regards,

Hal

http://www.treesforyou.org/Planting/.../chlorosis.htm

Lists trees but it's the same for plants in general.


"Hal" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:23:25 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote:

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water.

I believe yellowing pond plants can be caused by a lack of several
things, potash, magnesium, nitrogen to name the ones I'm familiar
with. Never benefitted from adding iron to the pond.

Regards,

Hal

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:23:25 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote:

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water.

I believe yellowing pond plants can be caused by a lack of several
things, potash, magnesium, nitrogen to name the ones I'm familiar
with. Never benefitted from adding iron to the pond.

Regards,

Hal

http://www.treesforyou.org/Planting/.../chlorosis.htm

Lists trees but it's the same for plants in general.


"Hal" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:23:25 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote:

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water.

I believe yellowing pond plants can be caused by a lack of several
things, potash, magnesium, nitrogen to name the ones I'm familiar
with. Never benefitted from adding iron to the pond.

Regards,

Hal

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:23:25 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote:

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water.

I believe yellowing pond plants can be caused by a lack of several
things, potash, magnesium, nitrogen to name the ones I'm familiar
with. Never benefitted from adding iron to the pond.

Regards,

Hal

http://www.treesforyou.org/Planting/.../chlorosis.htm

Lists trees but it's the same for plants in general.


"Hal" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:23:25 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote:

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water.

I believe yellowing pond plants can be caused by a lack of several
things, potash, magnesium, nitrogen to name the ones I'm familiar
with. Never benefitted from adding iron to the pond.

Regards,

Hal

On Fri, 11 Jul 2003 10:23:25 -0400, "Sam Hopkins"
wrote:

Yellow plants mean no iron in the water.

I believe yellowing pond plants can be caused by a lack of several
things, potash, magnesium, nitrogen to name the ones I'm familiar
with. Never benefitted from adding iron to the pond.
Hal

Even with all those things in the water a high pH can suppress the plant
from being able to uptake them. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Raven, when a pond turns pea soup color, the balance is wrong. The
"bad" bacteria have over come the "good" bacteria. In a natural eco
system, everything takes care of itself. I worked with a commercial
grower for walmart on her irrigation pond and helped her with her
water garden as well. She had the same pea soup and knowing her plants
like she did was dumbfounded as to what could be wrong. I introduced a
small amount of bacteria ( specifically made for aquatics) and treated
with a kelp extract. Three years later, her pond is still healthy.

Algae make ponds turn pea soup color.
algae is not bacteria, not bad at all. well, except if you want to see the fish.
pea soup is the color most ponds go thru when first established. as the biofilter
and plants get going the pea soup clears.
explain more about your liner.. you said something was coming up thru it?
Ingrid

when a pond turns pea soup color, the balance is wrong. The
"bad" bacteria have over come the "good" bacteria.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.