I would appreciate advice on how to eliminate the green tint in my pond
water. The water is "clear" in the sense that I can see the bottom but the
green tint, which I assume is algae related, is not good.

My system consists of the following:
- A 4000 gallon concrete pond (with black epoxy coating) ranging in depth
from 3 to 4 feet. We currently have about 15 large koi plus many fingerlings
from recent spawns.
- A re-circulation system that includes a 36 watt UV light and a large
Cyprio filter (18 brushes and 12 foam filter blocks). I clean the brushes
and foam blocks each week.
- The pond is in full sun much of the afternoon; but, about 35% of the
surface is covered by waterlilies.
- I treat the pond water according to the directions with "BZT Aquaculture"
which is a brand of "microencapsulated bacteria & enzymes."
George

Hi George,

Sounds like a great pond and system that you have going!

Actually algae is a good thing. It is just that ponders tend to overstock and
overfeed and don't always keep ahead of the debris so that single cell algae,
string algae and blue green algae thrive.

I would not worry about a greenish tint. The single cell algae feeds the zoo
plankton that all your fingerlings fed on when they were infants. Unless the UV
light has killed all the zooplankton, does anyone know about this, Ingrid
specifically?

You say you are cleaning the foam blocks once a week. With dechlor-ed and/or
dechloramined water? Anything else will kill the bio-bugs.

Others can answer regarding UV lights (I don't have one) and charcoal, etc.

I don't know if I can offer much more for you to do but I'll post the looooong
rec.ponds answer about algae. It has everything but the kitchen sink in our
collected answers.


This is a collection of tips offered by readers of rec.ponds
To achieve clear water, instead of pea soup green water, in your pond you
should:

~ Realize that algae is tough! It exists in extreme conditions, like ice, just
fine. It has many, many different
forms. It even has a home page! http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/projects/algae/
And, finally, without algae we wouldn't
be here so we should treat it with a little respect ;-)

~ Learn 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 (after the first
1000) 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).

~ Do not worry about green fuzzy algae on the side of the pond, that is good
algae and helps balance your pond.

~ Ignore a little string algae. Then remove it by hand.

~ Install bottom drains and skimmers for ease of removing sludge and debris.

~ Net the pond during the fall to keep leaves out of the pond.

~ Trim dead growth from the plants and removing floating tropicals if you live
in colder climates.

~ Lower your fish stocking, not over feeding fish - algae loves fish waste
(lots of yummy phosphorous)

~ Add 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 (water hyacinth and water lettuce) and
artificial shade - shade cloth, umbrella, arch or trellis planted with vines,
No sun for the algae.

~ Clean up debris from the bottom of the pond and
stock snails to chew up the debris - less decaying stuff for algae food.

~ Cut back or stop fertilizing plants - same principle.

~ Plant in fine gravel and top with larger rocks if you have koi.

~ Mechanical filtration of the fish waste - usually a settling chamber in your
filter, or the first row of brushs, filter media.
Do not overclean the filter.

~ 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. (This does not help with the algae problem but
contributes to the overall health of your fish and any critters.

~ Construct a 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
or
A veggie filter can be as simple as floating water hyacinth at the top of your
stock tank filter. Mine get to be almost three feet tall with leaves as big as
my hand.

~ Purchase sludge eating product - concentrated bacteria culture.

~ Some folks love their UV sterilizer. Does cost some $. And you have to change
the bulb every year.

~ Add a bale of barley straw to your pond for string algae. Read this webpage
http://hometown.aol.com/rosiedawg/my...ollection.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.

~ Read this web page for interesting theroy on the life and times of algae
http://www.koiclubsandiego.org/GRENH2O.html

~ Make 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

Thank you for the advice!

"K30a" wrote in message
...
Hi George,

Sounds like a great pond and system that you have going!

Actually algae is a good thing. It is just that ponders tend to overstock
and
overfeed and don't always keep ahead of the debris so that single cell
algae,
string algae and blue green algae thrive.

I would not worry about a greenish tint. The single cell algae feeds the
zoo
plankton that all your fingerlings fed on when they were infants. Unless
the UV
light has killed all the zooplankton, does anyone know about this, Ingrid
specifically?

You say you are cleaning the foam blocks once a week. With dechlor-ed
and/or
dechloramined water? Anything else will kill the bio-bugs.

Others can answer regarding UV lights (I don't have one) and charcoal,
etc.

I don't know if I can offer much more for you to do but I'll post the
looooong
rec.ponds answer about algae. It has everything but the kitchen sink in
our
collected answers.


This is a collection of tips offered by readers of rec.ponds
To achieve clear water, instead of pea soup green water, in your pond you
should:

~ Realize that algae is tough! It exists in extreme conditions, like ice,
just
fine. It has many, many different
forms. It even has a home page!
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/projects/algae/
And, finally, without algae we wouldn't
be here so we should treat it with a little respect ;-)

~ Learn 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 (after the first
1000) 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).

~ Do not worry about green fuzzy algae on the side of the pond, that is
good
algae and helps balance your pond.

~ Ignore a little string algae. Then remove it by hand.

~ Install bottom drains and skimmers for ease of removing sludge and
debris.

~ Net the pond during the fall to keep leaves out of the pond.

~ Trim dead growth from the plants and removing floating tropicals if you
live
in colder climates.

~ Lower your fish stocking, not over feeding fish - algae loves fish waste
(lots of yummy phosphorous)

~ Add 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 (water hyacinth and water lettuce) and
artificial shade - shade cloth, umbrella, arch or trellis planted with
vines,
No sun for the algae.

~ Clean up debris from the bottom of the pond and
stock snails to chew up the debris - less decaying stuff for algae food.

~ Cut back or stop fertilizing plants - same principle.

~ Plant in fine gravel and top with larger rocks if you have koi.

~ Mechanical filtration of the fish waste - usually a settling chamber in
your
filter, or the first row of brushs, filter media.
Do not overclean the filter.

~ 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. (This does not help with the algae problem but
contributes to the overall health of your fish and any critters.

~ Construct a 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
or
A veggie filter can be as simple as floating water hyacinth at the top of
your
stock tank filter. Mine get to be almost three feet tall with leaves as
big as
my hand.

~ Purchase sludge eating product - concentrated bacteria culture.

~ Some folks love their UV sterilizer. Does cost some $. And you have to
change
the bulb every year.

~ Add a bale of barley straw to your pond for string algae. Read this
webpage
http://hometown.aol.com/rosiedawg/my...ollection.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.

~ Read this web page for interesting theroy on the life and times of algae
http://www.koiclubsandiego.org/GRENH2O.html

~ Make 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

George,

How old is the UV light. The bulbs will continue to glow, but the intensity
falls off fairly quickly. They need to be changed at least once per year.
The rather low population of suspended algae should be being killed by the
UV if it working.

Do you have numbers for the ammonia and nitrites in your pond. I have found
that when my ammonia jumps for any reason, I end up with green water. Don't
know which came first or what the relationship is.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"George Rice" wrote in message
...
I would appreciate advice on how to eliminate the green tint in my pond
water. The water is "clear" in the sense that I can see the bottom but the
green tint, which I assume is algae related, is not good.

My system consists of the following:
- A 4000 gallon concrete pond (with black epoxy coating) ranging in depth
from 3 to 4 feet. We currently have about 15 large koi plus many
fingerlings
from recent spawns.
- A re-circulation system that includes a 36 watt UV light and a large
Cyprio filter (18 brushes and 12 foam filter blocks). I clean the brushes
and foam blocks each week.
- The pond is in full sun much of the afternoon; but, about 35% of the
surface is covered by waterlilies.
- I treat the pond water according to the directions with "BZT
Aquaculture"
which is a brand of "microencapsulated bacteria & enzymes."
George

Thanks! The UV is about 1 season (6 months of use) old. I will check
nitrate and ammonia.
George

"RichToyBox" wrote in message
. net...
George,

How old is the UV light. The bulbs will continue to glow, but the
intensity
falls off fairly quickly. They need to be changed at least once per year.
The rather low population of suspended algae should be being killed by the
UV if it working.

Do you have numbers for the ammonia and nitrites in your pond. I have
found
that when my ammonia jumps for any reason, I end up with green water.
Don't
know which came first or what the relationship is.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"George Rice" wrote in message
...
I would appreciate advice on how to eliminate the green tint in my pond
water. The water is "clear" in the sense that I can see the bottom but
the
green tint, which I assume is algae related, is not good.

My system consists of the following:
- A 4000 gallon concrete pond (with black epoxy coating) ranging in
depth
from 3 to 4 feet. We currently have about 15 large koi plus many
fingerlings
from recent spawns.
- A re-circulation system that includes a 36 watt UV light and a large
Cyprio filter (18 brushes and 12 foam filter blocks). I clean the
brushes
and foam blocks each week.
- The pond is in full sun much of the afternoon; but, about 35% of the
surface is covered by waterlilies.
- I treat the pond water according to the directions with "BZT
Aquaculture"
which is a brand of "microencapsulated bacteria & enzymes."
George

My UV lamps last 2 years. I haven't seen green water since I
installed it about, hm, 5 years ago (on my third lamp now, its
now in its 2nd year).

Aqua UV 40 Watt. Big ol' ballast. 2" pipe. 1 gl/sec pump.
3000 gl. It had the little, inline ballast but that died in
the second year.

The rubber bushing thing doesn't last long, at least not my
first one (UV rays tore it up). The next lamp came with a
purple-colored seal and that's still fine.

If you're using the UV only to combat green water, I don't see
any reason to replace it unless the water is turning green-ish,
and the lamp is visibly "on" (i.e., the ballast is working,
and plugged in).

--
'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`' `'`'`''`'`'`'`'`'`'`'
SLOTHEAD