hey everyone...I have a problem with my pond and I cant figure it out whatso
ever! i have a massive amount of green/brown algea forming on the entire
inside of the pond and im not sure if thats whats making the water unclear
or if its the water its self that is dirty..i have tried making the pond
deeper and adding a filter and large waterfall to it. this didnt work. i
have 4 plants providing a little shade. the pond is 13x12x2ftdeep. there are
2 pumps pushing a HUGE amount of water through the waterfall which is being
filtered....no matter how hard i try the pond becomes very hard to view the
fish. i would realllly like the help from someone if they know my problem
and how to solve it..i spent alot of money on this and want to have a nice
pond

This sounds like a new pond, and a new ponder. The algae carpet that forms
on the side of the pond is good, in that it provides for some of the
filtering of the pond, and it uses the nutrients needed by the floating
green algae. My recommendation for the green water that is making the pond
less than clear, is patience. But you should be getting the complete list
of things to do, including getting more plants in the pond.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"AFE" wrote in message
news
hey everyone...I have a problem with my pond and I cant figure it out
whatso
ever! i have a massive amount of green/brown algea forming on the entire
inside of the pond and im not sure if thats whats making the water unclear
or if its the water its self that is dirty..i have tried making the pond
deeper and adding a filter and large waterfall to it. this didnt work. i
have 4 plants providing a little shade. the pond is 13x12x2ftdeep. there
are
2 pumps pushing a HUGE amount of water through the waterfall which is
being
filtered....no matter how hard i try the pond becomes very hard to view
the
fish. i would realllly like the help from someone if they know my problem
and how to solve it..i spent alot of money on this and want to have a nice
pond

not sure if it matters...but the water is warm...its almost directly in the
front of our yard. so is this the source of all the algea? and approx how
long can this process of waiting take? also...i read that atleast 70% of the
surface of the pond needs to be cover by plants. i dont have that much. i
have less than 10%..the plants i have dont seem to grow enough to cover a
larger area...i bought a lily and it has about 8 or 9 pads and thats all
that have grown since i bought it.. do i need to buy like 10 of the 4inch
pots just to have that many pads to create the 70% of coverage?
"RichToyBox" wrote in message
news:dp_Va.23123$Ho3.4268@sccrnsc03...
This sounds like a new pond, and a new ponder. The algae carpet that
forms
on the side of the pond is good, in that it provides for some of the
filtering of the pond, and it uses the nutrients needed by the floating
green algae. My recommendation for the green water that is making the
pond
less than clear, is patience. But you should be getting the complete list
of things to do, including getting more plants in the pond.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"AFE" wrote in message
news
hey everyone...I have a problem with my pond and I cant figure it out
whatso
ever! i have a massive amount of green/brown algea forming on the entire
inside of the pond and im not sure if thats whats making the water
unclear
or if its the water its self that is dirty..i have tried making the pond
deeper and adding a filter and large waterfall to it. this didnt work. i
have 4 plants providing a little shade. the pond is 13x12x2ftdeep. there
are
2 pumps pushing a HUGE amount of water through the waterfall which is
being
filtered....no matter how hard i try the pond becomes very hard to view
the
fish. i would realllly like the help from someone if they know my
problem
and how to solve it..i spent alot of money on this and want to have a
nice
pond

bye the way this is the same person who started the post (AHE)

"AFE" writes:

hey everyone...I have a problem with my pond and I cant figure it out whatso
ever! i have a massive amount of green/brown algea forming on the entire
inside of the pond and im not sure if thats whats making the water unclear
or if its the water its self that is dirty..i have tried making the pond
deeper and adding a filter and large waterfall to it. this didnt work. i
have 4 plants providing a little shade. the pond is 13x12x2ftdeep. there are
2 pumps pushing a HUGE amount of water through the waterfall which is being
filtered....no matter how hard i try the pond becomes very hard to view the
fish. i would realllly like the help from someone if they know my problem
and how to solve it..i spent alot of money on this and want to have a nice
pond

Spend a little more on a UV clarifier.

RTB is right!

Patience and provide some cover over your pond to provide shade! Water
Hyacinth, Azollo, Duckweed, etc are other plants you can use. These plants
will help you in two ways, provide cover and take nutrients out of the
water!

I am not a UV person as I see them as totally un-natural!

Also you may be pushing too much water through your filter too fast! The
bio bugs need time to work on your water before returning to the pond!
Maybe reduce the amount of water going through your filter and send the
balance through a waterfall or other structure to help with aeration?

--
_______________________________________
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is
like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:
The chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

http://community.webshots.com/user/godwino

"blah" wrote in message
...
bye the way this is the same person who started the post (AHE)

I started out in a similar position in may/june of this year. I went
from 200 gallons to around 1350 gallons when I upgraded my pond. At
first I had about 10% coverage with plants, plus my purifalls was
filled with WH. My water turned to pea soup for about 2 weeks, then
only cleared to about 1 1/2 foot deep(The pond is 3 ft deep). During
the day the algae got worse when in full sun, after dark it cleared
some. I broke down and bought a UV Clarifier, installed it and it
cleared overnight. I have a nice covering of hair algae now that is
about 1/4 to 1/2 inches tall around almost all of the pond. I do get
some longer hair algae where there is no shade during the day. BTW, I
am about to 50 - 55% plant coverage now. My UV cost $106 -- shipped
to my house and I am really happy with it. Also, I don't use any
chemicals in my water.

On another note, I also maintain a reef aquarium. UV is one of the
best things I have seen for keeping the reef in top shape -- of course
the UV is not only clarifying the water, but sterilizing it of nasty
parasites that are waterborn. If I ever get into any more expensive
Koi I will get a UV that can sterilize the water to help protect the
investment.

yeah thats basically the problem i have right now....EXACTLY..i really
wouldnt like to buy a UV but looks like i may have to.......so for now im
going to try and get some more coverage of plants and apply the 2nd pump to
aeration of the pond instead of filtration. so.....the long waiting process.
Does anyone have any ideas for cheap plants or something that grows really
fast and supplys the amount of coverage i need? maybe i can work on this for
now?

"AFE" wrote in message
news
hey everyone...I have a problem with my pond and I cant figure it out
whatso
ever! i have a massive amount of green/brown algea forming on the entire
inside of the pond and im not sure if thats whats making the water unclear
or if its the water its self that is dirty..i have tried making the pond
deeper and adding a filter and large waterfall to it. this didnt work. i
have 4 plants providing a little shade. the pond is 13x12x2ftdeep. there
are
2 pumps pushing a HUGE amount of water through the waterfall which is
being
filtered....no matter how hard i try the pond becomes very hard to view
the
fish. i would realllly like the help from someone if they know my problem
and how to solve it..i spent alot of money on this and want to have a nice
pond


*ahem*

STOP MESSING WITH THE DAMN POND!!! It's the only way. If you have enough
filtration, plants, etc. All you need is a dosage of time.

BV.

i understand that..i want to know about the filtration and plants and
anything that can help me on my way......

Blah wrote i understand that..i want to know about the filtration and plants
and
anything that can help me on my way......

what was your original question again?
and did I answer it?
;-)


k30a
yearly brother website posting
http://www.30acreimaging.com/

How about floating some sheets of sytrofoam? That is what
did until the lilies got underway. 'Course I always knew a pond
takes time to mature ;-)

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"blah" wrote in message
...
i understand that..i want to know about the filtration and plants and
anything that can help me on my way......

hey k30a ....u didnt answer my ? before thats ok...
heres my current situation:
fairly new..month old 13x12x2feet deep pond.. i have massive amounts of
algea or scum or something building up. i can only view up to about a foot
down. i have about 10% plant coverage, 2 pumps, one is being filtered the
other is for aeration. 2 of the 4 plants i have are producing coverage.the
lily i have only has about 9 or10 pads now..wont seem to grow more...do i
need to buy like 6 containers of lilys? i would like to a way to help
clarify the water. Besides a UV. If needed.. i have 5 large comets. 1 koi, 2
bass, 3 sunnies(large). any ideas?

Hello 'JPNIV',
Water hyacinths, by far, are the fastest growing pond cover. Water lettuce, the
Jurassic variety also grows rapidly. Hopefully you can buy some in your area. I
start with ten and end up with one hundred by the end of the season here in
zone 7.

Also sounds like an opportunity to post the loooooong version of rec.ponds how
to deal with green water and algae.
Hope it helps!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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:

~ ~ Excessive algae means too many nutrients in the water. Nutrients for algae
are sun, new water, fish poo, fish food, decaying plants, fertilizers and dirt.

~ 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 ;-) ..... up to a point.

~ 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 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.

~ 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.

~ 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 theory 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
yearly brother website posting
http://www.30acreimaging.com/

"blah" wrote in message
...
hey k30a ....u didnt answer my ? before thats ok...
heres my current situation:
fairly new..month old 13x12x2feet deep pond.. i have massive amounts of
algea or scum or something building up. i can only view up to about a foot
down. i have about 10% plant coverage, 2 pumps, one is being filtered the
other is for aeration. 2 of the 4 plants i have are producing coverage.the
lily i have only has about 9 or10 pads now..wont seem to grow more...do i
need to buy like 6 containers of lilys? i would like to a way to help
clarify the water. Besides a UV. If needed.. i have 5 large comets. 1 koi,
2
bass, 3 sunnies(large). any ideas?


I suggest some more filter like plants. Your lilies are more ornamental and
won't do much as far as filtration compared to other species. Get some
anacharis, water lettuce, water celery or the mack daddy, Water Hyacinth.
10% of coverage with only 4 plants is probably a bit light on the plant
load.

BV.