Pond problem?
Question:We put a pond in a few weeks ago, and have some oxygenating plants, but the water has gone murky (like a brown colour) and the sides gone not slimey, but green and algae-ish.
Do I need more oxygenators?
Or what else could be wrong?
Answers:
Your pond ecosystem is not well-balanced and you are having the "dreaded" algae bloom. An ecosystem needs:
1. Fish. Helpful, but not crucial. Fish eat algae.
2. Sun/shade. Half and half. Morning sun/afternoon shade. Morning shade/afternoon sun. Shade from one side. Algae hate shade.
3. Aeration. A pump with a sprayer/bubbler/fountain/water... Algae hate moving water. Aeration also adds oxygen to the water.
4. Bacteria. This may be crucial! You may purchase liquid bacteria at home improvement and pond stores in liquid, powder, or tablet form. This microscopic bacteria establishes itself in your pond and fights algae. You should put bacteria in your pond before you see an algae bloom, but it may help you at this point.
5. Filtration. I use a biofilter. Simple, inexpensive. A tub with a filtering medium such as foam blocks. Mine sits at the top of my waterfall.
6. Depending on your weather, an algae bloom may take weeks to resolve. You may have to clean out your pond and start over if the bloom is particularly tenacious. I have had to do this.
7. A final tip: Do not put your pond where rainwater runoff can get into it. Pesticides, fertilizers, motor oil, whatever people dump in their yards, will kill your fish.
There are algicide preparations (I have used AlgaeFix) that may also help you at this point. Sometimes even ponds with good ecosystems have algae blooms.
Please feel free to research the above topics for more information!
Simply takes time for the pond ecosystem to settle down. You can get straw blocks from a good pond centre which inhibits algal growth if you dont have a recirculating filter system.
I think the pond might be unable to get enough sun light or may be you are living in cool place, if yes, then you have to keep the water flowing or rotating, just manage a small fountain or waterfall from the water of pond that might help you, but before using this you have clean the pond and change the water....
And dont forget to check this article :-
http://www.mossproducts.com.au/water%20g...
All the best...
I had the same problem after a hot spell & storms,its microscopic algae & string algae,I run a big bio filter, waterfall,ultra violet lamp in the in pipe,got plants the lot,my ph,no2,no3,water hardness,etc was all spot on,I used green away,sludge buster,even renewed 1/3rd of the water,still cant see my koi,so I'll be watching for answers on here,but when I put it on here no one could help,I got in touch with other pond owners & all i got was start again,so good luck,by the way keep sunlight away with trees,sun causes most algae blooms
Sounds like you have some algea, as well as oxygenators you need to circulate the water to pull air into the pond. try a small fountain pump
Or, maybe its soil from any baskets you put in there. Hopefully you encased them in hessien sacking to prevent grubs and fish from disturbing the soil
You could try some algea eating snails as well, they help.
plants alone will not keep algae from growing. what you need to do is circulate the water through a biological filter, this means you will need a water pump that will circulate your pond water every hour, you also need to do a lot of research on maintaining your pond, there are many information sites on the net. good luck.
All new ponds need to be given time to be estblished. I have used (Pond Care) Accu-clear in the past for murky water and have had the water clear up with in a few days after two continus treatments and then have treated it once a week afterwards with great results..You must have good airation ,"waterfall , and a fountain " worked well for me with no harm to my fish or plants. Its very important to measure the Accu-clear properly. Good luck with your new pond
Some good answers here. Biofilters take time for the good bacteria to develop and you do need a good balance of plants with fish. I try to keep my pond clear without the use of chemicals but recently have started using AlgaeFix along with Accu Clear to control green water algae. (The sun and warm weather cause algae to bloom). I checked with Watergarden.com (the site is very helpful on all aspects of pond care) to make sure that AlgaeFix would not harm my cats drinking from the pond. They told me that it would be safe using the recommended dose. I still keep my cats out when I am around. Pond care is a challenge but also rewarding good luck but do check out watergarden.com for more info.
We made the mistake of changing the water too often, eventually we were advised to just let it settle and it will eventually clear. For the algae problem we put in something we got from the aquatic shop, it was like a blue inky substance, it did the trick. Have you got running water like waterfall or fountain because that helps to oxygenate.
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