Pond problems?
Question:i recently have a pond install for the kids an now my pond is green very green can you tell me what is the problem i have 2 pumps in it now an 1 algae eater
Answers:
I think that that is a normal scenario. A new pond goes through stages in order to develop a biological stabilization or its own eco-system. It won't help to drain the pond, clean it out and refill with water. You could wait a couple weeks and see if it clears on its own. But you may have to buy an algaecide such as the one that Tetra makes or GreenClean (see below). Keep the pumps going vigorously during this treatment time since you have already started to stock the pond with fish. One algae eater is not going to make much of a difference. You need to maintain a balance of fish and plants (nearly two-thirds of the pond surface should be covered with water lily pads and floating plants plus the pond should include what they call marginals, oxygenators, etc). Do you have a biological filtration system with a UV light? Barley bales and/or barley extract is also supposed to help. You could, as an alternative, add a special dark blue dye to the water that blocks out sunlight and, in turn, kills off the algae. Once the algae is under control, use a clarifying liquid or granules once per week during these hot summer months.
Been there and done that.We ended up hiring a pond company to come check the water and putting in chemicals to control it. You also will need to get some pond barley it will help after it's under control. We also bought a few algae eaters. Also bought some algae liquid that we needed to add. Your PHD needs checked. Don't put a lot of fish in the pond as this could e your problem. Also how much sun does it get?
Contact the company the put it in and ask for help until you can get it under controll.
Hopefully you won't be botherd with Herons as we were after we had a beautiful pond. They ate every single fish...
we had this problem for a few years. we had 2 filters, spray pumps - we had to keep adding chemicals - which i didn't want to do cause i know my dogs drink out of there when I'm not looking! We ended up building a waterfall on the edge (about 200gal pond) The waterfall is about 21/2 - 3 ft high and has 3-4 drops till it hits the surface. It puts alot more oxygen in the water and help circulate it. I used my existing filters to feed it by running the intake from the submersible pump up under the falls, to the external filter at the top of the falls. The water comes directly out into the falls structure (which is just bigger rocks) and covered the filter at the top with more rocks to hide it. I haven't had any algae now in about 3 yrs. My pond also gets full sun and an aver. of about 25deg. cel.
One thing you need to do is assess how much sun the pond is recieving a day. Does it get any shade from nearby trees? Also, Is it getting debris from trees, lawn mowers, etc?
Do you have too many fish for the size of pond you have?
Do you have surface covering water plants to help shade the pond like water lilies, water lettuce, duckweed to name a few? 2/3 of the pond surface should be covered with floating plants. Algae takes up oxygen from the water and can suffocate fish. Its pretty easy to find more info online. Hope this helps. Enjoy your pond. I love mine.
i had the same problem once the weather turned hot. We bought a UV light that you attach to the hose on the filter. It has been crystal clear for the 2 years since.
This is not a normal scenario for a normal balanced pond. The sole reason the water is green is because there is too much nutrients in the pond and the algae is thriving on it. Nothing to do with your filter or algae eater. If you have enough pond plants to use the excess then your pond will not be green. Both underwater and pond marginal plants will help clear the water. Chemically medicating the water will help but will never solve your problem. Get many pond plants for your hardiness zone and let them get established for a few years and your green water will eventually go away and your pond will be a real balanced pond. Also the smaller the pond the harder it is to balance and maintain the pond due to its volitility to extremes like sunlight, excess nutrients and such.
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