View Full Version : How do I clear up green pond? HELP!
WilsonKKW
July 10th 04, 08:19 PM
my pond is so green I can't see the fish.What should I do? 500gallon pond 5 Koi
4 Comets. I was told more plants I have 3 Iris, 2 lily pads,4 Water Lettuce,3
parrot feathers,4 Hyacinths,
Lostin1999
July 10th 04, 08:34 PM
"WilsonKKW" > wrote in message
...
> my pond is so green I can't see the fish.What should I do? 500gallon pond
5 Koi
> 4 Comets. I was told more plants I have 3 Iris, 2 lily pads,4 Water
Lettuce,3
> parrot feathers,4 Hyacinths,
add a few underwater plants/oxygenators???
get a uv?
bio filter???
HTH
Lost
Go Fig
July 10th 04, 08:56 PM
In article >, WilsonKKW
> wrote:
> my pond is so green I can't see the fish.What should I do? 500gallon pond 5
> Koi
> 4 Comets. I was told more plants I have 3 Iris, 2 lily pads,4 Water
> Lettuce,3
> parrot feathers,4 Hyacinths,
Get an 8 watt UV:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/NavResults.cfm?Ne=40000&N=62728+11
3341
jay
Sat Jul 10, 2004
Ka30P
July 10th 04, 10:54 PM
Plants is right. Also learning about the life and loves of algae helps. Below
is all the hard won knowledge of rec.ponds over the years. Any and all can
help.
ALGAE PRIMER
~ Nutrients for all forms of algae are sun, new water, fish waste, fertilized
run off, rotting plants, blown in dirt.
~ New ponds and spring ponds need time for plants to get established, algae is
quicker at getting going.
The following is a collection of algae suggestions from many rec.ponders:
~ add plants, of any kind, in the pond. Especially underwater plants.
~ or build a veggie filter* see below (one of the best and prettiest way to
clear a pond)
~ Shade is good - provided by lily pads, floating plants or artificial shade
for part of the day.
~ LOW fish stocking (good rule of thumb for recreational ponders is 20 gallons
per goldfish, 100 per koi after starting with 1,000 gallons) and *not*
overfeeding the fish. Too many fish and too much feeding is probably
responsible for most pea soup water, followed closely by too much decaying
plant matter, sludge and overall gunk in the water
~ clean up dead plant matter and screen for falling leaves in the fall. Clean
out pond once a year.
~ building ponds with bottom drains and skimmers.
~ do not use algaecides, they only make lots of suddenly dead algae and that
will feed the next algae bloom.
~ do not use products to dye to the water...
~ do not worry about algae that grows on things (substrate algae) this is good
for a pond
~ gently remove string algae
or read http://www.sfbakc.org/koienews/clayvsclay.html
or some rec.ponders like String Algae Buster
~ water movement and occasional water changes of 10%
~ add a sludge consumer, concentrated bacteria.
some rec.ponders use http://www.united-tech.com/m-aq4u-toc.html
~ Check your pH, too high, over 8.8, or too low, under 6.4, and most higher
plant forms can't take up the nutrients.
~ UV lights work on suspended algae (green water) - does cost some $$
~ adding a combination mechanical and biological filter to screen gunk, dead
algae and convert fishy ammonia waste for fish health.
~ some rec.ponders like barley straw
http://www.aquabotanic.com/barleyarticle.html
~ patience, more patience, remember to be patient and time ;-)
~ personally, in my experience, I can vouch for few fish, a plant filter and
patience
*Plant filter ~ running the pond's water through plants
- as easy as floating water hyacinth in top of a stock tank and planting
watercress in your waterfall (my method ;-)
or
Ingrid's post on plant filters:
"The essence of a plant filter is a water proof container with the water from
the pond
being pumped in one end flowing thru the roots of various plants and flowing
back
into the pond at the other end.
It needs to be long enough that solids settle to the bottom OR have filter
material
that will slow or hold the solids (and get rinsed out periodically).
It needs plants of different kinds to maximize removal of all wastes.
it needs sufficient amount of plants to remove in one day all the wastes
produced by
the fish load in one day. It needs plants with extensive roots and/or plants
that get big so they used up more
nutrients. It needs to be only 8-12" deep so it doesn't go anaerobic."
or go here:
http://www.iheartmypond.com/Design/DIY/Filters/VegetableFilters/default.asp
kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html
KCnRichmond
July 11th 04, 12:41 AM
How many times you gonna ask? The basics were laid out to you in your
7/4/04 post by several.....What are you wantin' to hear, that there's a
magical time with gnomes & crap that "poof" its clear......You just put it
in in May....Jeez...Slow down, the fish ain't the most important thing
there.....
"WilsonKKW" > wrote in message
...
> my pond is so green I can't see the fish.What should I do? 500gallon pond
5 Koi
> 4 Comets. I was told more plants I have 3 Iris, 2 lily pads,4 Water
Lettuce,3
> parrot feathers,4 Hyacinths,
WilsonKKW
July 11th 04, 01:00 AM
>
>How many times you gonna ask? The basics were laid out to you in your
>7/4/04 post by several.....What are you wantin' to hear, that there's a
>magical time with gnomes & crap that "poof" its clear......You just put it
>in in May....Jeez...Slow down, the fish ain't the most important thing
>there.....
>
be nice! I'm a newbie,and I've lost the past postings
~ jan JJsPond.us
July 11th 04, 01:53 AM
>On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 23:41:51 GMT, "KCnRichmond" > wrote:
>How many times you gonna ask? The basics were laid out to you in your
>7/4/04 post by several.....What are you wantin' to hear, that there's a
>magical time with gnomes & crap that "poof" its clear......You just put it
>in in May....Jeez...Slow down, the fish ain't the most important thing
>there.....
>
As a matter of fact, and I think it is in K30's algae primer, there is
mention of pond goddess sacrifices, probably something about gnomes too.
I'd skip the crap, it's been known to cause neon green water. Is it just
me, or was that PMS talking up there? ;o) ~ jan
(Do you know where your water quality is?)
Gail Futoran
July 11th 04, 02:52 AM
"WilsonKKW" > wrote
[snip]
> be nice! I'm a newbie,and I've lost the past postings
Google Groups is a great resource for researching
past postings:
http://groups.google.com/
Use Advanced Groups Search and specify the
newsgroup and a topic. I will often limit the dates
which helps you narrow down to a thread that
includes your question. But you'll find the same
answers to the same question asked by everyone. :)
Time is probably the most important "cure", all
else being equal. You can't do better than read
carefully Kathy's (Ka30P) posts on the subject.
Gail
Go Fig
July 11th 04, 02:55 AM
In article >,
KCnRichmond > wrote:
> How many times you gonna ask? The basics were laid out to you in your
> 7/4/04 post by several.....What are you wantin' to hear, that there's a
> magical time with gnomes & crap that "poof" its clear......You just put it
> in in May....Jeez...Slow down, the fish ain't the most important thing
> there.....
Shouldn't the individual ponder get to decided what is most important
to them?
What's easier to replace, a 'pet' or a plant ?
Get a UV, damn close to magic when it comes to pea soup water.
jay
Sat Jul 10, 2004
>
>
>
>
>
> "WilsonKKW" > wrote in message
> ...
> > my pond is so green I can't see the fish.What should I do? 500gallon pond
> 5 Koi
> > 4 Comets. I was told more plants I have 3 Iris, 2 lily pads,4 Water
> Lettuce,3
> > parrot feathers,4 Hyacinths,
>
>
Ka30P
July 11th 04, 04:15 AM
I've thought about running a pop quiz on the green water primer. Maybe the
prize for a good grade would be a pond gnome, with an algae green bread,
attired in his birthday suit, with a lily pad in the pertinent location.
kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html
Karen Mullen
July 11th 04, 05:17 AM
In article >,
(WilsonKKW) writes:
>What should I do? 500gallon pond 5 Koi
>4 Comets.
5 koi in 500 gallons is too many and add the 4 comets, you're overstocked. you
didn't mention what type of filtration you have, but it better be more than
good.
Karen
Zone 5
Ashland, OH
http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
My Art Studio at
http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K.M.Studios/K.M.Studios.html
for email remove the extra extention
WilsonKKW
July 11th 04, 06:36 PM
>
>Google Groups is a great resource for researching
>past postings:
thank you.
than you Karen. I was rolling thru the threads waiting for a sharp eye to catch the 5
koi/4 GF in a 500 gallon. WAY overstocked. the green may be all that is keeping the
water from being completely toxic. Ingrid
(Karen Mullen) wrote:
>In article >,
>(WilsonKKW) writes:
>
>>What should I do? 500gallon pond 5 Koi
>>4 Comets.
>
>5 koi in 500 gallons is too many and add the 4 comets, you're overstocked. you
>didn't mention what type of filtration you have, but it better be more than
>good.
>
>Karen
>Zone 5
>Ashland, OH
>http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
>My Art Studio at
>http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K.M.Studios/K.M.Studios.html
>for email remove the extra extention
>
>
>
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
Go Fig
July 11th 04, 07:51 PM
In article >,
> wrote:
> than you Karen. I was rolling thru the threads waiting for a sharp eye to
> catch the 5
> koi/4 GF in a 500 gallon. WAY overstocked. the green may be all that is
> keeping the
> water from being completely toxic. Ingrid
I don't think that's a fair conclusion. Inches of fish is far more
important than actual numbers as well as the amount of food being
given. As to the filtration, it seems more than able to handle the
load, with lots of WH, lava prefilter and reasonable aeration. If the
picture and description still holds true.
This water would probably be green without a single fish in it.
Add a UV, see your fish again this week. Keep on eye on your water
quality and change 100 gallons a month... fill the tub with WH,
protected from the fish.
jay
Sun Jul 11, 2004
>
> (Karen Mullen) wrote:
>
> >In article >,
> >(WilsonKKW) writes:
> >
> >>What should I do? 500gallon pond 5 Koi
> >>4 Comets.
> >
> >5 koi in 500 gallons is too many and add the 4 comets, you're overstocked.
> >you
> >didn't mention what type of filtration you have, but it better be more than
> >good.
> >
> >Karen
> >Zone 5
> >Ashland, OH
> >http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
> >My Art Studio at
> >http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K.M.Studios/K.M.Studios.html
> >for email remove the extra extention
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 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.
Karen Mullen
July 12th 04, 05:38 AM
I read this post and the original one posted awhile back, I see no mention of a
filter except plants. In addition to 9 fish in 500 gallons she also has
tadpoles and snails. That many fish, regardless of size, puts a heavy load on
the ecobalance of the pond. Unless she had a 500 gallon filter, water quality
will suffer and the fish will start to die off until it comes into its own
balance, then it will clear. Telling her a UV will solve her problems is not
giving her a fair assessment of what she is dealing with. This is a new pond
and it is overstocked.
Karen
In article >, Go Fig > writes:
>I don't think that's a fair conclusion. Inches of fish is far more
>important than actual numbers as well as the amount of food being
>given. As to the filtration, it seems more than able to handle the
>load, with lots of WH, lava prefilter and reasonable aeration. If the
>picture and description still holds true.
>
>This water would probably be green without a single fish in it.
>
>Add a UV, see your fish again this week. Keep on eye on your water
>quality and change 100 gallons a month... fill the tub with WH,
>protected from the fish.
Zone 5
Ashland, OH
http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
My Art Studio at
http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K.M.Studios/K.M.Studios.html
for email remove the extra extention
Go Fig
July 12th 04, 05:58 AM
In article >, Karen Mullen
> wrote:
> I read this post and the original one posted awhile back, I see no mention of
> a
> filter except plants.
You should follow the link, thats why I said "picture and description"
> In addition to 9 fish in 500 gallons she also has
> tadpoles and snails. That many fish, regardless of size, puts a heavy load on
> the ecobalance of the pond.
Sounds interesting, but I don't know what it means. Champion koi start
out with much, much less water/koi ratio then 9/500gal.
> Unless she had a 500 gallon filter, water quality
> will suffer and the fish will start to die off until it comes into its own
> balance, then it will clear.
Are you saying, but for the fish, the water would be clear... is that
what you are saying ?
> Telling her a UV will solve her problems is not
> giving her a fair assessment of what she is dealing with.
Not following the link is not giving yourself enough information.
> This is a new pond
> and it is overstocked.
I disagree that it is overstocked, cause we don't know to make that
call.
jay
Sun Jul 11, 2004
>
>
> Karen
>
>
> In article >, Go Fig > writes:
>
> >I don't think that's a fair conclusion. Inches of fish is far more
> >important than actual numbers as well as the amount of food being
> >given. As to the filtration, it seems more than able to handle the
> >load, with lots of WH, lava prefilter and reasonable aeration. If the
> >picture and description still holds true.
> >
> >This water would probably be green without a single fish in it.
> >
> >Add a UV, see your fish again this week. Keep on eye on your water
> >quality and change 100 gallons a month... fill the tub with WH,
> >protected from the fish.
>
>
> Zone 5
> Ashland, OH
> http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
> My Art Studio at
> http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K.M.Studios/K.M.Studios.html
> for email remove the extra extention
>
>
>
>
>
Go Fig
July 12th 04, 06:07 AM
Opps, I correct myself and apologize. There was no link to this OP
filter and picture... it was another "green water" subject thread that
I confused it with.
That said, we still don't know enough to draw conclusions IMHO.
Green water needs phosphates, higher pH and warming water, fish for the
most part are generally incidental in early spring and early summer
outbreaks.
jay
Sun Jul 11, 2004
In article >, Go Fig >
wrote:
> In article >, Karen Mullen
> > wrote:
>
> > I read this post and the original one posted awhile back, I see no mention
> > of
> > a
> > filter except plants.
>
> You should follow the link, thats why I said "picture and description"
>
> > In addition to 9 fish in 500 gallons she also has
> > tadpoles and snails. That many fish, regardless of size, puts a heavy load
> > on
> > the ecobalance of the pond.
>
> Sounds interesting, but I don't know what it means. Champion koi start
> out with much, much less water/koi ratio then 9/500gal.
>
> > Unless she had a 500 gallon filter, water quality
> > will suffer and the fish will start to die off until it comes into its own
> > balance, then it will clear.
>
> Are you saying, but for the fish, the water would be clear... is that
> what you are saying ?
>
>
> > Telling her a UV will solve her problems is not
> > giving her a fair assessment of what she is dealing with.
>
> Not following the link is not giving yourself enough information.
>
> > This is a new pond
> > and it is overstocked.
>
> I disagree that it is overstocked, cause we don't know to make that
> call.
>
> jay
> Sun Jul 11, 2004
>
>
> >
> >
> > Karen
> >
> >
> > In article >, Go Fig >
> > writes:
> >
> > >I don't think that's a fair conclusion. Inches of fish is far more
> > >important than actual numbers as well as the amount of food being
> > >given. As to the filtration, it seems more than able to handle the
> > >load, with lots of WH, lava prefilter and reasonable aeration. If the
> > >picture and description still holds true.
> > >
> > >This water would probably be green without a single fish in it.
> > >
> > >Add a UV, see your fish again this week. Keep on eye on your water
> > >quality and change 100 gallons a month... fill the tub with WH,
> > >protected from the fish.
> >
> >
> > Zone 5
> > Ashland, OH
> > http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
> > My Art Studio at
> > http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K.M.Studios/K.M.Studios.html
> > for email remove the extra extention
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
I had a new 220 for my mother. got 12 itsy bitsy feeder GF. 2 survived. this was
before knowing about cycling.
first address the basic questions about the setup. then stocking. she has to get
the koi outta there, the pond is too small.
Ingrid
Go Fig > wrote:
>I don't think that's a fair conclusion. Inches of fish is far more
>important than actual numbers as well as the amount of food being
>given. As to the filtration, it seems more than able to handle the
>load, with lots of WH, lava prefilter and reasonable aeration. If the
>picture and description still holds true.
>
>This water would probably be green without a single fish in it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
Karen Mullen
July 12th 04, 09:30 PM
In article >, Go Fig > writes:
> Champion koi start
>out with much, much less water/koi ratio then 9/500gal.
Jay,
champion koi are also raised by pros and are in water that is heavily filtered,
I know a few breeders. she is a new ponder and for her set up, green water is
part of they cycle, I know, but too many fish does not allow the cycle to
establish itself. a new pond starts with plants and one or two fish and a
filtering system. be fair to her, she's is not raising champion koi, is not a
breeder and needs to start with the basics you she can enjoy her pond.
Karen
Zone 5
Ashland, OH
http://hometown.aol.com/kmam1/MyPond/MyPond.html
My Art Studio at
http://members.aol.com/kmmstudios/K.M.Studios/K.M.Studios.html
for email remove the extra extention
Try the New product AlgaeFix
Plant & fish safe - 8, 16, & 64 oz bottles available
For ponds containing live fish and plants (does not kill live plants)
Helps control "green water" algae blooms, blanketweed (Oedogonium) and
string algae
Previously, all algicides were non-selective and killed or damaged all
plants in the pond along with the algae
An E.P.A. registered selective algae-control product that solves aglae
problems
It keeps ornamental ponds and water gardens clean and clear and it
kills existing algae and controls additional algae blooms
You can find this product at wholesale prices at
www.backyard-lifestyle.com
On 10 Jul 2004 19:19:48 GMT, (WilsonKKW) wrote:
>my pond is so green I can't see the fish.What should I do? 500gallon pond 5 Koi
>4 Comets. I was told more plants I have 3 Iris, 2 lily pads,4 Water Lettuce,3
>parrot feathers,4 Hyacinths,
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