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almost black water



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 4th 03, 01:47 AM
Gale Pearce
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Default almost black water

By redone , I am thinking you had a new liner installed - if so, you are
back to square one - it will take the rest of this summer here in SW Ont to
"mature" the pond, or "cycle" it - until next year it will probably "swing"
back and forth between clear and cloudy - the bacteria additive will help,
but stay away from chemicals and floctulants - they will only prolong the
problem

"Oh ya, the guy that did the pond said our pump was too small, but he said
it
was the right size when he did the pond."


Is he talking about the original pond that was redone bigger or now ? - how
big is the pond and how much water / hour are you filtering? - you should be
filtering at least half the pond / hour - more is better, especially with a
large fish load
That being said, patience is the best cure
Gale :~)
"Carolyn" wrote in message
...
We just had my mom's pond redone this spring. The liner is totally

covered
with rocks. There is a filter and skimmer system with a waterfall. The
water was totally clear for about 2 weeks then started to get cloudy. We
were using one type of bacteria, but it wasn't helping. We also used a
product to get rid of string algae, which is gone now. The water just

kept
getting darker and murkier. Now we can only see the fish when they come

up
to feed. So we tried another type of bacteria which was supposed to work
within a week. Three weeks later, still no improvement. Now we added
barley straw pellets. Still no improvement. What are we doing wrong??

Oh
ya, the guy that did the pond said our pump was too small, but he said it
was the right size when he did the pond. If it was any bigger we would be
blasting the rocks and the fish right out of the pond!

TIA
Carolyn
SW Ontario





  #2  
Old August 4th 03, 02:39 AM
K30a
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Default almost black water

When you add stuff to kill algae you all af a sudden have lots of dead algae
bodies floating around.
This why we don't like chemicals. New algae will feed on the old algae.
Somebody here had a real problem with a black algae once. I think it was Carol.
And wasn't it a form of blue-green algae? Anyone remember? Carol are you out
there?

k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...ors/index.html
  #3  
Old August 4th 03, 11:02 AM
Sue Walsh
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Default almost black water

Rich,
Does a pond EVER get to the point where it is clear and one can just
enjoy it, or do we always have cycling back and forth between clear
and clouded? I understand the theory of wait it out(and I agree), but
is there a light at the end of the tunnel?!?

Sue W

Rich wrote in message ...
Ponds cycle, Yes it was clear for a wile, then it will bloom or cycle for
three weeks or so. Let nature take it's coarse. You can run more pumps to
add O2 and filter with charcoal but time will help.
Good luck.

  #4  
Old August 4th 03, 12:43 PM
Nedra
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Default almost black water

Sue, Yes there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Your pond will usually cycle at 3 years. Just what I and\
others have found to be true.

Don't have 3 years ... you can keep on beating your head
against that wall :O)

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118
"Sue Walsh" wrote in message
m...
Rich,
Does a pond EVER get to the point where it is clear and one can just
enjoy it, or do we always have cycling back and forth between clear
and clouded? I understand the theory of wait it out(and I agree), but
is there a light at the end of the tunnel?!?

Sue W

Rich wrote in message ...
Ponds cycle, Yes it was clear for a wile, then it will bloom or cycle

for
three weeks or so. Let nature take it's coarse. You can run more pumps

to
add O2 and filter with charcoal but time will help.
Good luck.




  #5  
Old August 5th 03, 02:39 PM
Sue Walsh
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Default almost black water

"Nedra" wrote in message news
Sue, Yes there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Your pond will usually cycle at 3 years. Just what I and\
others have found to be true.

Don't have 3 years ... you can keep on beating your head
against that wall :O)

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


Nedra,
OK, so I'll be 61 when my pond clears, finally. So I'll wait, it will
give me something to look foward to, some excitement in my 'elderly
years' )

In the meantime (while I'm still young enough to understand) can
anyone explain to me why, while at my pond I have to wait(3 years)the
pond which we just put into the Botanical Gardens here in my town only
one month before mine, the water is and has been crystal clear after
the first month? We didn't do anything differently there than I do at
home. We don't add anything chemically to the botanical garden pond.
Why don't we have the same 3 year cycle there? The black and white
comparison is why it's so hard for me to understand this whole thing.
  #6  
Old August 5th 03, 03:29 PM
BenignVanilla
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Posts: n/a
Default almost black water


"Sue Walsh" wrote in message
om...
"Nedra" wrote in message news
Sue, Yes there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Your pond will usually cycle at 3 years. Just what I and\
others have found to be true.

Don't have 3 years ... you can keep on beating your head
against that wall :O)

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


Nedra,
OK, so I'll be 61 when my pond clears, finally. So I'll wait, it will
give me something to look foward to, some excitement in my 'elderly
years' )

In the meantime (while I'm still young enough to understand) can
anyone explain to me why, while at my pond I have to wait(3 years)the
pond which we just put into the Botanical Gardens here in my town only
one month before mine, the water is and has been crystal clear after
the first month? We didn't do anything differently there than I do at
home. We don't add anything chemically to the botanical garden pond.
Why don't we have the same 3 year cycle there? The black and white
comparison is why it's so hard for me to understand this whole thing.


I can't say I know. I guess we Nedra to explain what she means by cycle. I
know my pond is just one season old now, and the water has "cycled" which in
my mind means it has built up enough bioligical mass to maintain water
quality. My fish, plants, algae and bacteria are balanced. When I stay OUT
of the pond, my water is gin clear.

BV.


  #7  
Old August 4th 03, 02:16 PM
BenignVanilla
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Posts: n/a
Default almost black water


"Sue Walsh" wrote in message
m...
Rich,
Does a pond EVER get to the point where it is clear and one can just
enjoy it, or do we always have cycling back and forth between clear
and clouded? I understand the theory of wait it out(and I agree), but
is there a light at the end of the tunnel?!?

snip

My pond was infested with orange/clay water. I tried filters, flocculants,
etc. I didn't listen to advice to leave it alone. Then I got busy with work,
took a few days off to go camping, and wouldn't ya know...gin clear water.
The most important pond rule, IMHO, once you have everything in place, and
assuming you have proper filtration...STOP MESSING WITH THE DAMN POND!!! As
simple as that.

I messed with mine this weekend. Moved some plants around, got in and pruned
a few, etc. Now I have cloudy orange water again. I ignored the SMWTDP rule,
and now I can't see my fish. Why am I smiling? Because I know I can SMWTDP
and it will soon be crystal clear.

BV aka The SMWTDP Man


  #8  
Old August 4th 03, 03:19 PM
john rutz
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Posts: n/a
Default almost black water



K30a wrote:
When you add stuff to kill algae you all af a sudden have lots of dead algae
bodies floating around.
This why we don't like chemicals. New algae will feed on the old algae.
Somebody here had a real problem with a black algae once. I think it was Carol.
And wasn't it a form of blue-green algae? Anyone remember? Carol are you out
there?

k30a
and the watergardening labradors
http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...ors/index.html



-- good memory K30 yup it was us

one of its causes is excess phosphate you can initiate a green algae
bloom which will compete with it for food and hopefully kill it, but it
usualy stays around till water cools in fall.

Rod gave us the formula for stump remover( copper sulfate ) to kill it

its one table spoon per 5000 gallons,1ppm repaeated every two weeks


if there are no plants dosage doesnt matter too much. I used three and
half lbs to kill mine




John Rutz
Z5 New Mexico

never miss a good oportunity to shut up

see my pond at:

http://www.fuerjefe.com

 




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