water

do any of you guy know how to get your pond water clear?

cnguyen400 wrote do any of you guy know how to get your pond water clear?



Clear of algae?
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. Note -
since all plants consume oxygen at night make sure your pond has a waterfall,
fountain, spitter or bubbler to add oxygen during the hours of darkness.
~ 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 he
http://www.iheartmypond.com/Design/D...rs/default.asp






kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

I use a variation of the plant filter posted by Kathy. I like to put the
plants in a gravel bed that has the water forced up from the bottom. Some
people in my areadon't want to risk the illegal plants that do so well in a
veggie filter(that's water hyacinth and water lettuce). The gravel scrubs
the water clean, and provides surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow.
"cn" wrote in message
om...
do any of you guy know how to get your pond water clear?

On 28 Sep 2004 08:44:49 -0700, (cn) wrote:

do any of you guy know how to get your pond water clear?


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/ ~ jan )

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

CN,

It is not that big of a thing. Correct stocking
levels, correct feeding procedures, and diligence.
Paying attention to water quality is the key. If you
have good water you will have great fish.

Depending on your pond size a good filter is
imperative. There are many to chose from and plenty of
instructions on the Internet for you to find to DIY
one. Remember here, to build or buy bigger than you
need. Don't skimp here. Always get pumps for maximum
flow and here too it is a good idea to get more than
you need in volume per minute. KOI and Goldfish,
although they are beautiful they can be dirty fish.

One of the hardest thing for many ponders to deal with
is stocking levels. If you fish are great they are
going to breed which means additional fish in your pond
which upsets the closed environment of your pond. Get
rig of all unnecessary fish. If not you will have
water quality problems.

Tom L.L.
---------------------------------------------------
cn wrote:
do any of you guy know how to get your pond water clear?

I have to vote for the veggie filter. I built one several years ago - pond
water went
from algae green to gin clear in 3 days! I'm very impressed with a veggie
filter.

Nedra in zone 6
Missouri

"Tom L. La Bron" wrote in message
...
CN,

It is not that big of a thing. Correct stocking
levels, correct feeding procedures, and diligence.
Paying attention to water quality is the key. If you
have good water you will have great fish.

Depending on your pond size a good filter is
imperative. There are many to chose from and plenty of
instructions on the Internet for you to find to DIY
one. Remember here, to build or buy bigger than you
need. Don't skimp here. Always get pumps for maximum
flow and here too it is a good idea to get more than
you need in volume per minute. KOI and Goldfish,
although they are beautiful they can be dirty fish.

One of the hardest thing for many ponders to deal with
is stocking levels. If you fish are great they are
going to breed which means additional fish in your pond
which upsets the closed environment of your pond. Get
rig of all unnecessary fish. If not you will have
water quality problems.

Tom L.L.
---------------------------------------------------
cn wrote:
do any of you guy know how to get your pond water clear?

I have to vote for the veggie filter.

Me too, I built one two years ago and my water
is crystal clear all the way to the bottom four feet deep.
NO filters to clean, nothing. Just leave it alone
and let it work.

Ron

I am looking forward to seeing what my new veggie filter will do next
year. I built one about a month ago and my water is pretty clear.
However, we have also had some very cool temperatures and my water temp
is only about 52-58 degrees. From all indications here in the NG, the
veggie filter is a welcomed addition to your filtrations system.
W. Dale

Nedra wrote:

I have to vote for the veggie filter. I built one several years ago - pond
water went
from algae green to gin clear in 3 days! I'm very impressed with a veggie
filter.

Nedra in zone 6
Missouri

"Tom L. La Bron" wrote in message
...


CN,

It is not that big of a thing. Correct stocking
levels, correct feeding procedures, and diligence.
Paying attention to water quality is the key. If you
have good water you will have great fish.

Depending on your pond size a good filter is
imperative. There are many to chose from and plenty of
instructions on the Internet for you to find to DIY
one. Remember here, to build or buy bigger than you
need. Don't skimp here. Always get pumps for maximum
flow and here too it is a good idea to get more than
you need in volume per minute. KOI and Goldfish,
although they are beautiful they can be dirty fish.

One of the hardest thing for many ponders to deal with
is stocking levels. If you fish are great they are
going to breed which means additional fish in your pond
which upsets the closed environment of your pond. Get
rig of all unnecessary fish. If not you will have
water quality problems.

Tom L.L.
---------------------------------------------------
cn wrote:


do any of you guy know how to get your pond water clear?