Best use of money...

[buckry]

I had planned on working on my pond over the course of this entire summer, which would allow me to fully enjoy the process and budget my spending, but as soon as I put water into the liner I realized that you really need to put all the pieces in place as close to the same time as possible. So fish, plants, and filters all went in at the same time and this was really expensive and I'm struggling to get back on track. I have saved up enough money to either do a skippy filter or put in UV. My problem is just free floating algae in the water. I feel like adding a UV clarifier would best take care of this. What do you guys think? Once I do one, I can probably do the other later, but I'd just like some advice about which should come first, I don't want to build a skippy now if it's not going to clear up the free floating algae.

 

[ididntdoit99]

I'm not an expert on uv's, I dont use them, but from what I have read on here, the uv will kill the algae, but it will still be floating in the water, so technically, its not going to "clear up" the algae problem, just stop it from making more of an algae problem. You still need a fine filter to remove it from the water, so I'd go with filtration first.

 

[buckry]

Ok, that's great to hear. I'm totally fine with only using the skippy if that's the solution to my problem. I just figured most people probably had both, glad I asked.

 

[ididntdoit99]

skippy, and them maybe a temporary fine filter under the outlet or waterfall if that doesnt clear it up, alot of people will put a milk crate with pillow stuffing or quilt batting under thier waterfall for a temporary fine filter when they have floating algea like that. Again, the UV is really the only way to KILL it, but you can do a pretty good job or removing it with a setup like that.

 

[buckry]

That sounds really good to me.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

It's practicly impossible to filter out single celled floating algae, they are just too small, so you'll likely be dissapointed if you skip the UV and just go with a skippy, unless of course your pond naturally starts clearing up on it's own, in which case you'll give credit to the skippy. (Am I starting to sound like Waterbug? At least I didn't say they are "worthless".)
The thing about killing aglae with a UV is that once the aglae dies they become sticky and start to clump together making larger particles which are easier to filter out. Also because they are sticky they tend to stick to stuff like the fibers in quilt batting, or other filter media. If you just install a UV unit what happens is the aglae dies and the water usually goes from green to a milky browny color from the dead suspended algae, this is when some sort of fine mechanical filter becomes effective. If you don't actually filter out the dead algae it will eventually settle out in your pond and eventually get broken down into simpler component in the nitrogen cycle, but that takes longer and the nitrogen it eventually produces could help feed another algae bloom.
So here's my advice, go scrub your rocks some more till all your finger prints are gone, then go rob a bank so you can afford BOTH the UV unit and a fine mechanical filter.
Seriously, Get the UV unit, and rig up some simple way of filtering your water through some (cheap) quilt batting, and change or clean the batting regularly till your water is clear.

 

[sissy]

never had a uv and seems quilt batting has worked for me and my pond is in full sun and uv's I have seen people say they work other people say they don't so it is a toss up .your decision .

 

[buckry]

When you say naturally clearing up you mean by things coming into balance right? Isn't that what the skippy is going to help me do? If it keeps things just right I shouldn't need the UV. Am I reading that right?

 

[sissy]

I on't need a uv and have never used one just takes time and patience .I not only take care of my pond but 2 of my neighbors ponds and take care of my house do repairs and mow and trim the lawn and that is 3 acres .So how hard can it be .I do use lots of oyster shells and 2 -3 lb bags of activated charcoal .I may be retired but i still don't have a lot of time but when it gets hot out I hide inside .I have 2 filters going of course they are the dreaded lava rock but it works for me and my neighbors ponds so why change and end up with more work .I'm not saying I don't get algae ,I stay on top of it and treat my water fall area 2 times a week ,turn off pumps spray ,brush and wait 15 minutes while i treat any other areas and then turn my pump back on .Even if i don't see the algae it is always lurking in the background waiting to attack .I( also use plenty of peroxide and over aerate my pond using my pumps and an aerator .I think pumps do a better job in aeration .Mix up the top of the water and the bottom of the water .

 

[buckry]

Yeah, once I get my rain barrel my in-pond filter in the deep part of my pond will become the skippy pump. I will remove all of the filter material and add lava rocks. I'll probably keep a single layer of my coarse filter material on top of the lava rocks. So at the far end of the pond I have some fine filtering capabilities and at the other end coarse filtering and bio. That keeps me at 3 pumps as well which will be a good thing. And who knows once I get things going I may put both pumps into the skippy, not ready to make that jump just yet.

Also been wondering about the quilt batting idea, can I just shove this material into the top of my skippy to catch stuff before it heads back to my waterfall? That would be a lot easier than engineering some system to hold a basket under the stream of my waterfall.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

When you say naturally clearing up you mean by things coming into balance right? Isn't that what the skippy is going to help me do? If it keeps things just right I shouldn't need the UV. Am I reading that right?

I beleive you are speaking to me, so I'll respond.
The word "balanced" is a loose term, and I didn't actually use that word. You have to remember that you can have a healthy pond and still have green water, the two conditions are not nessesarily diametrically opposed, so if by "balanced" you mean having a healthy pond you may already be "balanced". But if you just want clear water, your quickest, surest route there is starting with a UV unit.
There are just as many people using a skippys (or some version of it) who have green water, as there are who have clear water, and installing one in your pond may or may not have any effect. All I can tell you is that if you had two identical ponds with green water, or could somehow divied your pond in half, and had a skippy in one, and a (properly set up) UV unit in the other, the one with the UV unit will for sure start clearing up within a few days, while the one with the skippy could take months, if at all.
Again, remember that green water, and or other types of aglae are not nessesarily unhealthy plant life to your pond, it's just when you get too much that they can become cosmeticly un-appealing to some.

 

[buckry]

Ok, that's a very clear answer, I think I will go that route. Thanks.

 

[sissy]

thats what I do with mine put it in the filter .I put a course pad or 2 on top of it figuring they will catch the bigger stuff and the quilt batting under will catch the finer stuff .If you look at koi breeders they cherish mucky unclear water ,they say it helps the fish breed and grow .We at home ponders are out for seeing our fish .The thing about uv's that I have never understood some say keep them on all the time others say only until your water clears .Some say after the filter some say before and some say water should go through them slowly ,to much to wrap my head around and saving that money for something else .I have heard of ionizers also the good the bad and the ugly out come .Maybe in the future they will come up with something better .Instead I will stay with my lava rock and soak it well in peroxide and save myself the money .though wish i had more real ,real lava rock .

 

[buckry]

Lots of mixed reviews of UV clarifiers, any opinions on brands?

 

[Waterbug]

It's practicly impossible to filter out single celled floating algae, they are just too small, so you'll likely be dissapointed if you skip the UV and just go with a skippy, unless of course your pond naturally starts clearing up on it's own, in which case you'll give credit to the skippy. (Am I starting to sound like Waterbug? At least I didn't say they are "worthless".)

Let's be fair...I think the combo submerged filters for sale to the mass market are worthless. Skippy filters are better because they're larger, so I would only consider them "almost worthless". In a pond with a large fish load, OK, I'd call Skippy completely worthless.

But what I think of Skippy or even whether it works or not, or how well it works compared to other filters has never been the point for the Water Garden hobby has it? Don't read about a lot of testing, or any interest in tests for that matter.

Buck, as Mucky said, you've had your pond awhile now, it'll take you a few more weeks to build the Skippy...I would say there's every chance your pond will clear sometime within a few months after adding the Skippy. And the Skippy will be hailed as the cure. That's win-win. Your pond is clear and you can feel good about building the Skippy. Sure outside of Water Gardening the Skippy long ago was replaced by better filters. But that dismisses the real importance of Skippy as a self esteem booster which it is seriously very effective. And why do we have Water Gardens...to make ourselves feel better. That's the purpose of any hobby.

There are lots of fish keeping endeavors that are technical. Reef aquariums, fish farming, high end Koi ponds, etc. These all need to be technically proficient or their fish die really fast. Water Gardens are entirely different. You can throw just about anything at a Water Garden and it's just going to keep plugging away. Few fish die, no problem, $1 worth of feeder fish and the pond is back in business. Just read a post where a person was sending their home's grey water into their pond...perfectly OK for a Water Garden.

Yes a UV will clear water in 3-5 days 100% of the time if sized and installed correctly. But is that really all that important? Doesn't that kind of feel like cheating? And besides, it seem like most people don't even install them correctly so really, they don't work that well in Water Gardens.

So the bottom line is don't sweat the details. Build a Skippy if you'd enjoy that. You'll probably see clearer water at some point and be very happy. I enjoy building filters, built maybe 50 in my day. It's a hobby...enjoy.