bio filter question

[oneman1pond]

I got my UV biofilter today. After I inspected it and made sure everything was ok I couldn't help myself and hooked it up to the pond. It works just like it should I'm guessing. It did come with a 9 watt UV light. The only down side is, is that the pump that's pumping the water to it is only rated for approx. 330 gph. I have a 400 gal pond! I will be getting a better and bigger pump next week.
This green water is killing me! I'm almost tempted to drain all the water and start all over! How long should I expect to see a change in the water quality and clarity? I'm a very impatient person and would love to see immediate results but I know that's not going to happen. After all the advice yall gave me and after all the research I've done I thought I would have a better understanding and no how on how to keep the water clean. any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[HTH]

For the most part draining the water will just reset things.

The UV users can better speak about it but I can give some general info.

For UV to kill the algae the water needs to remain inside the UV are for some small period of time. If you pump the water through too fast it will do nothing. I expect you only want a fraction of your pump output going through the UV.

I am not a UV expert but 9W sounds small and I do not know that the flow rate should be.

I think someone suggest pumping the water through quilt batting with peroxide Did you try that?

 

[Waterbug]

Not sure why you're unhappy with the 330 GPH pump, sounds reasonable to me. If the UV is is working correctly you should see a change in 3-7 days. No reason to wait beyond 7 days. If no big change by then I'd replace the bulb because this is a used unit if I remember right. If still not working I'd turn down the flow. If still not working it gets more complex and no reason to worry about that now.

Keeping water clean and/or clear is very straight forward and really not very complex. But there's a ton of voodoo out there and I think a person just has to try a bunch of it and at some point it gets enough experience to tell the voodoo from the reasonable. Until then a person has no way to know what to believe.

 

[Catfishnut]

Oneman1pond,

The algae you are experiencing is most likely the one celled "Volvox" algae. Your pond is new or newer, so don't feel too upset by the prescence of this algae or some others. It is common with new ponds to have high algae growth because nature has not yet set up its balance properly yet. This is the root cause, the imbalance in the pond. Too much nutrients, feed and or fish waste, too much sun and not enough diversification of life. You need to really be paitient while your plants begin to establish themselves and while your fish get established and while the natural bacteria get established as well.


There are other algae and also plants that you can install which will compete with the Volvox and and it will eventually subside. For the interim, your UV clarifier and trying to get some shading during the strongest sunlight hours will help probably the most with the least effort.

I am with Waterbug on the "voodoo" aspects of pond algae and removal methods. The best method is to understand what the root cause is and treat that. But, since your pond is fairly new, I assume that this is the major reason and there isn't much more you can really do other than wait for the system to define its balance. I surmise that what many new ponders do is try every avenue to treat the algae, throwing money and filters and chemicals and this and that at it, and then the pond finally "kicks in" naturally and they believe that it was the last thing they tried that cured it. When, actually, the pond simply just matured on its own.

Of course, you can do the wrong things too, and accelerate algae growth by hindering the natural balance of the pond, so be careful exactly what you do. For instance, having NO plants at all, probably a big mistake. Or having absolute full sun all day, probably a mistake as well.

Catfishnut

 

[oneman1pond]

thank you for the great advice. I'm going to try to remain patient and let the pond take care of itself. What kind of plants do you recommend? Also should I get an algae eating or bottom feeding fish to help with the process? I will let the biofilter catch up to speed with the pond and take it from there. As far as sunlight goes it gets about a half day of sun and the other half of the day is shade. I want to plant some sort of tree to help filter some of the sunlight off of the pond. The location of the pond is the most reasonable place I could have put it. My back yard....... forgett about it! I will have the wife take some pics that way yall might be able to get some sort of visual and help me out a little more. Thank you all again.

 

[Catfishnut]

Add lots of plants which are fast growers and heavy feeders. Try floating plants, such as Salvinia, Duckweed, or Water Sprite. Water hyacinth comes to my mind, also.

I am not sure if the "type" of fish are going to aid much here. I have a gut instinct that it is more important how many fish and what size. The less the number and the smaller the size in the beginning would be best and just allow them to grow with the pond as it matures. That allows the the rest of the pond inhabitants (the plants and the bacteria and the beneficial algae) to adjust slowly over time.

I sincerely do not think that an algae eating fish is going to do much for you, especially in this case. Certain species are fine in a confined acquarium, others in a large agricultural aquaculture system, but the fish required for a pond would have to be large enough to consume this much algae and that means that they are also going to "poop" a lot, too. So you would be undermining your efforts right there. More poop, more food for algae, more ammonia, more nitrites, more nitrates! The bio-conversion bacteria won't be up to speed and the balance is tipped too far another direction!

Get the fish you like to see, those you want in your pond for fun and enjoyment. Buy just a few and get them small and allow them to grow and mature as the pond does. Then cull them if they reproduce too much or too fast. Thae algae you have right now won't bother them one bit. The only negative point to the Volvox algae is your aesthetic interpretation of the pond. You don't like the way it looks because you can't see your fish or the structures of your pond. But, it is NOT harmful.

Just let it be, let your UVC do its thing and concentrate on some plants and shade and fish. It should come around to your liking when it is matured.

Catfishnut

 

[Catfishnut]

Oh, one added point...

Don't be disappointed if it takes several seasons to really mature the pond to the way you REALLY want itto be. The weather and mother nature also have a hand in this, too. Just because you created the pond, doesn't mean you control the outdoor weather for the pond. Mother nature can wreak havoc on your best laid plans.
She's a "......." sometimes.

Catfishnut

 

[oneman1pond]

Thank you catfishnut. Your words are wisdome. I will be taking most of my smaller golfish out of the pond in the next few days and finding them a new home. I will be leaving my shubunkins in the pond and wait for the pond to stabalize itself. I will also take some of sissy's advice and come up with some sort of quilt batting filter as well. I will look for a few of thoes plants after work today. Thank you again

 

[sissy]

Uv's work I guess but only time will tell and the wait is on .Draining is waste of time and it will happen again .I have both filters with quilt batting in them now after i made the mess in it with the rebuild .It will clear you wait and see .I use crushed oyster shells and activated charcoal in my filters besides the lava rock and every thing gets washed and rinsed well with peroxide and water .I have never had a U.V. so really don't know much about them .I guess by what I read about them ,I agree with the rest on here about the longer they are exposed to the U.V. the better .Took me 3 years before I got my pond working right at least a little right and after that I realized I needed to learn more about it .The help here is priceless .

 

[Waterbug]

What kind of plants do you recommend?

Any plant that was grown in a pond. Macroalgae with come with the plant. Then it's just a question if the green water algae can kill the macroalgae or the macroalgae can kill the green water algae. I've had it go either way. The more plants you add the more macroalgae will come with it and the better the odds (maybe).

If you have any local fellow pond keepers you can ask them for some string algae. Drop a handful of that into your pond so it stays near the surface. If it works you'll know the next day, at least that's how fast I've seen it work. But there's tons I don't know about this process, it didn't always work. Which species, what part of it's lifecycle, etc.

Also should I get an algae eating or bottom feeding fish to help with the process?

They don't eat the green water algae. That would take a filter feeder like mussels.

As far as sunlight goes it gets about a half day of sun and the other half of the day is shade.

Sun has nothing to do with clear (non-green water). Reduced sun will reduce algae growth for sure, but that only means a less green pond. Still green. In a clear pond the water becomes toxic to green water algae. That can mean a UV filter, adding copper, or many other things but in most cases it seems to be some natural process. Norm Meck showed pouring some water from a clear pond into a glass of green water that the green water algae were killed basically on contact. His theory is the toxic chemical is produced by bacteria, mine is it's produced by macroalgae. No one knows. This was all back before UV filter were so cheap. Not much interest any more in determining the natural process because anyone can have a UV.

 

[HTH]

It is high time some biologist did some analysis on that clear water. And I am serious and I do not care how cheap UV is. Sorry

 

[oneman1pond]

maybe some of these pictures will help yall help me understand my debacle I have going on here LOLOL!
Again I want to thank you all for your advise and wisdom. I wish some of yall were my neighbors.

 

[HTH]

Looks like the 4th picture is quilt batting. I am not sure if I understand what I see. The water needs to go in one side and out the other. In top out bottom. Is that happening here ? I see the exit on the side above the level of the batting..

I would drill the bottom of that plastic box full of holes and find some way to spread the water evenly over the top of the batting.

 

[oneman1pond]

the 4th picture is just something I rigged up after work. I'm trying everything in my power to help change the water clarity. Its a little plastic box I found that I put 2 pieces of green scotch pads one on top of each other on the bottom and four thick Fluva pads on top of that side by side. The Fluva Pads are like a cotton type material. I was hoping it would act like a quilt batting material but im not sure. If it helps at all, it did wonders for my fish tank! With the plastic box I found, I cut the top piece and bent it to act like a waterfall. I'm guessing I shouldn't have done that. If the way your saying will be better for the cause, I can steal one of my wife's flower pots or something and make it the proper way. At this point i'm willing to try anything!

 

[Waterbug]

Many people call that clear. UV should remove the green. That will still leave some stuff in the water which can be removed by other filters, but the clearer you want the water the higher the effort. Just a question of how clear you consider acceptable.

If you're willing to try anything then the internet is here for you. Barley, filters, magnets, chemicals, worm castings, plants, more plants, different plants, more filters, different filters, plaster pills, egg shells...endless.