Hi everyone I'm new to the page we have a koi pond. We have quite a few plants in it and my husband decided to repot some of them they were root bound,so he used some peat moss mixed with soil to repot them,now our water is brown.Is there a way to clear the water? What are our best options?
Brown water
- Thread starter Rara
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Welcome to the GPF!
More info would be helpful - how big is the pond? How many fish? What kind of filtration are you using? How many plants are we talking about that got repotted?
Here's one way to test whether your water is stained vs if the discoloration is due to floating sediment - take a clear glass jar or container and scoop some water. Let it sit and see what happens. If the sediment settles and leaves clear water at the top, you'll just need to be patient. If the water stays brown, then it's stained, probably from the peat. I've used activated charcoal to remove tannin staining from water with great results.
More info would be helpful - how big is the pond? How many fish? What kind of filtration are you using? How many plants are we talking about that got repotted?
Here's one way to test whether your water is stained vs if the discoloration is due to floating sediment - take a clear glass jar or container and scoop some water. Let it sit and see what happens. If the sediment settles and leaves clear water at the top, you'll just need to be patient. If the water stays brown, then it's stained, probably from the peat. I've used activated charcoal to remove tannin staining from water with great results.
j.w
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You can make a fines filter out of a plastic pot w/holes in it and line it with the white upholstery batting. Just run a hose from your pond pump into the pot and put the pot up on the top side of your pond and allow the water to run back into your pond. You will have to take out the batting when it gets full of gunk and do it all over again and again till the pond is clear. It may not work if whatever the stain is is too fine and flows right through tho.
It's about 2500 gallons, repotted 4 plants into bigger rectangle planters we have about 19-20 smaller fish right now all baby's from last year .getting ready to give some away we only want to keep about 7-8 fish
mrsclem
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Hello and welcome! You will see that a lot of people here use clay cat litter to plant in. Non- clumping, unscented, pure clay. You scan also use pea gravel. Soil and peat moss are going to muddy up the water and peat moss will float. You can try putting a layer of pea gravel over the soil and then use the filter with the quilt batting to clear the water.
Can you explain how you did this
Do you mean the charcoal? You can buy it already bagged and then I just put it where the water will flow through it. So at the outlet from my bog or tucked into the waterfall. Depending on how large your pond is and how your water flows, it could take a while to clear, but it definitely works.
Here's what I order:
I've also used sodium percarbonate for the same purpose. It's a powder that you can use to clear algae off rocks and pond surfaces, but I've also noticed when I use it, my water clears from tannins. (My water is pretty much lightly stained most of the time - I always have something falling in that seems to add to the slight tea coloration. I don't mind it so usually I leave it alone, unless it gets too dark.)
Here's what I order:
I've also used sodium percarbonate for the same purpose. It's a powder that you can use to clear algae off rocks and pond surfaces, but I've also noticed when I use it, my water clears from tannins. (My water is pretty much lightly stained most of the time - I always have something falling in that seems to add to the slight tea coloration. I don't mind it so usually I leave it alone, unless it gets too dark.)
Ok sounds good we will try the charcoal thank you