Brownish water from the fall leaves?

[brandonsdad02]

Ok so I live in central Iowa and its fall here right now. This is my first year having a pond so I'm not sure what to expect in the fall. I've been working hard to keep the leaves out of the pond, I use the net and get as many leaves out of the pond each day, I empty the skimmer but my water is still turning brownish. Does this happen to every pond in the fall or am I doing something wrong??

 

[CometKeith]

It sounds like you are on the right track. I think certain leaves can leave a brown tinge. In the spring that happens to my pond and then it clears up after a couple weeks. I think there is a lot of pollen from a cottonwood tree above my pond that turns it brown. You can always try doing some partial water changes or use some quilt batting in a basket under your waterfall. There a lot of old threads on the forum on quilt batting. The brown water is probably not hurting your fish, it just makes it harder for you to see them. If you end up with a lot or organic matter in your pond over the winter you need to get the water moving in the early spring to reduce anaerobic decay and keep cleaning the leaves. I start my pump around March 1st. Spring is more dangerous for fish then winter is.

 

[fishin4cars]

In most cases the brown water is caused from tannins in the leaves or plant matter. Different leaves put off different levels of tannins. Some leaves can cause the PH to lower during the breakdown, This is not good but as long as it's brown water and the water is stable it won't harm the fish. Your on the right track removing the leaves, this keeps the breakdown to a minimum and helps your pond next spring greatly. Does it happen to every pond, NO, is this fairly common, yes, and your doing what your suppose to be doing.

 

[adavisus]

Tannins toning the water is a familiar observation in Autumn, carbon has a big capacity for soaking up discoloration, try searching for 'carbon filter' and you may figure a way to clear it up

Regards, andy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21940871@N06/
http://swglist.wordpress.com/

 

[anitapond]

Indeed, activated carbon in moving water will remove tannins (tea color) from the water. It also removes chemicals and medications. When I use it, I put the carbon in an old pantyhose leg, cut it, and tie the bottom. Rinse it well and put it in the pond where the water will run through it. Carbon can be pricey at a pet store, but I've found some good deals in bulk on eBay.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

I notice the algae covering the rocks and sides on my pond also turn the water brownish in the Fall as it dies off. I think its just one of those things we have to live with -- the water will not be beautifully crystal clear at all times, especially in the Fall. I think as long as you can keep the worst of the leaves out of the water and keep your filters running as long as possible, what remains will not be harmful.

 

[brandonsdad02]

I'm planning on keeping everything running all winter. I figure as long as I keep the pond from icing over it should be doable. With a extra pump and aeriator, I hope it works to keep the water moving.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

I'm originally from around the Oskaloosa/Fairfield area, so I'm very familiar with Iowa Winters... From my limited experience, I think the most critical thing you need to watch for is that your pump lines don't freeze up. If you can prevent that, and keep your pump down into the thawed water, it shouldn't be too much trouble to keep things going all Winter. Out here in my area, we get these weird warm spells - a week of 60-degree weather in the middle of January or February - and it really makes a huge difference in breaking up how much my pond freezes over.

 

[brandonsdad02]

My pump is in my skimmer box. I have one pump line and that is about 10 feet long. I have a skippy filter which is above ground. I have a 4" return line that runs about 5 ft to the top of the falls. From there it runs back to the pond down a stream about 4 ft long and drops 3 ft. Just got to keep the area in front of the skimmer box free of ice. My pond is about 18 inches deep.

 

[taherrmann4]

How do you keep ice damns from forming on your waterfalls and diverting the water outside of the falls creek area?

 

[brandonsdad02]

Not sure, this will be my first winter. One idea might be to take out the rocks on the bottom of the stream/ falls. If there is nothing to slow the water or disturbe it, ice shouldn't form in that area. I have a 2100 gph pump.

 

[brandonsdad02]

One more thing, where do we find out what zone we are in.

 

[taherrmann4]

I can't keep mine going as I have an external pump and the last three feet that go to my pump are above ground, it also diverts to feed two creeks I have and I would be worried about the water freezing in the creeks or in the lines. If my waterfall froze over it would easily divert water outside the pond.
Here.
http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/zonelookup.cfm

 

[Shdwdrgn]

My previous pond was at most, 250 gallon - two smaller pre-formed pools plus a 25-gal skippy. The waterfall flowing from one pond to the other was only about 4-5" wide, so there wasn't a huge amount of flow. In the Winter, the splashing would form this ice bubble around the waterfall which looked very interesting on its own... However year after year I found that as long as I kept the water moving, I never had any problems with the waterfall itself getting blocked by ice.

Keep in mind: My preformed ponds were also 18" deep, and being so shallow, they can and will freeze solid to the bottom unless you have a heater running in the Winter! I used a generic stock-tank heater made for going into the rubbermaid plastic tanks. A hole was cut in the side of the pond, and the heater permanently mounted. Alternatively, you can place some rocks on the bottom of the pond and rest the heater on top of the rocks.

@brandonsdad02: You are in zone 4B. You can punch in a google query for "city state hardiness-zone" to find answers for other areas.

 

[brandonsdad02]

So even with constant water movement, and a bubbler, the pond will freeze solid? We will have a backup plan if it does start to get away from us. Going to put a large stock tank in the basement just in case we need it. Our turtle will be wintering in the pond also.