Cloudy and Green Water - Help Please

[DR.Mom]

Pond Size - 5.5' by 4.5' average depth 18" around 200 gallons
Equipment: Oase' Max Eco Classic pump; Oase' Biosmart - multiple filters; TetraPond UVC 9 for up to 1800 gallons,
Products Used: Aquascape Pond Detoxifier; Aquascape Beneficial Bacteria; API Algaefix; Smart Pond Naturals Barley Pond Clarifier
Fish - 5 Koi 3"-4" purchased Toledo Goldfish (just lost two fish last night after having them for about 2 1/2 weeks) Toledo Goldfish has been a very responsive company when I lost my first shipment of fish within 3 days)

Prior to adding fish I had the pond running with the pump and filter (added bacteria and pond detoxifier). Water would turn green quickly. I tried algaefix for a while and didn't see much improvement. Emptied pond, scrubbed (not really dirty, but did it as precaution, no chemicals). Filled again and same thing happened.
Once again I emptied pond, cleaned everything including pump and filter. Same problem. One last time I tried and added the TetraPond UVC.

Waited about a week and added fish. (Had them in a holding container with a Aquagarden 200, 5 in 1 running to be sure they were okay. Slowly added water from the pond to holding container. Eventually added fish to pond after floating them in a bag to be sure water temperature was acclimated) Pond water turned a little cloudy after about a week, then started to have green tint. Added Algaefix, didn't really improve. Lost 2 fish last night. Added Smartpond Naturals Barley Pnd Clarifier today. I'm at a loss as to why the water isn't clear. I've had the water checked twice by local fish store and it tested fine.

One last factor - I have a frog that has decided to make the pond his home. Not sure if that could be a problem. I've included pictures.

Sorry for the long post, but I love having this pond and would love to be able to see my fish and keep them alive. Live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thank you in advance for any help you are able to provide.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

I suspect that a big part of your problem with water quality has to do with the fish you have (koi) and the size of your pond, and is partially what we call “new pond syndrome.” Algae is normal. It is fed by the nutrients in the water. A 200 gallon pond is not appropriate for koi (koi need a minimum of 1000 gallons for the first koi, and an additional 250+ gallons for each koi thereafter). The biofiltration won’t be adequate to keep up and basically your water and lack of oxygen become toxic to the fish.

Not what you want to hear, but I would start by re-homing the koi and consider only keeping goldfish. Also, stop adding chemicals as well as bacteria — the beneficial bacteria naturally present will take off on their own and go through what’s called a nitrogen cycle. Add more water movement if possible, and add more plants (plants compete with the algae).

 

[DR.Mom]

Thank you for your advice, it’s greatly appreciated. I will most definitely follow your advice. I had a pond before and had great luck with different types of goldfish. We built a new house and I started another pond with koi. Looking to find them a home now.

 

[brokensword]

Mmathis has it right; no chems except dechlor, no koi in anything less than 1000 gallons, you don't need the bacteria (your pond already has what it needs; the idea is to provide more/better surface area for them to colonize and replicate. This will help keep algae at bay and improve your water quality. Consider a bog instead of the mechanical filtration) and have some patience with your floating plants; they too will do a lot toward thwarting algae (free floating kind; you WANT the type that will coat your pond sides/underwater surfaces). DON'T scrub the pond, it'll just give you NPS all over again.

 

[DR.Mom]

Mmathis has it right; no chems except dechlor, no koi in anything less than 1000 gallons, you don't need the bacteria (your pond already has what it needs; the idea is to provide more/better surface area for them to colonize and replicate. This will help keep algae at bay and improve your water quality. Consider a bog instead of the mechanical filtration) and have some patience with your floating plants; they too will do a lot toward thwarting algae (free floating kind; you WANT the type that will coat your pond sides/underwater surfaces). DON'T scrub the pond, it'll just give you NPS all over again.

Thank you. I did add more water hyacinths and have additional aeration coming Tuesday. Other than that I’m not going to do anything and allow the pond to do it’s own thing. I greatly appreciate all the expert advice.

 

[j.w]

and welcome @DR.Mom

 

[denny]

I have a 1300 gallon pond with green and cloudy water. i put in a 36 watt UV light and made a home filter. Now my water is always clear.

 

[brokensword]

I have a 1300 gallon pond with green and cloudy water. i put in a 36 watt UV light and made a home filter. Now my water is always clear.View attachment 142095View attachment 142096

UV is just a bandaid; it would be better to address the reason it was't clear in the first place. From the pic, I'd say you hardly have any plants, which help immensely by outcompeting the algae. Water lilies are good for shade and flowers but not so much for filtering the water column. A UV also kills beneficial bacteria and other good denizens of a pond, while leaving dead algae behind for the next batch of algae.

JMHO

 

[DR.Mom]

Hello and welcome!

I suspect that a big part of your problem with water quality has to do with the fish you have (koi) and the size of your pond, and is partially what we call “new pond syndrome.” Algae is normal. It is fed by the nutrients in the water. A 200 gallon pond is not appropriate for koi (koi need a minimum of 1000 gallons for the first koi, and an additional 250+ gallons for each koi thereafter). The biofiltration won’t be adequate to keep up and basically your water and lack of oxygen become toxic to the fish.

Not what you want to hear, but I would start by re-homing the koi and consider only keeping goldfish. Also, stop adding chemicals as well as bacteria — the beneficial bacteria naturally present will take off on their own and go through what’s called a nitrogen cycle. Add more water movement if possible, and add more plants (plants compete with the algae).

 

[DR.Mom]

You were right! I did nothing and just allowed the equipment to run. Oh, I did add more floating plants, but that was it. It took a month but the water is clear and everything appears to be balanced. New Pond Syndrome was the problem.

 

[DR.Mom]

Hello and welcome!

I suspect that a big part of your problem with water quality has to do with the fish you have (koi) and the size of your pond, and is partially what we call “new pond syndrome.” Algae is normal. It is fed by the nutrients in the water. A 200 gallon pond is not appropriate for koi (koi need a minimum of 1000 gallons for the first koi, and an additional 250+ gallons for each koi thereafter). The biofiltration won’t be adequate to keep up and basically your water and lack of oxygen become toxic to the fish.

Not what you want to hear, but I would start by re-homing the koi and consider only keeping goldfish. Also, stop adding chemicals as well as bacteria — the beneficial bacteria naturally present will take off on their own and go through what’s called a nitrogen cycle. Add more water movement if possible, and add more plants (plants compete with the algae).

You were right! I did nothing and just allowed the equipment to run. Oh, I did add more floating plants, but that was it. It took a month but the water is clear and everything appears to be balanced. New Pond Syndrome was the problem.

 

[DR.Mom]

You were right! I did nothing and just allowed the equipment to run. Oh, I did add more floating plants, but that was it. It took a month but the water is clear and everything appears to be balanced. New Pond Syndrome was the problem. I did also try to rehome the koi and will move toward goldfish. Thank you for your response.