Cloudy water

[hebbes]

My little pond is about 1000gal. As long as I clean the filters in the Savio skimmer every day, the water is clear. As soon as I cut the pump off, it gets cloudy. The stuff in the filters is brownish green. I've tried three different algaecides, ClarityMax, ClearMax+ and MuckOff (I wonder if that's a double entendre). Anyway, nothing helps. I wonder about a flocculant.

 

[brokensword]

sounds like you need more/larger filtration or you'll be doing regular cleaning. Consider bog filtration as a one-shot cure all for most pond water issues. Most here will tell you to stop wasting your money and probably jeopardizing your fish by adding the chemicals. The only one you need is the dechlor.

 

[Mmathis]

Stop adding chemicals, for one thing, and keep the filter going all the time. What is your fish load?

 

[hebbes]

sounds like you need more/larger filtration or you'll be doing regular cleaning. Consider bog filtration as a one-shot cure all for most pond water issues. Most here will tell you to stop wasting your money and probably jeopardizing your fish by adding the chemicals. The only one you need is the dechlor.

Larger filtration would require a larger skimmer, which would be very expensive. I suspect that, unless I can get the water cleared up, a larger filter would also get plugged; it would just take longer. The fish remain as happy as swimming clams (if there is such a thing), no matter how murky the water is or what I put in it. My pond maintenance guy, who also built the puddle, is coming sometime later this summer to clean it out. I'm starting to suspect that sludge is getting stirred up and fouling the water.

 

[Mmathis]

A skimmer isn’t required for adequate filtration.

 

[hebbes]

A skimmer isn’t required for adequate filtration.

 

[hebbes]

What would be the alternative?

 

[Mmathis]

What would be the alternative?

Consider @brokensword comment. Bog filtration is excellent! BTW, for my 3000 (previous) pond, all I used was a small bog and a Skippy-type filter. No skimmer (except for a small surface — floating) one. There are folks on here who do have skimmers and many who don’t. It’s a personal preference.

 

[mrsclem]

A skimmer is not a filter system. It just removes floating debris. You need some type of actual filter ( canister, skippy, bog) to keep your water clear. Not having the pump running is going to cause more problems. It needs to run 24/7.

 

[hebbes]

The skimmer is a filtration system. The Savio consists of a tub, a basket for course debris skimmed off the surface, and two filters before the water reaches the pump compartment.

 

[Mmathis]

The skimmer is a filtration system. The Savio consists of a tub, a basket for course debris skimmed off the surface, and two filters before the water reaches the pump compartment.

Not to be rude……but why does it seem like you are arguing? Your original question was about adding a flocculant, since adding other chemicals weren’t helping. We have answered that we don’t see chemicals as an alternative to controlling algae.

Please give us more information about your pond, and maybe we can help you come up with a solution — such as an alternative to using chemicals. There are various filtration systems that work for different people. We have found that a “natural” approach to pond-keeping is the best approach. This is by using plants to outcompete the algae.

 

[hebbes]

What's to argue? Just looking for tips. The puddle is about 1000 gallons. It has a Savio skimmer system which consists of a tub with a basket and two filters. The water goes through the basket first. Coarse floating material is caught there. Because the pond is under a Mimosa tree, there is quite a bit of that. The water then passes though two filters and into the pump chamber. It goes from there to a waterfall. A bubbler provider more aeration.

The crud is light brown, and is suspended in the water.

 

[Jhn]

A well designed and properly stocked pond with adequate filtration will stop the issue. If there is sludge building up on the pond bottom your filtration is inadequate and so is your circulation. As was mentioned there are filters like a skippy filter or bog filter you can run in containers and have them, dump back into the pond. Both these types of filters if built properly are easy to clean and would just require some replumbing.

Having the guy that built it come clean it is just a temporary fix and would be even detrimental to the ponds overall health if he empties and scrubs everything clean. This would cause you to need to cycle the pond again like it was just built.

Lastly as you surmised your fish don’t care if their is fine particulate matter floating in the water( most fish don’t come from crystal clear water).

 

[hebbes]

Thanks for the information, but what are skippy and bog filters?

 

[brokensword]

Thanks for the information, but what are skippy and bog filters?

Bog; https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/bog-building.6894/

Skippy; sort of the same but a lot smaller. Water is pumped down and into a drum, it rises through biomedia, then goes back to the pond. Sometimes they have pads, too.