Colour of water

[Staysee]

So we cleaned out our pond just over a week ago and boy did it need it, but we've noticed now altho the water is immensly clearer and now able to see much farther under the water then a few centimeters....the waters now a very slight green colour.


Is that anything to do with maybe the new plants we put in it about a week ago? or something else?

We didnt clean the pond with any household items, just rinsed it with rain water from our water butts and topped it up with that and some tap water, but not alot of tap water

 

[pondlady]

The green tint is algae! Do you use a UV light? In spring it is normal for the green water thing to happen. I turn on the UV as soon as I see the water clarity changing. A good filtration system will also keep this from becoming a problem.

 

[Staysee]

we dont have a UV light, we're new to ponding, theres no fish, just frogs and newts

 

[oldmarine]

For what it's worth, my pond water has always been a light tea color. The local pond supply store near here said that tea color is fine and won't cause any problems. They did suggest using barley pads in my filter reservor. I put the Barley in about three weeks ago and haven't noticed any clearing. They said it would take a month or longer before I would notice any change.

Anyone else use barley in thier ponds?

 

[DrDave]

If you are willing to go the expense of activated charcoal, it will remove all the tint from your water. Add a filter with it and pass the water through and the charcoal will eventually make the water clear.

 

[c2c7390]

they have carbon resin that lasts almost 6 times longer than activated charcoal...how big is your pond

 

[DrDave]

What is carbon resin and where can it be purchased? Can it be re-used by processing it? Activated charcoal can be re-activated by heating it up in an oven.

 

[John O]

My 2000 gallon pond was clear as it could be last week and now after a couple of warmish sunny days it is no longer clear. Algae or something like that. I am not too concerned as this has been a ritual over the past several years. I haven't lost a fish in a long, long time. I guess I will add some koi clay soon. I filter the water through a 110 gallon skippy filter and there is a small stream that I added. I once had tried a UV light but I quickly abandoned that. Right now I need to get some fresh plants in the pond.

 

[Chef Dave]

When I lived in Austin and had access to a pond nursery, I'd buy a bale of barley hay, cut it in half, wrap it in pond netting, weight it down with a brick, and dump it in the pond. The barley worked just fine.

Now that I live in rural Arizona, some three hours from the nearest pond nursery, I've had to come up with alternate solutions. I first tried using barley liquid concentrate but found that this didn't work very well for me. I also tried using a pond dye but didn't like the artificial blue of the water. As the dye broke down it became turquoise which was even more hideous than the blue.

I finally got a UV filter and voila - the water cleared up in just a few days.

 

[oldmarine]

Thanks Dave,

I'm convinced. Especially after asking a local pond dude about the problem we have with algee starting this time of the year here in the Northwest.

I broke down and bought a UV clearifier from Lowes yesterday, and I will be installing it today. My pond water went from a tea color to a dense algee bloom in less than a week.

I'll give an update as to how well it works in a few days.

Thanks everyone for all of your shared information.

 

[oldmarine]

It's been four days now since I installed the in line UV Clearifier form Lowes. So far the water has cleared to a point that it is no longer has the light tea color. I can actually see the bottom now which is two feet deep.

My water lillies and other aquatic plants haven't matured enough to help shade the water from the sun. I am guessing, but I would imagine that between the UV Clearifier and the water lillies maturing, the water in my pond should stay mostly clear from now on.

 

[oldmarine]

I'm convinced the UV Clearifier works. Less than a week and the water in my pond is crystal clear. My current filtration system is working great also.

Now I just need the lilly pads to florish and start covering the surface. My Shubunkins seem to be a bit skidish now that they are so visible.

A month ago I placed two old 18" long by 6" I.D. cement pipes on the bottom of the pond for them to hide in when they feel threatened. They seldom go onto hiding.

 

[MassKoi]

A cheaper solution could be to add cotton batting ( the stuff they put in quilts ) to your filter. It will need to be changed or cleaned regulary. I used it last year and I did see a difference.

 

[koiguy1969]

the batting is especially usefull with a u.v.... PLUS when you have really cloudy water put a laundry basket full under your waterfall for a few days see the difference, especially using a flocculant.

 

[oldmarine]

I have been using a combination of the one inch thick quilting materal from the local fabric store, and the one inch thick blue colored furnace filter material from Lowes.I cut them to the size I need them to fit inside my modified rectangle plastic container with half inch dia. holes in the bottom.

I'm using three pre cut layers of the blue furnace filter and one final layer of the quilting material in the reservor. Using them both together seems to be a good combination of filtration for my 365 gallon in ground pond.

So far I only have to change and/or hose wash the filter pads about once a week. The blue filter material can be used over and over again until it starts to come apart from rinsing with the garden hose.

The quilting material doesn't hold to rinsing like the blue material. I always have pre cut liter pads read and handy at all times.