Green Water?

[Cathsam001]

Hi, we have inherited a 10'x7' pond (11 koi & goldfish & loads of frogs). We've been in house for 12 weeks & whilst there is about 6" sludge & dead plants at bottom of pond, the water has been clear enough to see all pond life & plants. In past 2 weeks, the water has turned so green, not even the plants just under the surface are visible!

I tested water again & all results are within safe/normal parameters. I clean dead leaves etc daily (were due to have pond guy remove all sludge before lockdown ). The ONLY changes I can see are the many plants have grown/bloomed & the frog spawn (which covers the entire pond floor & ledges) is hatching (and being eaten )

Is this a 'normal' biological thing?
Should/could I do anything as can't see the lovely fish?
Will it correct itself?

Thanks so much in advance (pics attached, not great but older pics would have shown all fish & frogs )

Cath xx

 

[bagsmom]

Hey, Cath! Welcome! For me, this is something the pond does every spring, before the plants really start to take off. I have learned so much from this group, especially that algae serves a purpose in that it "eats up" waste products - decomposing plant matter, fish waste, etc. If I'm patient, my pond typically starts to clear up in late May. I do do a few very small water changes at this time, mostly because all the pollen and oak tree tassels make tannins that make the water brown. My waterfall filter has a gate valve on the bottom that makes it super easy to do this. Your pond is very pretty and I bet the water will clear up as spring goes along!

 

[Cathsam001]

Hey, Cath! Welcome! For me, this is something the pond does every spring, before the plants really start to take off. I have learned so much from this group, especially that algae serves a purpose in that it "eats up" waste products - decomposing plant matter, fish waste, etc. If I'm patient, my pond typically starts to clear up in late May. I do do a few very small water changes at this time, mostly because all the pollen and oak tree tassels make tannins that make the water brown. My waterfall filter has a gate valve on the bottom that makes it super easy to do this. Your pond is very pretty and I bet the water will clear up as spring goes along!

Thank you so much for the reply, was hoping it was a bloom/spring thing Never had a pond, but the owners couldn't take the fish & I just want to make sure the fish are happy

 

[j.w]

@Cathsam001
As long as you have a good filter, aeration, plenty of plants and not too many fish your green should resolve itself on it's own. As for me my filtering is not so good and I don't have a lot of plants and I do have too many fish so I have to always do the slow water in and slow water out thing w/mine in the Spring or it will just stay green forever. This seems to work for me and I have to do this every once in awhile thru the Spring and Summer. Wish I had made a bog as I would not be having these issues.

 

[poconojoe]

This happens to most ponds in early Spring. Mine is like pea soup right now. As stated, once the plants come out of hibernation or you add more plants, you might experience an algae bloom. That's why plants and more plants are desired. So, I hope it clears up soon. Give it a month and see from there.

If you find it never clears up, the fish load may be contributing to this as the fish grow larger. Quite frankly, 11 koi in a 10x7 pond is a lot.

Inadequate filtration can also be a factor.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi, we have inherited a 10'x7' pond (11 koi & goldfish & loads of frogs). We've been in house for 12 weeks & whilst there is about 6" sludge & dead plants at bottom of pond, the water has been clear enough to see all pond life & plants. In past 2 weeks, the water has turned so green, not even the plants just under the surface are visible!

I tested water again & all results are within safe/normal parameters. I clean dead leaves etc daily (were due to have pond guy remove all sludge before lockdown ). The ONLY changes I can see are the many plants have grown/bloomed & the frog spawn (which covers the entire pond floor & ledges) is hatching (and being eaten )

Is this a 'normal' biological thing?
Should/could I do anything as can't see the lovely fish?
Will it correct itself?

Thanks so much in advance (pics attached, not great but older pics would have shown all fish & frogs )

Cath xx

Hi and welcome. Your pond is beautiful! I agree with all the comments above. Poconojoe has a good point. It’s a real lot of Koi for your size pond. I did a quick calculation and if your pond is about 3 ft deep it’s around 1700-1800 gallons which would be fine for maybe 2-3 Koi and a few goldfish. If you want to keep it low maintenance you might need to find new homes for a lot of them. Koi are really cute when they are small but they do grow a lot! I have 6 young koi and 30-40 goldfish in a 3000 gallon pond and it’s a lot of work for me and I have over 10 years experience!

 

[Cathsam001]

This happens to most ponds in early Spring. Mine is like pea soup right now. As stated, once the plants come out of hibernation or you add more plants, you might experience an algae bloom. That's why plants and more plants are desired. So, I hope it clears up soon. Give it a month and see from there.

If you find it never clears up, the fish load may be contributing to this as the fish grow larger. Quite frankly, 11 koi in a 10x7 pond is a lot.

Inadequate filtration can also be a factor.

Hi, thanks for reply x should have been clearer in original post (11 Koi & Goldfish) meant 2 Koi (medium) & 9 Fancy Goldfish (small & med), although this may still be too many? Literally never had a pond...previous owners just said "we've had it 15 years & you don't need to do anything other than feed 3x week in Summer" but the more I read, the less likely this seems ‍

 

[Bluerooster]

I have 3 goldfish, I feed them daily. But not a lot. They love "Goldfish Crisps". So they get one pinch each, once daily through the summer.
Right now they are getting that amount, about every other day. I don't feed them at all through the winter, they won't eat it anyway.
What they don't eat the skimmer gets, and it gets it quickly.

As to the green water, welcome to spring. Now you know what John Wayne was talking about in McClintok when he said "... first green up of spring". It'll clear up eventually, when the plants take over.

 

[GBBUDD]

I know a lot of folks here don't believe in adding beneficial bacteria but not being a patient guy and having kept fish for many years both salt and fresh. I try to keep my bogs as alive as possible over the winter. by pumping air down the snorkel. as soon as I see hair algae start to form I use Nualgi and I have to admit I add more then recommended. What happens is what ever hair disappears it clumps up but not in big wads or anything and I can see air bubbles attached to the new algae. From what I know during the day those bubbles should be 02 and that's as good as it gets. at night the plants switch and give off co2 which they need during the day . its a win win. So far no green water not a hint. and like I said hair algae is dealt with promptly. THE BOGS ARE GROWING THE OBEDIANCE and the sage are cranking as is the irIs and the addpagnum moss bog.
I will try to get some videos in the next few days underwater.

 

[cas]

Very pretty pond! How long has your pump been running? Usually, once I turn on my pump and the plants start growing, the water clears on its own. You could try adding more plants to compete with the algae to help prevent the spring algae bloom. After thinning too many plants one year, I had a real bad algae problem where the water was like pea soup. That year I did partial water changes every few days to help clear it. And then I added lots more plants back!

 

[GBBUDD]

Very pretty pond! How long has your pump been running? Usually, once I turn on my pump and the plants start growing, the water clears on its own. You could try adding more plants to compete with the algae to help prevent the spring algae bloom. After thinning too many plants one year, I had a real bad algae problem where the water was like pea soup. That year I did partial water changes every few days to help clear it. And then I added lots more plants back!

Cas where you don't have a bog if i remember correctly . I'd think products like the beneficial bacteria could help with the string algae. It attacks it and makes it change forms clump and float to the top. the first year i went above and beyond the recommended amount and it was visually evident it was helping tremendously i used the nualgi

 

[cas]

@GBBUDD to be honest, I don't mind the string algae. It's easy for me to remove by hand. It is the suspended algae that I would prefer not to have. Luckily I haven't had much problem with either since I increased the number of plants. My problem is I start to feel like the pond is getting overgrown and then I thin the plants too much.

 

[addy1]

I used to get string in my smaller slow flow no fish ponds. But not anymore the plants out compete it. The big pond I had string in 2010 never since.

 

[sissy]

I had string algae each time I rebuilt my pond but once fish went in the pond they ate it .The only problem I get is those things flying in the pond from the maple trees .It has been really windy here for over a month .

 

[GBBUDD]

@GBBUDD to be honest, I don't mind the string algae. It's easy for me to remove by hand. It is the suspended algae that I would prefer not to have. Luckily I haven't had much problem with either since I increased the number of plants. My problem is I start to feel like the pond is getting overgrown and then I thin the plants too much.

understood I always like your arrangement simple, And not plants jambed in all over the place.