Greenish pond - normal cycle for new?

[Mr-pond]

Hey guys,

After all the good work from previous posts I thought i would look for some confirmation/advise.

My pond is currently quite greeny, mucky. I have read that this is really a ponds cycle, and as long as I have the right plants I it should be ok in time. Here's the facts:

• It's a wild life pond - no fish
• It was filled with tap water as we had no rain for a period.
• It was filled two weeks ago.
• Plants unfortunately kept falling so I understand this would add to the murkiness... With previous help I have repotted these in wider points and weighted down.
• There is life, frog, 2 skaters, and some buds are flowering.

The plants I currently have in the pond are:

• 3 elodea crispa oxygenating potted.
• 3 more of similar style but don't have the name all potted again in one pot.
• Vallisinara spiralis and gignatica deep water oxygenating
• Nymphae water lily
• Iris Louisiana
• Ragged robin - on very edge.
• Common rush - juncus effusus
• Barred horsetail - equisetum japonicum
• Lesser pond sedge - cares acutiformis
• Slender club rush
• Creeping jenny

With time, will the greeness of this go? We planned to get a pump for a feature, but not with a filter. We were advised a filter, but from research I thought this was required more for fish ponds? Are these the right kind of plants to balance or would we need to others? I have considered another deep plant like the lily to cover surface area as at the moment lots is exposed.

I have added some pics at its current state.
Any advise is welcome.

Thanks

 

[VanDiesil]

Completely natural. Mine done the same until I put the filters in and then went too clear within a few days. The 4 or 5" of water I left in the old pond has also gone completely green now even though had no issues with green water with that pond.

 

[Mr-pond]

Completely natural. Mine done the same until I put the filters in and then went too clear within a few days. The 4 or 5" of water I left in the old pond has also gone completely green now even though had no issues with green water with that pond.

I wasn't planning to use a filter, because I had heard this is natural and should clear up once the Eco system has balanced. Or should I just consider, if it doesn't clear up, I could use a filter.. Although that would mean then replacing the pump if I had bought one at that stage?

Thanks

 

[crsublette]

Nah, if you're not going to have any fish, then no worries on needing a filter. However, something to disturb the water might help to keep mosquitos away or you can simply get some mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis). These really small fish are quite self sufficient, meaning you really don't need anything for them and even don't have to feed them.

To significantly help with water clarity, you could look into making an upflow gravel bog, with plants in it, which is fed with a pump, and then the water gravity flows, like a waterfall or a fountain, back into the pond. There are also all sorts of beneficial microorganisms in these bogs that can trap and destroy floating algae spores. Mix in some oyster shells in the bog so to make sure it stays "sweet" and healthy, which is actually the purpose of using it in garden soil.

 

[Waterbug]

Eco system has balanced? I assume by that you mean what most people mean...clear water. The concept of a pond being in "balance" is a human convention. Ponds are always in change and even more so in a Wildlife Pond. Green water is the best possible condition for a Wildlife Pond since the algae feeds an impressive amount of life and protects that life from UV. Soooooo I'd say your eco system is balanced.

It is possible that there are some higher plants that will produce chemicals toxic to green water algae. We do know there is such a chemical in many clear ponds because it's easy to test that it kills green water algae. There are a few people testing different plants to see if they produce the chemical. It's very difficult to do these tests. So far there are only a couple even being tested.

Based on my tests I believe string algae (at least some species) will produce the chemical. But green water algae also produces a chemical to kill the string algae, plus green water shades where string algae often grows. Creating a stream, waterfall, Trickle Tower, etc., is a way to give string algae the upper hand. I've read many posts over the years where a person added a pump and their pond cleared so they say a pump will clear a pond. But in the same post they will ask how to get rid of the string algae that suddenly appeared in the waterfall or stream. For some reason that is a mystery to me string algae is completely discounted by many people as having any impact on water clarity even though it is almost always the largest plant mass in a clear pond. Instead they want to think the pretty flowering plant is the hero. That works too because bringing a pond plant into a pond almost always brings along string algae too.

To your question, will your pond clear...probably. But there is certainly no certainty. Also whether it's normal...it's normal for a pond to be green or clear and everything in between. Whether it's normal to different people is subjective.

Introducing Mosquitofish to a Wildlife Pond would make it a Water Garden. Not only will they remove mosquito larva but also every other creature they can fit into their mouth. If you keep a good muck layer on the bottom (common for Wildlife Ponds) some insects will be able to survive there. But Mosquitofish basically crush the eco system.

 

[Mr-pond]

Eco system has balanced? .

Apologies in my terminology..I suppose what I meant is that as this is a total new pond, with tap water and new plants, the first thing I was told was...

"Don't worry when it goes green.. That first of all it will go like this but it will then clear out and plants will grow etc."

Everything at this stage is in unbalanced .Obviously an eco system is continually changing but I just wanted to no is should I expect this. I know each pond is different so can't guarantee but should it become clearer?
I've just been out an it's not neccessarily the ware green, that's like a layer formed on the liner. I suppose that's not too worrying, the thing that I dislike at the moment is that it just appears like there's a gunky water layer.. Maybe because I don't yet have the stream run in in or the pump rotating water round and it's just sat in one place all day.

For the first week I could see to he bottom, althought I don't expect perfect clarity, the top layer, gunky, an white bubbles/smears is slightly off putting.

Thanks again for helpfulness

 

[Mr-pond]

Another thought is should I take the plants out until I've completed the second pond an feature or just see how it goes?

 

[crsublette]

Personally, I would just keep'm in there so they can get acclimated to the water so to start growing unless you need them out to work in the pond.

Ya gotta understand that... In these small ponds, "clear water" is not a natural occurrence, except I am not saying it does not happen. The reason is that smaller ponds are much more volatile, faster temperature changes, faster chemistry changes, and other "stuff" simply acts faster in smaller ponds since there is not much of a dilution factor.

Just a somewhat strong wind will blow in a significant amount of debris and, due to the shallow water, stirs up the muck. Sure, eventually, after 24 hours or so, it will all settle to the bottom again, but it is a reoccurring process. This April has been incredibly windy (40+ mph) and, after a week, there is about a half inch of dirt that has settled on the bottom. If I were never to vacuum it, then eventually there would be a good solid 6 inches or so of the stuff and my pond is only 11~14 inches deep. I don't know what the weather is like in your area so it might be something to think about.

 

[Mr-pond]

I don't know what the weather is like in your area so it might be something to think about.

It's not been great here, add in that 5 plants kept falling down adding in aquatic soil and gravel probably won't help.

Think it's just that the top isn't particularly glossy now like he first few days. I've been trying to remove the leaves an image that are falling in.

Going to just see how it goes.. And maybe as I'm putting a pump in think about getting a filter to.

 

[crsublette]

The filter will be more as a polishing tool rather than to clean the water. So, you don't need to buy anything fancy. Personally, the best and only needed filter for you would either be a bog or a sand/gravel (S&G) filter. A S&G filter is actually just a bog without plants except you can actually easily clean it out with just 5 minutes from an air blower. I have actually seen these sand/gravel filters built inside whiskey barrels and then, from an old fashioned spout attached to the barrel, the water gravity flow dumps back into the pond.

If done right, then it would be a really neat rustic water feature.

 

[crsublette]

You could build the S&G filter inside something like shown in the pictures below... Although the spout would need to be at the top and I think a half bucket would not work too well.

 

[crsublette]

Here is a picture of a filter that a member here, dieselplower, did with a couple whiskey style looking rain catchment tank and converted it into a filter. The small one on the right looks to be a type of bog filter while the tall one I think just has foam pads, but I think you could possibly convert it into a S&G filter as well.

There actually are alot of whiskey barrel rain harvesting catchment tanks. They are a bit expensive, but, unlike actual wooden whiskey barrels that will need a water sealant of some sort to prevent eventual warping over time, these rain harvesting tanks are built to hold water and be outside.

 

[Waterbug]

Apologies in my terminology..I suppose what I meant is that as this is a total new pond, with tap water and new plants, the first thing I was told was...

"Don't worry when it goes green.. That first of all it will go like this but it will then clear out and plants will grow etc."

In most cases I think it is true that a pond will clear. Adding plants can help by bring in string algae which can clear a pond almost over night, even faster than UV. But because these are living things it's always difficult to predict. The ponds that I've seen that stayed green for years didn't have a stream/waterfalls, just a pump, maybe a fountain. They'd have some plants that they bought when they first started the pond but the plants never did very well. I haven't run into a pond yet that had a stream/waterfall and stayed green for more than say a year. I attribute it to string algae but don't know for certain

Everything at this stage is in unbalanced

The problem with using these types of terms is they are completely undefined in the context of ponds, and most other things for that matter. Filling a new pond with tab water is completely "in balance". It's exactly as it should be. If by unbalanced you mean the KH level is low...we can help with that. If you mean you want to kill algae,..we can help with that. But we can't help you balance your pond because it has no meaning. It's just a fun word some people like to use.

I've just been out an it's not neccessarily the ware green, that's like a layer formed on the liner.

OK, that's a completely different thing from what you were saying. You should ignore all the previous suggestions because they were about a completely different problem.

I suppose that's not too worrying, the thing that I dislike at the moment is that it just appears like there's a gunky water layer..
...
For the first week I could see to he bottom, althought I don't expect perfect clarity, the top layer, gunky, an white bubbles/smears is slightly off putting.

The trick to pond management is describing the problem in specific terms. "Top layer gunky" means something specific to you and it probably means something specific to others, but probably completely different things. For example, if you mean you have a layer of muck on top of the liner or a green slime on top of the water would have 2 completely different fixes.

The term "clarity" in ponds means how transparent the water is. To describe the amount of clarity we use terms like "gin clear" because everyone knows how clear gin is (some people more than others). An even better test is whether you can read a newspaper laying on the bottom of the pond. People don't actually put a newspaper on the bottom but most people know what that means.

My suggestion is you try and explain what it is that you don't want as specifically as you can and in as much detail as you can. With some back and forth you'll learn the lingo a little (there's only a few common terms) and communication will become easier. Otherwise you risk being told fixes for problems you don't have and that can cause more problems and disappointment.

These things are actually very easy to fix...once the problem is understood

 

[dieselplower]

Here is a picture of a filter that a member here, dieselplower, did with a couple whiskey style looking rain catchment tank and converted it into a filter. The small one on the right looks to be a type of bog filter while the tall one I think just has foam pads, but I think you could possibly convert it into a S&G filter as well.

There actually are alot of whiskey barrel rain harvesting catchment tanks. They are a bit expensive, but, unlike actual wooden whiskey barrels that will need a water sealant of some sort to prevent eventual warping over time, these rain harvesting tanks are built to hold water and be outside.

I tell you what... I wish the tall one was filled with foam pads. It's actually about 2/5 full of golf ball sized rocks, 2/5 full of gravel, and 1/5 full of plastic bioballs. It was a long hard winter and that thing tipped further and further forward towards the pond. I thought I had it leveled out but somehow it still fell into the pond and made a big mess. I am not a weak person but I needed help getting it back out. I got the tall barrel at Home Depot and the smaller one at a local garden center called Wedels.

 

[Mr-pond]

Here is a picture of a filter that a member here, dieselplower, did with a couple whiskey style looking rain catchment tank and converted it into a filter. The small one on the right looks to be a type of bog filter while the tall one I think just has foam pads, but I think you could possibly convert it into a S&G filter as well.

There actually are alot of whiskey barrel rain harvesting catchment tanks. They are a bit expensive, but, unlike actual wooden whiskey barrels that will need a water sealant of some sort to prevent eventual warping over time, these rain harvesting tanks are built to hold water and be outside.

Thanks for all this.. i have been taking a look into the posts you linked. Just wondering at the moment if to do the filter seperate, or get a filter in the pump as I think my pond is only a small size. Saying that, I like the ideas of the whisky barrel and think it could make for a nice feature piece to, may even change how i wanted to do the waterfall.