Murky water….due to chemicals or plants?

[Jenn812]

Hello,

I used Sludge Away on my pond about a week ago. I also repotted 2 water lilies.

Immediately after the Sludge Away product the water was tea colored as expected.

The next day I repotted the lilies - in tubs with soil from the garden (clay, compact). It was recommended to me NOT to put rock of any kind on top of the soil in the tubs, but just to use compact soil.

Since then the water has been murky/muddy looking.

Do you think this is just due to the Sludge Away working? Or the dirt from the plants?

On a side note we also had VERY heavy rain/storms around this time.

 

[Tula]

It sounds like you're saying the water was tea colored, but not muddy, after using Sludge Away, then became muddy after repotting the lilies? If so, I'd say it's mud from your koi, digging around in your lilies....could also be a combination of both things.

I cover my lily pots with deer fencing to keep my koi out, otherwise, they make a mess!

 

[Smaug]

It's mostly the dirt in the lilys. I did the same thing a few years ago.

 

[sissy]

use of kitty litter is better it also helps clarify the water .It will get a little cloudy .i would worry about soil from a yard as you never know what is in it.We treat soil in yards with all kinds of stuff plus runoff can be in there from other yards .

 

[Jenn812]

use of kitty litter is better it also helps clarify the water .It will get a little cloudy .i would worry about soil from a yard as you never know what is in it.We treat soil in yards with all kinds of stuff plus runoff can be in there from other yards .

You plant your plants just in kitty litter? Or you put it in the pots on top of the soil?

 

[Jenn812]

It's mostly the dirt in the lilys. I did the same thing a few years ago.

How long did it take to clear?

 

[addy1]

I plant mine just in kitty litter, in a oil pan. The litter when it is first put in and getting wet does murk up the water a bit. The little bit of murk goes away pretty quickly.

 

[Tula]

A lot of us here, plant our lilies in plain kitty litter, the clay, non clumping, unscented variety. I learned it from @addy1 prior to lowering mine in the pond, I wet it down, to avoid the plume of dust.

 

[addy1]

lol sometimes I wet it down, sometimes I don't the cloud of dust disappears pretty quickly. I see it being close to koi clay that a lot like to have added to a pond.

 

[sissy]

things is the dust from it clarifies the water just like koi clay and is a good mineral for the fish .Just not as pure as koi clay .The company that makes kitty litter will not say it is pure because it is going down a factory line and could pick up stuff from the line and also from processing .But then you never know how they process koi clay either .

 

[Tula]

things is the dust from it clarifies the water just like koi clay and is a good mineral for the fish .Just not as pure as koi clay .The company that makes kitty litter will not say it is pure because it is going down a factory line and could pick up stuff from the line and also from processing .But then you never know how they process koi clay either .

I didn't know this, very interesting. I'm curious about koi clay, I've never used it. How often and how much, do you use?

 

[Smaug]

How long did it take to clear?

Until it all leached out or was dug out by the fish. It never really did clear up that season and the fish dug the plant's completely out. We probably don't have a comparable situation.

 

[sissy]

koi destroy plants and I use a cup of koi clay once every month during spring and summer and cut back to a cup once every 3 months in the fall and winter and pond is just over 5000 gallons .I think it helps to keep green water away and also helps the fish and I really never get much string algae ,if at all

 

[Smaug]

Funny thing though,once I just let the lilys grow free in the water they exploded in growth. One pot turned into a mass of lily tubers that way near 100 lbs when I pulled them out last fall. No more lilys for me,my koi are prettier then plants.

 

[sissy]

Also if you add koi clay you need to turn your pumps off for at least a half hour to allow it to do it's job .It will help the finer algae also go to the bottom of the pond and it can be scooped up by a net .