- Joined
- Jul 14, 2018
- Messages
- 539
- Reaction score
- 486
- Location
- Huntsville, AL
- Hardiness Zone
- 7B
- Country
Based on my limited experience, new ponds are not done cycling since every time conditions change ( more fish, hotter weather, large rainfall, feeding to much, etc.) the pond has to readjust some. My water completed the nitrogen cycle using ammonia, no fish. Water got crystal clear and tests were perfect. Added fish and wammo, NO2 spiked to max and water went to dark green. Quickly dosed with Prime, and NO2 went to zero. Read up on Prime and see that it holds the NO2 down fro 24-48 hrs then it creeps back up. Dose with Prime again and repeat until NO2 stays down. This all gives the bacteria time to multiply to meet the new demands of the new fish. After going through this, my water has stayed green with no string algae or algae on objects. My water is just starting to clear. The algae is processing the fish wastes etc until your bog plants, submersibles and bio filter etc adjust to new bio load. So algae is protecting your fish while things catch up. Once the pond is established, maybe a year from now, algae blooms will occur less often, but I think of them as the safety valve that protects the fish.
Disclaimer: this is my first pond so I expect more seasoned ponders to have more to say. I just advise patience with the green water. Don’t add stuff to kill it as then you just get more dead organic matter that needs processing.
Disclaimer: this is my first pond so I expect more seasoned ponders to have more to say. I just advise patience with the green water. Don’t add stuff to kill it as then you just get more dead organic matter that needs processing.