Pond cloudy

[GBBUDD]

I have 34 rock on the top of the pots so they can't eat the roots . They don't eat the stems or leaves

 

[Pondman662]

Don't lava rock and pea increase minerals though? And do they increase ph in the pond? Because my ph was reading high on the ph. I wonder if its because of the rock media. But i thought lava rocks can help with bacteria colonies because its such a porous material. Ive also added activated carbon in the filter as well. Carbon i thought sucks up tannins and other toxic chemicals.

 

[GBBUDD]

Yes to a degree but no on the whole. Your bringing aquarium traits to the pond if your pond is that small then that may indeed be the correct plan. Lava rock also clog very quickly they trap debris in the pores we use round river rock or pea STONE not peas.

 

[addy1]

Plants plants and more plants. I filter with only a bog and plants. Crystal clear water.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

If algae is an issue, try adding more pump flow and/or checking your inlet tubing, filter, etc. for blocks, poor inlet design, etc.. Can also add a 2nd pump, and just have that one recirculate to the water's surface. Can run it as needed or full time. If the algae is heavily in the pond, scoop it out (a bow rake works) as best as possible, to give the water returning from pump/filter a chance to move the surface water. It'll start clearing up in a few days to a week.

 

[Pondman662]

If algae is an issue, try adding more pump flow and/or checking your inlet tubing, filter, etc. for blocks, poor inlet design, etc.. Can also add a 2nd pump, and just have that one recirculate to the water's surface. Can run it as needed or full time. If the algae is heavily in the pond, scoop it out (a bow rake works) as best as possible, to give the water returning from pump/filter a chance to move the surface water. It'll start clearing up in a few days to a week.

I rearranged my filters, took out the rocks and just on the first one added polyfil cotton to help pull out more debris and algae, second one has bioballs like the original aquascape.
I just will have to add a bunch of plants more of them to suck out nutrients i guess. I could make a bog but maybe next year. Just using what i have at the moment. If i buy a new uv light and just add a bunch more plants, I'm pretty certain that would work. Uv might kill good and bad stuff but the plants will eat the nutrients. And benefical bacteria should harvest in the pond even in the bio filters. I think the rocks i had werent really doing much of anything except making a huge mess. Pump had debris in it so got done getting that cleared out.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

I have a roughly 25' x 35' pond, that's about 2 years old now. Will be doing a bog eventually, but have a 55 gallon and something like a 4500 gph pump (technically too small for the gallons of the pond which are probably closer to 20k gallons). That pump is enough to keep my water clear, however.....

Been experimenting a LOT with homemade skimmers and pre-filters. Put a hole in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket this year, and had a ton of holes drilled through the 5 gallon to resemble a strainer. And put screen and gutter sponges in it. Constantly had issues with that limiting flow, but it appeared OK initially as did flow at the 55 gallon outlets.Was having issues with the pump, so thought it was that, and bought a new one. Couple weeks later and constant cleaning, redesigned with a chicken wire-type of diy strainer, and covered that with screen, and ditched the 5 gallon bucket.

Water is finally clearing up like it used to be. I have both outlets at 2" each, and ran pvc with straights and 45's, to water surface (not under it) to create as much turbulence and current at water surface as possible. Took old pump and built a 2nd strainer inlet with screen over that, and ran it to dump down in a recirculation method (not getting filtered) and ran it only as needed to assist the main pump right after ditching the 5 gallon to aid in water turbulence and oxygenating the water via aeration (if that's not correct, someone please comment).

I had a ton of algae this season from the limited flow of the 5 gallon pre-filter I made. In other words, pump wasn't as efficient. One way to try and gauge your setup's flow is bypass the filter, clean the inlet out, and run the pump to recirculate water i.e. it pumps water up than immediately dumps it above the water. Pay attention to the flow. If hard to gauge, have it fill a 5 gallon bucket while timing how long it takes. Now reconnect to your filter and observe the flow again. If it appears significantly diminished, you have restrictions hampering your pump's ability to move the water. A slight diminish is OK, but excessive means something is limiting your water's return to the pond. Also, if your pump has a high rating, make SURE you are only using the correct diameter piping throughout the design, or it'll limit the flow.

I have dual outlets on my 55 gal. drum with 90 degree turndowns inside, facing the lava rock. Things like angling them wrong can cause air pockets and mess with the flow, as can objects blocking the tubes, too much muck, or restrictions at the pump's pre-filter. In my case, water needs to dump into the drum as fast as possible, then exit fast enough the drum won't over fill but not too fast. Water flowing to the pond's surface clears the water and limits things like algae. IF algae is on the water's surface and flow isn't sufficient to remove it, it'll overtake the pond. Lots of plants can limit water movement as well.

Hopefully that makes sense and helps. Others here know the lingo and the inner workings better, so hopefully not too far off the mark or they'll pipe up.

Take away is the more you can move your water or disrupt the surface, the better you'll be at removing algae and keeping it clear. Also, I never use chemicals. Have frogs and minnows and all are healthy in appearance.

 

[Jhn]

@Mr. Green Frog, OP doesn’t have trouble with algae on the surface, they have trouble with green water. While circulation is part of the equation, but won’t prevent green free floating algae (pea soup) alone in a pond, plants be it in a bog or in the pond proper are needed to pull nutrients from the water starving the algae out.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

Ah, OK.

 

[Mmathis]

How long has your pond been up and running?