Pond Update

[Priscilla]

My only question is, why do you need to GO on vacation? You already live in paradise, hehe

Well the draw back of living where everyone else vacations is all the tourists! LOL! Just kidding. My husband is from Seattle, so we are heading there for a few weeks to see his family. His Grandfather turns 100. So we are having a party.

So will peroxide help these floating bits clump?

I've had to net the pond now (thanks to a cattle egret) and normally makes it worse as I can't scoop the bottom everyday (although with the net you'd think the bottom wouldn't need to everyday). I'm pretty sick of cleaning the filters every day. I really don't understand what has changed so much that I could go from crystal clear to problems for months now.

 

[sissy]

Peroxide will not clump it it will only help algae die .It turns it white and you can brush it off or turn on pump again and it will go into the filter .It works better if the area is in full sun or it is hot out .I always turn off my pump and allow it to work for 15 or 20 minutes .It is great in a bath with baking soda to adjust your own body ph also and makes your skin feel soft and it can help with sunburn .

 

[Priscilla]

First, Great news and congratulations on getting the Nitrate level down.That should resolve the 'green water' side of your problem.
The floating particles that you mention are what is termed Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and may be comprised of both organic and inorganic material. In your case, it is most certainly caused by the Iquana poop. Filtering, as you are doing, is one method of removal. The other is the use of a Flocculant as Dave54 mentioned. The safest and most effective would be agricultural gypsum. It can be found at Garden Centers and Farm Supply stores. It is completely safe and benign. The gypsum causes the suspended particles to clump and sink to the bottom of the pond where it can be removed later. Sadly, this may be an ongoing maintenance issue because of the continued presence of the Iquanas, but the gypsum should be relatively inexpensive. You do NOT need an algaecide.

Okay, some good news. As I mentioned I cleared the vacant lot so 80% of the iguanas are gone. Only a small few are left hanging around. I am seeing far less iguana mess around.

I think I saw gypsum at the garden store, how do I use this? My pond is about 2200 - but its oddly shaped and various depths, so that is my husbands very rough estimate. I would rather say its 2000gall or less for safety sake.

I am cleaning the filters daily and its a real drag! Some days the pond looks better and the next it looks terrible. Since I put the net on it looks terrible. I plan to take the net off tomorrow. I am beginning to suspect that my naughty fish have dug all the rocks off the top layer of my lily pots and are digging the soil and that's causing some of the issue. So I'm going to take out all the pots tomorrow, top them up with soil, add a new heavier layer of rocks and see how it goes.

Here's what the filter looks like everyday. The black net bag is what holds the lava rock. The other is the quilt batting. EVERY day it looks like this or worse.

 

[sissy]

Is that just from the dirt in the air .Do you also have an aerator .Reason I wonder because of the color of the stuff .It is not green like I thought it would be ,it is grey so that would be dirt .I do know koi clay helps suspend and clear particles in water and is great for the fish but it also makes your water milky colored for a day or two

 

[sissy]

If you are coming to the U.S. I would buy koi clay here and put it in your luggage or ship it home via U.P.S or whatever .Even extra quilt batting I am sure could be bought cheaper here and you can use the quilt batting to wrap the koi clay in for shipment .I know my son has no problems shipping over seas as he has several going out today to Australia and Hawaii and even 1 to Japan .He is shipping via the U.S postal service

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Okay, some good news. As I mentioned I cleared the vacant lot so 80% of the iguanas are gone. Only a small few are left hanging around. I am seeing far less iguana mess around.

I think I saw gypsum at the garden store, how do I use this? My pond is about 2200 - but its oddly shaped and various depths, so that is my husbands very rough estimate. I would rather say its 2000gall or less for safety sake.

I am cleaning the filters daily and its a real drag! Some days the pond looks better and the next it looks terrible. Since I put the net on it looks terrible. I plan to take the net off tomorrow. I am beginning to suspect that my naughty fish have dug all the rocks off the top layer of my lily pots and are digging the soil and that's causing some of the issue. So I'm going to take out all the pots tomorrow, top them up with soil, add a new heavier layer of rocks and see how it goes.

Here's what the filter looks like everyday. The black net bag is what holds the lava rock. The other is the quilt batting. EVERY day it looks like this or worse.

View attachment 78271 View attachment 78272

After looking at the photos that you posted, I am inclined to say that what your pond needs is a complete clean-out. There appears to be considerable large bits of organic matter in suspension. No flocculant will remove this. This is stirred up from the bottom of the pond by the Koi, which, being bottom feeders, constantly root around looking for tid bits. This has probably been asked before, but when was the last time a complete clean-out was done? Even if a flocculant were effective, all of the removed material would sink to the bottom of the pond and require eventual removal (a pond clean-out).
If you want to try the gypsum method, below is a simple test to determine if gypsum (or any other flocculant) will be effective.

 

[Priscilla]

Yes, you have asked me that before. I have only had the pond a year. I have never done a full clean out. I don't have anywhere to house the fish and I don't want to spend $200 or more buying a holding tank for them. Nor do I have the time or man power to do this.

Is this something people do? What about new pond syndrome? How about if I empty MOST of the pond and then fill it back up? Eeeek, that sounds scary for the fish.

 

[Priscilla]

If you are coming to the U.S. I would buy koi clay here and put it in your luggage or ship it home via U.P.S or whatever .Even extra quilt batting I am sure could be bought cheaper here and you can use the quilt batting to wrap the koi clay in for shipment .I know my son has no problems shipping over seas as he has several going out today to Australia and Hawaii and even 1 to Japan .He is shipping via the U.S postal service

Yes, I have an aerator. I'm going to pull out all the lily pots tomorrow, see if the fish have been digging in them.

Yes, I will be in the US, I will pick up some koi clay.

I miss my clear pond.

 

[sissy]

What is the actual patio around the pond and how much water runs off your roof and how many rain storms have you had .It has to be stuff that is being washed into the pond after all these weeks of cleaning it .i used a shop vac on mine one time and ran a hose off the outlet into a laundry basket in my waterfall .I used a hose on the outlet part and it ran into the basket .I put cheese cloth over the inlet and and had to go very slow and had to keep turning the shop vac off to clean and also I did not want to upset my fish to much .I did 2 or 3 ft at a time .

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Yes, I have an aerator. I'm going to pull out all the lily pots tomorrow, see if the fish have been digging in them.

Yes, I will be in the US, I will pick up some koi clay.

I miss my clear pond.

Whether you use gypsum, Koi clay or nothing but continued quilt batting filtration, you likely have a layer of organic sediment on the bottom of the pond. This is what needs to be removed. If a pond cleaning is not doable, then vacuuming will work, but it will be a tedious process unless you have a good Pond-Vac.
Yes, many ponds, depending on design, need periodic (yearly) cleaning.

 

[Dave 54]

Have you thought about using a pond vac Priscilla ?

http://www.bradshawsdirect.co.uk/pond/pond-vacuums

That way you can clean the bottom of the pond and there is no need to remove your fish as you can clean the bottom of the pond whilst they are still in situe

Dave

 

[addy1]

I'm going to pull out all the lily pots tomorrow, see if the fish have been digging in them.

If you can't get it there, get it in the US when you visit. Some deer fencing or the plastic construction fencing, would work great over the lily pots to keep the koi out of the soil. It is plastic, has wide enough openings for the lilies to grow through. Chicken wire would work, but it also would slowly rust. If you are not coming over until way later I could mail you some. It is light weight. I have some pieces laying around of it. Got some construction fencing laying around too

http://www.lowes.com/pd_53046-13113-400066_0__?productId=3458958&Ntt=deer+fencing&pl=1&currentURL=?Ntt=deer+fencing&facetInfo=

http://www.lowes.com/pd_137-11764-38056_0__?productId=3522630&Ntt=

If you can find one, get a sump pump that can handle debris, you could use it to "vacuum" your pond. Have it running in different spots of the pond, to not run out of water quickly you might need to do one area at a time. They suck up all sorts of stuff, use a broom to sweep the bottom debris towards the sump pump.

 

[Priscilla]

Whether you use gypsum, Koi clay or nothing but continued quilt batting filtration, you likely have a layer of organic sediment on the bottom of the pond. This is what needs to be removed. If a pond cleaning is not doable, then vacuuming will work, but it will be a tedious process unless you have a good Pond-Vac.
Yes, many ponds, depending on design, need periodic (yearly) cleaning.

Alrighty, I have a birthday coming up. What is a reasonable pond vacuum?

 

[Priscilla]

Have you thought about using a pond vac Priscilla ?

http://www.bradshawsdirect.co.uk/pond/pond-vacuums

That way you can clean the bottom of the pond and there is no need to remove your fish as you can clean the bottom of the pond whilst they are still in situe

Dave

Thanks Dave! I'm looking into this.

 

[Dave 54]

Thanks Dave! I'm looking into this.

Priscilla I'd really have a good look into it, as some vacs arent what they are cracked up to be and thus are a waste of good money so do your homework well

Dave