STILL Green :(

[dieselplower]

Are you taunting me now? LOL

Sorry. Not really. I just notice some people belch out random info on this site that totally differs from what I have seen. Was just putting out a different point of view.

 

[dieselplower]

My understanding was that there were several water changes made within a relatively short period of time, which in my opinion would upset any "balance" that the pond had.

I'm all for regular, partial water changes, but they shouldn't be done in rapid succession.

The cycle bacteria that consume or convert ammonia and nitrite live on surfaces. Not in the water. What's in the water?

 

[Tula]

I have not done a water change since rebuilding my pond and that was march of this year

Sissy, I find this quite interesting. I've only begun doing small regular water changes, this past year after reading so much about it here and on another koi forum. I recall a year when I didn't do water changes, other than topping off evaporation, and my pond looked great.

I wonder what the science is behind water changes? If we filter it and aerate it, I wonder why we need to change it.

 

[addy1]

My pond water only gets a water change over if we get a good rain fall, ow none. Never have green water. Water tests always good, when I do them which is seldom anymore, they never change.

 

[Lisak1]

Same here. Going into year six with our pond and we have never done a water change. Our only filtration is our bog. Fresh water gets added when it rains, snows, or when we top off due to evaporation. We have a mix of large koi and (too many!) goldfish.

 

[morewater]

The cycle bacteria that consume or convert ammonia and nitrite live on surfaces. Not in the water. What's in the water?

Suspended algae.

Pardon me, I belched.

 

[sissy]

I never understood water changes .I did them a couple of times on my old pond and found water quality got poor after and just topped it off when water evaporated or when it rained or snowed like addy said .I use 2 filters and had green water for about 2 weeks after rebuilding my pond and then nothing .I have not had much time for my pond ,so it was left to take care of it's self .Only reason I got uv's to start was because I was taking care of fish for people who were given bad advice when they built there pond .They are now doing great and there fish look better than ever and there water quality is clear and they are happy .

 

[dieselplower]

Suspended algae.

Pardon me, I belched.

Isnt that what she is trying to get rid of?

 

[morewater]

Yeah, she's trying to get rid of suspended algae preferably in a short time frame to coincide with visitors.

Other than running the UV and filtering the water through batting, there's not much else she can do in the short term.

She's cleaned out her filters, which probably killed off a lot of the resident bacteria and has done several water changes in rapid succession. Hence, my suggestion of re-seeding the filter materials.

Short of adding a flocculent, I think the only thing that's now needed is patience.

 

[Lisak1]

And what about a flocculent (not that Priscilla needs to order one more thing!) But I've found that koi clay (montmorillinite clay) settles floating sediment very quickly and leaves my water nice and clear. Would it work for suspended algae?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Have never performed or advocated Water Changes except in emergencies i.e. chemical pollution. I have seen this discussed on many forums and have yet seen any convincing evidence or reasoning that these are indeed beneficial to a pond as a whole. Many times the pond owner does not test the source water, especially well water, and unknowingly causes other problems with the pond's water quality. I know of several cases where the fish and/or plants were killed or severely damaged from the use of well water.

 

[Lisak1]

I've often wondered if this practice is a carry over from indoor aquariums? I don't know - just a theory.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I've often wondered if this practice is a carry over from indoor aquariums? I don't know - just a theory.

No theory, it is a carry over from indoor aquariums. Long before the various aspects of water quality were fully understood, and before pumps and filters were readily available or affordable.

 

[morewater]

I do a partial water change in the Spring (because I vacuum), and again in the Fall (because I empty my lines and filters). I merely replenish what I've taken out. I top up with water from the rain barrels and then with tap water for any shortfall. During the summer months, some water is lost to waterfall splash, evaporation, etc., that I top up with collected rainwater, which eliminates the need for a dechlorinator (I'm not on a well).

I've never had a terrible suspended algae bloom, although I had a horrendous filamentous algae bloom a couple of years back. That was fun.

For one first-time client last year, I was called for "green water" three days before a wedding. Rapid treatment with a flocculent was the only alternative given the short timeframe. It worked, but it was by no means a permanent solution, just a temporary Band-Aid.

Well water is iffy, as it comes from an aquifer. Depending on the location, the water can be alkaline, acidic, extremely hard, etc.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Well water is iffy, as it comes from an aquifer. Depending on the location, the water can be alkaline, acidic, extremely hard, etc.

And with anthropogenic pollution starting to infiltrate these aquifers, well water quality is very unstable and subject to change depending on the introduced pollutant(s) and the rate of introduction.