STILL Green :(

[Priscilla]

Interestingly enough, a year ago I shared almost the same picture! With the same complaints. The pond was only a month old. Sissy advised quilt batting and it worked. I'm still using it, but its not working as quickly this time. I'm cleaning it twice a day so its picking up some of the stuff, but ........

 

[Priscilla]

I think that maybe letting up on the water changes and feeding the fish a lot less would work .I feed my fish summer and winter only 3 or 4 times a week .Food can cause a lot of the problems with water quality .Fish produce so much waste that it is amazing .A really good quality food may help also .Food with fillers the fish cannot use and it becomes waste .I was amazed at how many fillers tetra food had in it .When I bought the new food from pet solutions and compared ingredients I was shocked .The new food does not have any of those fillers .it has things like plant protein and krill and fish meal and fish oil and lots of vitamins .The other stuff has lots of fillers .it is like cat food or dog food you have to look at ingredients

Yes, I am stopping the water changes now that the nitrates are down. I have cut way back on the feeding, but they are munching my plants!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

This is why I inquired about a full clean-out. You apparently have an accumulation of sediment on the bottom of the pond. The fish are keeping part of it in suspension....this can be filtered. But with the iquanas apparently adding more each day, you are not getting ahead of the situation.

 

[slick]

Correct I am a koi keeper, a koi dose not have a stomach as such so the more u feed about 2 hours later wast is produced at an amazimg rare, if ur pond suplyer told u that the filter box and pump will suit the size of ur pond, where koi are involved then you need to half it or double the size of ur filtration bio bed and to keep your koi trim and healthy water flow and aireation, as what is a stream filter bed, is where the water flows over rocks pebles, etc this supports all the creapy crawles water movment and areatiom just the same as a natural stream plant life etc, as what I have to do is try to recreate this system using plastic boxes k1 and air pumps,

 

[sissy]

Do they have an iquana deterrent .Like maybe a dog or cat taught to chase them away I guess when you live in a dream place it comes with it's nightmares .You just happen to have a ponders nightmare .How do some of the ponders on here deal with the trials of ponding in warmer climates .Maybe you may need to do a post just for that .Asking for there input and how they solve there problems .Living on an island also does not give you much access to things like we have here .Not cheap or easy to access for you .They do say island life is slower

 

[slick]

A big full clean out way bad idea!!! new pond syndrome all again all the good bacteria which has built up will b gone pumps pipes filters pond bottom the lot thus leading to a masive spike in nitrites ammonia etc if the water is so bad in a mature pond then this is only a quick fix and will b a recurring problem, bigger filtration system more water moment and bigger uv's

 

[sissy]

I do agree somewhat but also wonder about air in the pond .I bought an aerator and it really helped establish my new rebuilt pond .I did save as much water as I could from my old pond and before fish went in I added lots of bacteria .But Priscilla does have an unusual situation in the fact of where she is at and what she has access too .Then all the building of new stuff really stirred up a lot of stuff .It just may take a lot of time and work .But once she gets there it will all be worth it .I have 1 -18 watt uv and 2- 9 watt uv.s and they are all on a small pump and go straight back into the pond and not into any filter and all run back in at different points of the pond

 

[Meyer Jordan]

A big full clean out way bad idea!!! new pond syndrome all again all the good bacteria which has built up will b gone pumps pipes filters pond bottom the lot thus leading to a masive spike in nitrites ammonia etc if the water is so bad in a mature pond then this is only a quick fix and will b a recurring problem, bigger filtration system more water moment and bigger uv's

A full clean-out, done properly (NO PRESSURE WASHING), will not destroy the biofilm or periphyton that has developed in an established pond.

 

[sissy]

I know a lot of pond shows talk about full clean outs and some pressure wash even the rocks and liner and guessing for some it is worth it .I guess if you have warm weather all year round and bacteria is continuing to grow It is not a bad thing .It is a lot of work and could be costly though for someone that lives on an island where fresh water costs a lot of money and then she would have to buy something to put the fish in while doing it .It would not be cheap and if it works great but if it doesn't work then she is back to square 1 .Plus she will need to stop all the sediment that got washed in .Island life can be costly .It is beautiful but hard on the pocketbook .

 

[slick]

Chlorine in any tap water will kill bacteria. But done correctly over a few days still new pond syndrome, I hear what your saying about trying to get hold of supplies when I had this problem I provided shade over a third of the water surface fitted a new uv tube (to eliminate that problem) added a dose of clear water and every other day a 10% water change and rinsed out my filter fomes in used pond water every day and it slowly cleared the pond

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I know a lot of pond shows talk about full clean outs and some pressure wash even the rocks and liner and guessing for some it is worth it .I guess if you have warm weather all year round and bacteria is continuing to grow It is not a bad thing .It is a lot of work and could be costly though for someone that lives on an island where fresh water costs a lot of money and then she would have to buy something to put the fish in while doing it .It would not be cheap and if it works great but if it doesn't work then she is back to square 1 .Plus she will need to stop all the sediment that got washed in .Island life can be costly .It is beautiful but hard on the pocketbook .

Sissy, I agree. Priscilla has a problem that is peculiar to her geo-location, but she can't let sediment continue to accumulate. This creates other problems. She will have to find a solution that will work for her situation. UVs alone are not the answer.

 

[slick]

Ps I also salt my pond with cooking salt, not table salt, this changes the bio make up of the water so blanket weed can't survive, it also gives the fish a tonic bath aginst wounds and parasites the correct dosage for the size of ur pond can be found on the net, I know to some that adding table salt to a fresh water pond sounds very wrong, I thought the same but if you follow the dosage rate it works wonders

 

[sissy]

A friend of mine lived in Hawaii and he wanted a pond a decided salt water pond was the easiest and cheapest for him .He had just local fish .He has now moved here to the states and he still thinks everything here in VA is to cheap .He thinks a 200 dollar electric bill is cheap and for here it is expensive .I keep telling him to insulate the floor between the basement and house .You should see him in a grocery store .I just wish we could help her more .

 

[slick]

I had the same problem every year with sediment, so with the new pond build I fitted a bottom drain and vortex filter, you can retro fit a bottom drain kit, but a freind of mine bought a pond hoover, with regular house keeping not a problem I know a pond hoover can be expensive but eliminates a full pond drain and clean out

 

[sissy]

You can get solar salt cheap her .I use that I take a bucket of pond water out and soak the solar salt until dissolved and then slowly pour it around the pond .But i do have a salinity tester and it can harm plants so I keep it below what it says when I do add it .Salt in water only get weaker after rain .I added it when I rebuilt the pond and have not added since because it can also be an irritant .I use the stuff with aloe in it .I found it is much better for there slime coat