Suds in new pond

[cuesport]

I just finished building a 1000 gallon pond. I filled it four days ago. I am running with a 1200 GPH pump and a DIY Skippy filter (30 gallon). Everything seemed to be going along fine, I had added a few aquatic plants on Day two. I have been seeding the pond with Eco Systems-aqua clearer extreme dry bacteria. I had lost some water due to a filter malfunction. I've refilled and added some chlorine neutralizer. I also added some" Jungle" brand barley extract (recommended dose).
Today, I added six Koi. Again, everything seemed fine for several hours. When I came home from work, the pond was full of suds. It looked as though someone had put dish washing liquid in the pond. I'm certain that didn't happen.
For two hours, I have been skimming the suds out of the pond. That hasn't seemed to help. The Koi don't seem to mind. They all seem happy and healthy and hang out under the suds. I do have a waterfall with good flow. Have any of you experienced a similar situation and it is this something I need to worry about, or will it clear itself?
I tested the water, and all parameters are within acceptable levels. The pump and filter ran for four hours after adding those chemicals with no suds.
Thanks for your help.

 

[DrCase]

Try to knock the foam down with a water hose,

 

[koiguy1969]

we hear alot about foaming after adding bacteria to ponds, there are a few threads here about foaming after adding it, mostly from microbe lift. i started my pond with added beneficial bacteria, got a little foam, it went away in a few days..but nothing like yours apparently.

 

[MassKoi]

You may also want to do a couple of partial water changes. Foam can be caused by dissolved organics in the pond but it sounds like your is too new to have that problem.

 

[cuesport]

It appears that the amount of foaming is, to some degree, related to temperature. The cooler the weather, the more foam.

 

[Binary]

Cuesport - I think I may have experienced something like this, here are the photos 10 days after filling our new pond up. It only happen when cool (ie at night) and was generated by the waterfall.

I had not (and did not) add anything prior to the foam besides plants. To "fix it", I did nothing but gave it time. Once the pond life got active it was fine (ie algae, tadpoles etc) and has been since.

 

[cuesport]

Thanks for the help. Much less foam now. I still have a small amount but I figured out today that it is because of the small rocks that I have in the basin of the falls. It's actually a good thing (I think) because it's an indication of good aeration.

 

[BBK]

That happens all the time to people that use too much dechlor.

 

[Binary]

I know the bubbles I experienced was not due to too much dechlor as I didn't use any.

 

[DrDave]

Do you have a prankster with a box of soap?

 

[cuesport]

I think that "Binary" hit it right on. I had the exact situation. It has pretty much cleared up and the water is cristal clear. On a side note, the pond has been up and running for 2 weeks. No green water (waiting to see what happens). The Skippy filter seems to be doing a great job! My smaller pond has been running for about 6 weeks. I made a smaller skippy for that one and it is working incredibly well. I had dangerously high nitrite levels. I installed the small skippy, added some beneficial bacteria and within 2 days had acceptable nitrite levels. Might have been just a spike but we'll see.

 

[Binary]

The bubbles worried me a bit, I was thinking something was wrong.

I forget how long the murky water took to come, maybe ~2 months? it self cleared though again, just time....

 

[BBK]

If you didn't dechlor.... That means its the chlorine and chloramine in the water that's bubbling. My water does it when they are adding extra chemicals during flood seasons.

 

[gardenplanters]

Hi,
There are a few threads here about foaming after adding it, mostly from microbe lift. i started my pond with added beneficial bacteria, got a little foam, it went away in a few days..but nothing like yours apparently.

 

[Brian]

Foam can be caused by dissolved organics in the pond

^ Thats what the owner at the local pond shop told me. He also recommended sludge digester by Ulta Clear, and vacuuming the bottom. So far thats been helping.