Water clarity question?

[icewaterdon]

Hello Again!
I have a question about water clarity. The water in my pond does not look to bad. However, I feel that it should be much clearer than it is. You can see the fish shelters in the bottom, but not as clear as I think it should be.

I have attached several photos and will give some details of the pond below.

Should the water be 100% clear to the bottom?
What can I do to help?
Should I just be patient and let the header pond develop?

Pond size 15x13 x 3.5 feet avg. depth.
Header pond is 6x5x12" with water celery growing in it and hopefully take it over completely
Water fall is aprrox. 30 inch fall.
Skippy bio filter is 100 gallon
Pumping approx. 2300 GPH
Running a small in-pond skimmer that oxygenates as well as skims, It runs 580 GPH through it.
Running a 35 watt UV light 24/7
Bottom water temperature was about 80-85 degrees during those very hot 100 degree days.
I have 9 Koi. ranging from 4-8"

I do not feed the fish. Only treat them every other day or so with about a quarter size feed from my hand. BTW, they are now eating from my hand.

No problem with Algae. Fish seem happy, I did treat with Algae Fix and manually cleaned out string Algae about 30 days ago. We have also had a very unusual HOT summer so far with little to no rain. Maybe a 1/2" over the past 5-6 weeks
If you need additional details, please let me know.

One thing I have been considering was using Barley extract.

Thanks!
icewaterdon

 

[sissy]

algae fix is a poison and can kill fish and causes cancer so would not use it myself

 

[icewaterdon]

What about the barley extract? I have read that it is all natural extracted from barley straw. The straw would be cheaper, but I have read that it can be messy later on.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Its a little cloudy, but I wouldnt be concerend, its probably actually helping block some of the uv rays and heat right now in the heat we have been having.

 

[sissy]

I think what you are seeing is just a reflection of the good muck on the sides of the pond .I use quilt batting to pick up finer stuff and peroxide .I soak the filter pad in it and water and let it dry a little and add to where ever water is coming out and use a basket to hold the quilt batting .It has to be cleaned often and that is done with a hose and then soaked in the peroxide and water and let dry .Make sure you have 2 pieces one that is in the basket cleaning and one to go in the basket when you are cleaning the other piece

 

[fishin4cars]

barley straw might help slightly, if you do use it make sure and use the kind that is in the bags, loose it does make a mess. More floating plants in the filter will help more than barley straw. more lilies or plants on the surface of the pond will help as well. the water should be clearer but what your experiencing isn't really a problem. it's a natural thing so the health of your fish is not being comprimised due to slightly cloudy water. Is this a fairly new pond? under 6-8 months old? If so what your experincing is very common. Personally i would consider pumping more water. Your not even turning the water over 1/2 a time per hour. Higher oxygen and more movement will help a lot too. You really wan't to try and turn the water over at least 1 time per hour. Going by your measurments your in the ball park of 5000-5100 gallons. If the pump is rated for 2300 gph and your pumping up through the filter and out the falls your probably not pumping even 2000 gph. Once the water celery and pond plants really kick in you'll see much clearer water.
BTW, koi NEED to be fed. Don't waste your money on cheap koi food, get a good quality food and feed at least once or twice a day but only feed what they will actively eat in about 1-2 minutes. Good food is digested better and you'll get less waste from the fish than foods like Tetra or foods that you get from most pet stores. Good food promotes good health, less waste, more color, less algae, and the filter will work better when there is some waste to breakdown, however with lower quality foods the filter can't break down the waste as well so you end up with cloudy water and algae blooms.

 

[icewaterdon]

Thanks for the replies.

The pond is very new. We installed it Mid May. So in reality, is is only about 2 months old. So, really what you are saying is, pump some more water and be patient. .

 

[sissy]

maybe a small pump in the middle to move the water around more and being only 2 months old you are doing pretty good .I found out what colleen says about grasses is very true and they do clean the water up .

 

[ididntdoit99]

.
BTW, koi NEED to be fed. Don't waste your money on cheap koi food, get a good quality food and feed at least once or twice a day but only feed what they will actively eat in about 1-2 minutes. Good food is digested better and you'll get less waste from the fish than foods like Tetra or foods that you get from most pet stores. Good food promotes good health, less waste, more color, less algae, and the filter will work better when there is some waste to breakdown, however with lower quality foods the filter can't break down the waste as well so you end up with cloudy water and algae blooms.

Nice catch... I didnt even put 2 and 2 together when I read that they were koi and then said that they were not fed.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Also, where are the pump located? I see the in pond skimmer, but where is the 2300 gph pump that goes intot the skippy located? or if it is an external, where is the inlet pumping water from?

The only reason I question that is when i first set up my smaller pond (12x8x4) it had some nice size plants shelves like you have there, and then a big deep hole in the middle and I had a pump by the surface, in the skimmer. and then i had another pump sitting on a plant shelf, because it had a fountain coming out of it. The bottom of the pond really didnt circulate because there was nothing down there. Hours after i moved the one pump down to the bottom, it was cleared up. Just the shaped of the pond, where the pumps, waterfalls, and fountains are located can make a big difference in circulation.

 

[icewaterdon]

Here is a picture of the location of the pick up. Approx. 12" off the bottom of the pond.

 

[ididntdoit99]

Oh okay.. I saw that tube running down there, wasnt sure if thats what it was. Just wanted to make sure.

I'm with fishin on this one, being the pond is new, it will probably clear up on its own, and like I said before, with this heat and not having a whole lot of cover, its probably a good thing right now.

Also as fishin said, with the size of your pond, and the fish load you will have when those koi get bigger, you will eventually want more circulation, so if you want to go ahead and buy a bigger pump, or add an additional pump now and see if that helps clear it up, you can, because eventually you will need it anyway.

 

[crsublette]

algae fix is a poison and can kill fish and causes cancer so would not use it myself

Ya crack me up sissy. Product actually states "contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer". Everything causes cancer in California including dairy cows ... unless the manure is properly piled on thick concrete foundations and is actually tarped according to environment regulations ... then everything is ok. :banghead3: Glad I don't farm in CA.

 

[icewaterdon]

OK! When I got home from work on Monday, this is what I found. Nice clear water!
see pics

 

[addy1]

Great! looks clear to me. Nice to be able to see the fish, just remember predators can see them too. We had real heron issues last year, so far they have not stopped for a visit this year. Just do their fly over almost every day.