Water testing

[Willo]

I did a water test to day with API drop test.
Ph 7.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.15
Nitrate 80 ppm
My Nitrate seems to have gone up alot since I last tested, is this level to high if so whats the best way to reduce this ??
Ive got a 9000 ltr pond in total sun with a mix of koi & goldfish (fish seem to be doin very well, defo getting bigger)
I have cleaned my filters about month ago and added Evolution Aqua aqua bomb to my filter to boost them. I have also covered some of my pond to give the fish some total shade.
I have struggled with greenish water for the last few months and tried different thing to sort it out but with no luck.
Àny ideas what to do ???

 

[DoDad]

Years ago I gave up fighting green water (algae) and went with a UV. The Evolution Aqua Evo 55watt UV would work great on you r pond and the replacement bulbs are cheap also.

 

[dieselplower]

In general, you can't filter out nitrates. I would do a 50% water change and then consider if your fish load is too high. Sure you can try to add plants or get some anaerobic bacteria going but short term fix is a water change.

 

[Willo]

Years ago I gave up fighting green water (algae) and went with a UV. The Evolution Aqua Evo 55watt UV would work great on you r pond and the replacement bulbs are cheap also.

Hi DoDad

Ive two 36w uv's running 24/7 the bulbs are only 2 months old. Think I ll give up thefight as well.

 

[dieselplower]

Why would you give up? It's not complicated. I have 1600.gallons if water, a 1300 gph pump, a 9 watt UV, and my only mechanical filtration is buckets of rocks. I also have a small amount of biomedia and a small amount of plants. Water is clear to the bottom, 4.5 feet. You just have to find the right balance. You may consider testing your phosphorus level as well.

 

[Willo]

In general, you can't filter out nitrates. I would do a 50% water change and then consider if your fish load is too high. Sure you can try to add plants or get some anaerobic bacteria going but short term fix is a water change.

Ye I think we got a few to many fish, im waiting to off load some goldfish when a friend sorts his pond out. Ive got some lilys but they keep being eaten.

 

[dieselplower]

They will do that, those rascals! I'm sure rehoming some fish will help.

 

[Dave 54]

I did a water test to day with API drop test.
Ph 7.4
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.15
Nitrate 80 ppm
My Nitrate seems to have gone up alot since I last tested, is this level to high if so whats the best way to reduce this ??
Ive got a 9000 ltr pond in total sun with a mix of koi & goldfish (fish seem to be doin very well, defo getting bigger)
I have cleaned my filters about month ago and added Evolution Aqua aqua bomb to my filter to boost them. I have also covered some of my pond to give the fish some total shade.
I have struggled with greenish water for the last few months and tried different thing to sort it out but with no luck.
Àny ideas what to do ???

Willo your two U/V-C's that should take care of the algae how fast are your pumps puttingwater through them that may be your problem ?.
The nitrate needs to gas of have you got air going into the pond ?
Another thing you could get to rid yourself of green tinted water is to buy a bottle of Tetra Pond AlgoRem which will return your pond to crystal clear in under four hours.
Next time instead of evolution aqua bombs buy a bottle of Microbe_lift PL filter pad innoculant gel , I dont rate the aqua bombs they are a pain in the proverbial backside when they get small I've seen them go through the holes of our k1 bio filtergo through the pump and out into the pond .
If you think you have a heavy fish load then get rid of some of them .
How often do you do water changes and filter maintenance please ?

Dave

 

[crsublette]

Yep, I agree that your two 36w UVs should be all that you need to resolve the floating green water algae, that is I am guessing you are correctly installing them and maintaining them and assuming they're from a good manufacturer. UV effectiveness is purely dependent on water turbidity, flow rate, and maintaining parts such as replacing the parts that wear out.

However, sometimes folk seem to think they have green water due to floating algae, but ends up the green tint is due to the algae on the rock or liner. So, easy way to know for sure is to put some pond water in a clear big pitcher or container. If there is a slight green tint, then the "green" water is due to the floating algae and your two 36w UVs likely is all you need.

Some parts in the lively thread, UV or not UV, might be a good read for you.

 

[Willo]

Willo your two U/V-C's that should take care of the algae how fast are your pumps puttingwater through them that may be your problem ?.
The nitrate needs to gas of have you got air going into the pond ?
Another thing you could get to rid yourself of green tinted water is to buy a bottle of Tetra Pond AlgoRem which will return your pond to crystal clear in under four hours.
Next time instead of evolution aqua bombs buy a bottle of Microbe_lift PL filter pad innoculant gel , I dont rate the aqua bombs they are a pain in the proverbial backside when they get small I've seen them go through the holes of our k1 bio filtergo through the pump and out into the pond .
If you think you have a heavy fish load then get rid of some of them .
How often do you do water changes and filter maintenance please ?

Dave

Hi Dave
As I’ve said in past threads i think my filters are not big enough for my pond, i think I’m only getting about 1000 l/ph through the filters, if i open the valve anymore i get a surging effect back into the pond. I did do this and left them pumping more water through for 3 -4 days all that happened is it seemed to remove all the sludge and crap which the filters remove back into the pond I think its the way my filters are set up.

My filters where given to me and prob 20yrs old ?? they are 2 round vessels 20inch diameter with brushes in the 1st vessel to stop all the big particles and in the 2nd vessel I’ve got 1 course, 2 medium & 2 fine foams..Then a grate with Alphagrog biomedia then at the bottom flocor. All brushes, foams & other stuff were replaced at the start of the year. Water flows into 1st vessel through brushes then into 2nd vessel through foams and everything else and then through a tube in the middle of vessel back into pond, the fine sludge sits around flocor when the flow is turned up it disturbs all the sludge. Not the best set up I think they are meant for a smaller pond……!!! I clean the filters as needed I can see if the brushes and foams are full of crap as the water level rises in filters. But if I have to do a full clean you have to remove everything which kills all the bugs ????

I’ve been doing some research on filters and all the new ones you can clean one section without disturbing everything else, I’ve been looking at these filters below what do you think ??? My local fish expert ?? recomended lotus clear pond 50 which does 18000 l/ph for koi ??

http://www.swelluk.com/pond/pond-filters-24/bio-filter-uv-combi-330/oasis-clear-pond-filter-systems-277757.html
http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/koi-pond-filter-system-18000l.html#

I’ve never done a water change!!! .....as i didn’t realise i had to (unless there’s a major problem). If i change the water with tap water i`ll have to add conditioner to make it safe for the fish ???

 

[Willo]

Yep, I agree that your two 36w UVs should be all that you need to resolve the floating green water algae, that is I am guessing you are correctly installing them and maintaining them and assuming they're from a good manufacturer. UV effectiveness is purely dependent on water turbidity, flow rate, and maintaining parts such as replacing the parts that wear out.

However, sometimes folk seem to think they have green water due to floating algae, but ends up the green tint is due to the algae on the rock or liner. So, easy way to know for sure is to put some pond water in a clear big pitcher or container. If there is a slight green tint, then the "green" water is due to the floating algae and your two 36w UVs likely is all you need.

Some parts in the lively thread, UV or not UV, might be a good read for you.

Hi crsublette

My uv`s are blagdon and the bulbs were replaced in May. The algea is floating the water is quite green.
My uvs are set up so water from the pond goes through them before the filters so the filters can remove clumped algea !!!!!

 

[crsublette]

Hi crsublette

My uv`s are blagdon and the bulbs were replaced in May. The algea is floating the water is quite green.
My uvs are set up so water from the pond goes through them before the filters so the filters can remove clumped algea !!!!!

The bulbs are not the only part they goes bad. You should read the thread I referenced.

Your UV has to still be appropriately matched to your flow rate for the device to be effective, that is irrelevant of where the UV is installed in the system.