Weird problem in my pond! Need advice asap! PLEASE!

[TrishB]

I have a concrete pond, never have had a problem with murky water. Decided to completely drain it because the ph was super high. WE use well water which tests perfect. This year we cleaned it before we put the fish in like usual. Added plants as usual and fish ..blah blah.. Got really brown/green murky and cloudy super fast ...the only new thing is that we bought a few new chimney flue liners that we use for tunnels for fish . Is there something that maybe leached out of them that would cause this ..as soon as it drained it left this yellow residue on edges. Not like normal algae.
I also added some of the pond clear (green clean) granules, but that didn't help either...so its drained, fish are back in their winter condo and we are power washing the whole thing...any ideas>>

 

[DeepWater]

If the flue liners are the only thing different, you could try taking them back out and start over with the water. Add them in later if the water is good after a month or 2.

But then again, if you completely drained and cleaned, your bio-balance is starting over and this could be the normal pond cycling as all the goodies get growing on the surfaces again.

Not sure what filtration system you have, but you say you've never had this problem before so I'm going to assume it's sufficient for the pond size and fish/plant "usual" load.

 

[DutchMuch]

WE use well water which tests perfect.

What were the test results?
ammonia?
nitrite?
nitrate?
phosphates?
Also did you take ALL the water out of your pond could you give a descriptive Description of the process you use to "clean" your pond?

pond clear (green clean) granules

These are pointless (imo), chemicals should be rarely added to an aquatic habitat (weather wild or man made) unless it is a last resort.

 

[TrishB]

If the flue liners are the only thing different, you could try taking them back out and start over with the water. Add them in later if the water is good after a month or 2.

But then again, if you completely drained and cleaned, your bio-balance is starting over and this could be the normal pond cycling as all the goodies get growing on the surfaces again.

Not sure what filtration system you have, but you say you've never had this problem before so I'm going to assume it's sufficient for the pond size and fish/plant "usual" load.

 

[TrishB]

Ive got em all out now ...i have had them in before (flues) , but they were old ones that were sitting out for years ...so I'm thinking its not them ...its an oven baked clay so it can't be whats causing it ...I have a Hayward (300#)sand pool filter, a Shinmaywa(sp) 1/2 hp pump , just changed the sand as well in filter ..we.do it every year. Power washing as we speak and fish are in the 320 gal stock tank. will leave the flues out for a bit and see what develops ...Ive had string algae before when it gets hot out ..but never murky water....and not this slippery stuff with a yellow residue as soon as air hits it....
confused @ wonder, is there a way to kill all of the spores before i refill ....??

 

[TrishB]

What were the test results?
ammonia?
nitrite?
nitrate?
phosphates?
Also did you take ALL the water out of your pond could you give a descriptive Description of the process you use to "clean" your pond?

These are pointless (imo), chemicals should be rarely added to an aquatic habitat (weather wild or man made) unless it is a last resort.

 

[TrishB]

I used test strips ...the pond water was high in alkalinity ..but in the well water , all results were in normal range like usual...we take the fish out every october and stick them in our garage in a stock tank with filters and everything. We keep it at about 45-50 degrees in there even in 30 degree below weather ( Montana)...so they pretty much go dormant. We leave about 3/4 of pond water in the pond during winter as to not have it crack ...then in spring we do the same thing every year...drain it , pressure wash it, reseal if needed, change filter sand, and add the new water and leave for a week or so. We add fish after a week of it running it with pumps filters etc...we backwash the thing at least 3 or 4 times per week when its hot to keep flow up ...realized it was the pump last year restricting flow a bit ...so we purchased a big one...its awesome! and we used it all summer too last year....so i have no clue what the deal is ?? This is weird slimy thin stuff ...

 

[TrishB]

And I only have 3 med koi (10") and 1 12" and one big girl (14") and the others are just goldfish that we put in 5 years ago to see if the water was safe.....as far as plants, just usual king tut palm thing, and some creeping jenny and verbenas ..nothing different ..and they are in pea gravel..hardly any soil

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Exactly how old is this pond? If you are pressure washing it every year it may need to be re-sealed.

 

[TrishB]

Exactly how old is this pond? If you are pressure washing it every year it may need to be re-sealed.

Built pond 4 years ago now..just resealed it last year ...usually every 2 yrs ....you thinking concrete issue??

 

[TrishB]

SO...

Exactly how old is this pond? If you are pressure washing it every year it may need to be re-sealed.

was just informed by hubby ....the main part of pond has NOT been resealed, just the streams and upper portions.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

SO...

was just informed by hubby ....the main part of pond has NOT been resealed, just the streams and upper portions.

I would follow this course of action.
-Thoroughly clean and prep the concrete Allow to completely dry. Reseal with a quality marine coating.
-Discontinue any future scrubbing and/or pressure washing of the main pond basin. Any growth on the submerged surfaces is beneficial and aids in maintaining a biochemical balance in the pond.

I have seen this yellow stain before on concreete ponds that the seal has disintegrated.

 

[TrishB]

Thanks Meyer ,,
Thats exactly what we are doing ...wasn't going to use "marine" sealer ...just the normal concrete sealer that I had used before, but maybe i will look at a different type for this.

 

[DrCase]

Have you ever tried adding baking soda to hold your PH at 8.2 ?
You would benefit by Using a KH test kit .
Add 1 lb per 1000 gal once a day until you get your KH up too around 12 drops

 

[sissy]

You said flues and they were sitting out unused and could they have soaked up things like chemicals you use on your lawn or weed killers to keep weeds down .Cleaning a pond of all the good muck is not good and what was high ph .Crushed oyster shells at a farm store well hold ph stable