New member and pond and would like a little help please.

[lexusalan]

Hello all.
I have just set dug out and set up my new garden pond. We have had a complete overhaul of the back garden and we decided to replace the lawn with a pond. It was one or the other as the garden really isnt big enough as we wanted a largish decking area.
I did the math and the pond holds approx 6-7000 litres, not sure what that is in u.s gallons sorry.
I am running a 5000lph water pump which as you can see splits off into 2 filters. The website where i bought the filters from sent me 2 so i thought i may as well run 2. The pictures show how i have them set up in the shed and how they return to the pond via 2 waterfalls. The idea is to have the grasses grow over the stones of the waterfalls. Thats for a later date anyway as much of the planting between the falls and down the side od the pond will be done next year now.
I have been running the pond for 2-3 weeks now with no real problems. Just over a week ago i bought 12 1-2" fish, 8 golden orfe's and 4 comets. These seem to be doing fine and are swimming around happily.
My question is this and im sure you have all heard it a thousand times. The water is very cloudy, almost tea coloured and im pretty sure that this is the run off from the rocks from when it rains. I know you i can buy a chemical which will clump the fine particles together so that they sink and then the filters will clear them but id rather not use chemicals if at all possible. I have bought some filter wool and placed that in the filters as you may be able to see and i have cleaned all the filter sponges out today. I have also moved the pump from right at the bottom to the middle shelf in the pond in the hope that it clears some of the suspended particles. Does anyone on here think it will clear in time if i keep relocating the pump. I ask this as i dont really want to buy products straight away for it to rain the next day and for me to start all over again, a slight waste of money as ive already spent enough on the garden haha.
Thankyou all in advance.

 

[sissy]

nice looking pond and great that you have a building to hold all your pond stuff

 

[lexusalan]

Thanks sissy. As the garden is not the biggest i didnt have a lot of room behind the waterfalls to play with. Thats when i thought of placing the filters in the shed. I thought this would be good for access to be able to work and maintain them. Just have to watch out for any little leaks.

 

[sissy]

gives you a great place to put all the parts and pieces you will end up with after building a pond .i was amazed at how much I collected in 8 years of ponding ,things I couldn't find and bought new and then there they are moment after you buy it again .Did it many times and made a place under my front porch now and sorted things out according to what they are and here you have built in storage already . :razz: Don't blame you on chemicals I don't buy them either as most you see don't work and cost lots of money and i can find better things to do with my money .I do use quilt batting in a basket in my filters to pick up all the fine stuff



i use the extra water from my pump and put hose on it with a ball valve to aerate the water and keep things moving and if i want i can hold it down and around to power sweep the bottom of the pond .I bought trapdoor snails and it is hard to net the bottom because of them.I have it tied to the bridge to keep it in one spot and hose is 1 5/8

 

[lexusalan]

Yeah i see what you have done there with the quilt batting. i had read about this filter media at some point but i could never set it up as you have as i pressume yours is a d.i.y filter made from a barrel? But since my filters are in their own housing then it will be harder to achieve what you have done with yours. It is something perhaps i should have done but as id already bought mine im pretty much stuck with them. From what ive read it seems the theory with filters is the simpler the better.
The foams in my filter have slots for them to fit into but this doesnt create a very good fit and water can still pass around the foams, thus meaning all debris is not filtered. When i cleaned them today though and replaced them i didnt put them back in their slots and tried to bunch them up more so they are more dense and so less space at the sides. Im hoping this will filter more of the water and so make it cleaner, like i said im hoping and nothing more as one thing ive learned with this pond set up is that its all very much trial and error.
I think that the general water movement in the pond is good, i get ripples on the surface all across the pond from my waterfalls but obviously im unsure what is happening beneath the surface.
I was also thinking..... would it be possible to remove the lava rock from the cage in my filters and stuff this with quilt batting? i would even be able to do this in just one filter so that the rock is still beneficial? Does this sound like a good idea?.
I think whatever i do i will give it 3-4 days to see if what i have tried todaay works but im still open to ideas in case i need to revert to a plan "b" ha

 

[sissy]

some will put in a seperate pump like i did in my stock tank and put the quilt batting on top of a crate in a crate

 

[lexusalan]

If i was going down that road then am i correct in thinking that i could do something similar but place the quilt batting in a crate under the waterfalls, unsightly i would agree but it wouldnt be a permanant thing and could be removed when the water is clear.
I have also been thinking that before i do something like this would it be a good idea to sweep the shelves down in the pond as there is a lot of debris on them. Am i right in thinking that although it would make the situation worse to start with it would in the long run produce better results. My only reservation is the fish that i have in now and any negative effect it would have on them.

 

[sissy]

some people use the waterfall method also and it works .I would but you can do what I do shut down my pump and water fall spray it down good with peroxide and use a toilet bowl brush to clean off the heavy stuff I can get at and even found a baby bottle brush gets the small areas .Then wait 10 or 15 minutes and turn the pump back on with a nice amount of quilt batting to pick up most of the stuff .You can clean and reuse the quilt batting

 

[addy1]

nice pond you built.

Keep in mind your pond is new and it needs to cycle. That may be the reason it is turning cloudy. Give it time. You could also add some filtration as sissy uses to help out.

 

[cajunmeme]

I had a very hard time with green water also. Another ponder told me about the cotton batting. Boy does it work. I simply put two bags of batting in a plastic crate and inserted the hose from one of my spitters into the batting. My pond is app. 1200 gallons. I had super clear water in about 4 hours.

I believe the cotton batting is much better at filtering the suspended algae. The bio filters with all the different filters within do a great job for larger stuff.

 

[lexusalan]

Ok thanks, sounds like im going to have to get myself some batting. Ive seen it on amazon and doesnt look like it costs too much and if i get the results then its certainly money well spent.
Does it come in different grades? is some more compact than others? if so then what would people on here suggest? thanks again

 

[sissy]

It just comes in different sizes and i have rewashed mine dozens of times .i hose the heavy stuff off and then clean good in a bucket and lay it out in the sun to dry .I usually have a couple of pieces going at the same time .As long as you keep it folded neat it is easy to clean .

 

[cajunmeme]

You need to go to Joann's or Michael's store. Any fabric store will have it. Get the cheapest you can find. I have found it for a dollar or two a bag. This is the cheapest thing you can do to make a huge difference in your pond.

On, and I forgot to said, I only leave in my pond for a day or two and then remove until I think it needs it again. My set up for the cotton is not the prettiest thing. I consider it my mopping day for my pond. When I am done mopping, I put it away till it needs it again.

 

[lexusalan]

Ive ordered some from amazon, think ive ordered a full roll of it and not a bag but it was really cheap so i'll give it a try.
When looking in the pond today i think it has cleared slightly after i condensed the current filters yesterday. I would however like to clear the shelves in the pond as they are very dirty with debris. Other than buying or renting a pond vac what is the best way of cleaning these? could i brush them and then allow the pump and filters to clear?

 

[sissy]

You could but if it is really fine it may be back in there as it will run straight through some filter media .Muck is good for the pond and not sure what kind of dirt you are talking about .