Any reasons why my pond water looks green?

[alice]

 

[MitchM]

Excess nutrients in the water, too much sunlight, temperature changes, not enough water changes.
A little green water is fine, also.
Have you been testing your water quality regularly?

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Are you still using the little tote pond that is in your profile picture? I thought I remembered you taking about making an upgrade.

If so it will be much harder to keep your water clear than if you had a larger container or pond.

 

[alice]

Yeaah, we are still using the tote ... Just did another water change. Hoping to get a chance this weekend to go look for a bigger one..

Aswell what do you guys do for winter, Im thnking about getting a bigger aquarium for inside because we have no room for the tote inside + the dogs and if it spilled it would ruin our hardwood floors

 

[alice]

 

[Lisak1]

Maria makes a good point. You are dealing with a very small amount of water. Maintaining the balance can be very challenging as even the smallest change can have big effects.

 

[Lisak1]

I don't remember where you are located, but perhaps check Craigslist or a similar source. I've seen a number of listings for preformed ponds lately for cheap prices.

 

[alice]

Kingston, Ont, CA
I will check again

 

[Lisak1]

I meant to add - frequent water changes can sometimes exacerbate the problem as you are continually asking your water to re-establish the balance. Sometimes you just have to wait it out. We have a much larger pond than yours, but we never do water changes, other than adding to top off when we have evaporation or when I decide to water the gardens with pond water. I know a lot of people swear by water changes, but we had a long time ponder tell us that he was a big believer in "maturing" your pond water - let it find a balance and then leave it alone. It's worked well for our pond.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

@alice You still have fish in the container correct? Do you have a filter attached to the pump? (I can't see it in the photo) If not you need one so the good bacteria has a place to establish itself (this will greatly help with water quality)

In a container of that size (I'm guessing maybe 20-30 gallons?) you have to do water changes or your fish will eventually suffer and either become sick and or die at some point. Lisa is talking about a true pond with a large amount of water not something so small it is basically a temporary aquarium. The water itself does not hold any "good bacteria" it's the filter material, any decor that you may have in the container and even the sides of the tote will eventually have the good bacteria you need to "balance" your container pond.

Here is article written by an old friend from another forum this should help you understand the cycling process: http://thegab.org/Articles/WaterQualityCycling.html

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Aswell what do you guys do for winter, Im thnking about getting a bigger aquarium for inside because we have no room for the tote inside + the dogs and if it spilled it would ruin our hardwood floors

When I had the smaller preform pond (165 gallons and only 18 inches deep) I used to bring the fish in the house over the winter. I kept them in a stock tank in my utility room. I used the same filter from the outdoor pond on the stock tank so I didn't have to worry about cycling a new filter (I did however fill the stock tank with fresh tap water trying to match the temperature as close to the pond water as possible) treated with Aquasafe to remove heavy metals, chlorine/chloramine and did not use any of the pond water. Fish did well and it was actually nice to have them in the house as I was able to interact with them (which I wouldn't have been able to do if they stayed out in the pond)

They stay outside over the winter now that I have a little bigger and deeper pond (500 gallons, 3 feet deep) I use a heater/de-icer in the pond as well as several air stones. Even the fish that are in the stock tank stay outside now. Water temperature has never dropped below 40 degress in the stock tank (I have a digital thermometer that runs from the tank to the house so I can monitor it from inside) I have a livestock heater in the tank and air stones and then for the really cold and snowy weather I put a cover over the top of the tank (we also have the tank situated so that one side is up against the house and then on the other sides I put straw bales around it to help insulate it. Some day I would like to make something that looks nicer by building an insulated box to go around the stock tank but for now it works.

It might look nicer to have the fish in an aquarium in your house but you may be able to buy a larger stock tank for less money (and wouldn't need to buy a stand, filter, etc) Its really your preference though.

 

[alice]

Just water hyathis and yes there is a pond pump, no decr. Yes there are fish in the water container. Ive been busy with school + really broke . So I have to go when my mom gets a chance and see what she decides. We have a themometer aswell its 20 celcius. We just have no room for the container indoors, so were just keeping an eye out for an aquarium for the winter- we already have a small one inside + filter so we don't need to buy a new one but the awuarium inside is SMALLER than our 121L pond outside

 

[bettasngoldfish]

So only a pump with fountain head then? No filter box? It would look like this or very similar

So I was pretty close on the size at 121 ltrs it equals 31 US gallons

So refresh my memory please, what type and how many fish do you have? You will really have to keep on top of water changes when you bring them indoors if your tank is smaller than this container. And remember the filter will not be matured (unless of course you already have fish in it and it is established) and you are going to have ammonia and nitrite spikes which can be dangerous to your fish.

I'm not saying it can't be done but it will take some work.

You don't have any where for the tote in the house? No basement maybe?

 

[alice]

So only a pump with fountain head then? No filter box? It would look like this or very similar

View attachment 83807

So I was pretty close on the size at 121 ltrs it equals 31 US gallons

So refresh my memory please, what type and how many fish do you have? You will really have to keep on top of water changes when you bring them indoors if your tank is smaller than this container. And remember the filter will not be matured (unless of course you already have fish in it and it is established) and you are going to have ammonia and nitrite spikes which can be dangerous to your fish.

I'm not saying it can't be done but it will take some work.

You don't have any where for the tote in the house? No basement maybe?

They will NOT be all going in the container inside, thats just for my one goldfish who got injured and they picked on him.

But 3 fish.

Looking for a big aquarium to house them over the winter just because my mom does not want a tub or pond inside, and we dont have the space

 

[alice]

So only a pump with fountain head then? No filter box? It would look like this or very similar

View attachment 83807

So I was pretty close on the size at 121 ltrs it equals 31 US gallons

So refresh my memory please, what type and how many fish do you have? You will really have to keep on top of water changes when you bring them indoors if your tank is smaller than this container. And remember the filter will not be matured (unless of course you already have fish in it and it is established) and you are going to have ammonia and nitrite spikes which can be dangerous to your fish.

I'm not saying it can't be done but it will take some work.

You don't have any where for the tote in the house? No basement maybe?

Pump with fountain head, but with a filter, not like that tho