Brown water.....please help

[mikeinpgh]

Hello,
I've been having water clarity problems for the a few weeks now. The water is brownish green. All of my water tests are almost perfect. Last weekend I added "Pondzyme" and "algae fix". The pond cleared up a lot, but not perfect by Monday. Two days later I can't see the bottom again.:lol:
I can't see any visible debris on the bottom. My only thougth is, could it be, the part of the parrots feather that is brown and under water?(it's still connected to the plant)
I have to clean my filter pad in my skimmer daily,sometimes twice.
Please help.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[koiguy1969]

brown water with good water parameters...sounds like tannins. color absorbed into water from dead plant and organic matter. activated carbon can assist greatly in the removal of tannins..diluting them with waterchanges is another option..several small water changes of 5 - 10% spread out every other day or so.
see.... https://www.gardenpondforum.com/basic-water-quality-problems-t5332.html

 

[addy1]

Hello,
I've been having water clarity problems for the a few weeks now. The water is brownish green. All of my water tests are almost perfect. Last weekend I added "Pondzyme" and "algae fix". The pond cleared up a lot, but not perfect by Monday. Two days later I can't see the bottom again.:lol:
I can't see any visible debris on the bottom. My only thougth is, could it be, the part of the parrots feather that is brown and under water?(it's still connected to the plant)
I have to clean my filter pad in my skimmer daily,sometimes twice.
Please help.
Thanks,
Mike

What are you cleaning off your filter pad? algae, plant matter, dirt?

 

[mikeinpgh]

Thanks for the quick response. I've read a lot of exising threads. Activated carbon and water changes seem to be the common answer. I've never done any kind of water change, but I guess I'll start this weekend. And I will also pick up some carbon.

I use a skimmer with a big filter pad and sometimes quilt batting, and biofalls with lava rock and plants. I don't plan on changing this setup for a long time. Is there any thing more I could be doing besides a bottom drain or one of the filters that are in the DIY section?
Is it ok to use "pondzyme" and "aglaefix"? I really don't like to use the chemicals.

 

[mikeinpgh]

What are you cleaning off your filter pad? algae, plant matter, dirt?

Yes!! LOL
Probably all of that. It looks like thick green slime. With a little brown.

 

[koiguy1969]

pondzyme is a bacvterial and enzime suppliment isnt it? totally natural.should be the same strains of bacteria that occur naturally in a ponds enviroment. algecides are another story...i wouldnt use them myself. but to each their own! i use organicas pristine pond bacteria...just a little poured directly into my filters down pipe. to coat my bio media where i want it. any of the KOIGUY or the DOC filters would be an excellant addition to any filtration system!!

 

[addy1]

Yes!! LOL
Probably all of that. It looks like thick green slime. With a little brown.

My guess notice guess, is that your brownish green water may be two things, it may be tannins, but with cleaning the green muck off your filter every day or every other day, sounds like algae is having fun in your pond.

do you have plants in the pond besides the parrots feather? a lot of them or just a few. Pond in full sun? lots of fish? Algae has fun when it is warm and sunny

If you had posted answers to all the above...........sorry, I don't recall all that you have going on lol.................crs

 

[KennethO]

Is it clear brown like semi dark cup of coffee? Where you can see threw the water but just has a tint. Or is it a muddy brown that's murky and hard to see threw?

Dark but clear is tannis. The acid from the leaves and branches decomposing colors the water. This would make sense since you added enzymes to speed up the decomposing process.

Murky water could be a lot of other things.

 

[stroppy]

if you never do water changes that is most likely your problem, that and the brown parrots feather, i would try water changes rather than using algae fix

 

[stroppy]

also how many fish do you have in your pond ?

 

[mikeinpgh]

My guess notice guess, is that your brownish green water may be two things, it may be tannins, but with cleaning the green muck off your filter every day or every other day, sounds like algae is having fun in your pond.

do you have plants in the pond besides the parrots feather? a lot of them or just a few. Pond in full sun? lots of fish? Algae has fun when it is warm and sunny

If you had posted answers to all the above...........sorry, I don't recall all that you have going on lol.................crs

I think I have a good amount of plants, but I really don't like the parrots feather. I might get something different. My pond is in full sun. I have 4-8"koi and 3-3" goldfish

Is it clear brown like semi dark cup of coffee? Where you can see threw the water but just has a tint. Or is it a muddy brown that's murky and hard to see threw?

Dark but clear is tannis. The acid from the leaves and branches decomposing colors the water. This would make sense since you added enzymes to speed up the decomposing process.

Murky water could be a lot of other things.

My pond is 2' deep and I can hardly see the bottom. If I take out a bucket of water out, it really doesn't seem that bad.(wierd)

I'll try to post a pic tomorrow to give you an idea of what I have. You can see if I have enough plants etc.
Thanks,
Mike

 

[mikeinpgh]

Here 2 pictures. The first is a pic of the parrots feather (about 1'deep. The second is a shot of the pond and plants.... AND my dog's butt:lol:
Do you think I have enough plants? Is that how parrots feather is supposed to look or is there too much brown?
FYI: My water is more cloudy than browinish today because it just rained. I still can't see the bottom though.

 

[taherrmann4]

I would get more plants. I have at least half my pond surface is covered with plants, I don't think you can ever have enough

 

[addy1]

Is the filter pad in your skimmer the only filtration you have? It may just not be enough.
and add more plants.

 

[mikeinpgh]

More plants? I have no idea what else to get. Does the parrots feather look healthy?

Yes, the filter pad is the only filtration I have. Does the filter falls count? What other method of filtration could I use? I really don't want to run another pump. My current pump is 2400gph.

Thank you for your input.
Mike