Clear to Brown overnight

[Craig Brown]

My pond is new. I put the first fish in it yesterday. The water was completely clear. Last night we had a downpour. Today the water is a dense brown. The pond is above ground so dirt cannot drain into it.

There is a big oak tree that hovers over the pond. Though there are no leaves floating in it, I am hypothesizing that the stuff in the water is pollen. The filters are clean.

I have a pretty good waterfall filter as well as a skimmer and bottom drain. Is there anything else you can do to clean up the water?
Oh, a PH test says it is 8.

Thanks!

 

[sissy]

quilt batting will filter it out

 

[Craig Brown]

quilt batting ? Sorry, I don't know anything about it. Are you saying that I should stuff a quilt in the waterfall?

 

[addy1]

quilt batting ? Sorry, I don't know anything about it. Are you saying that I should stuff a quilt in the waterfall?

Walmart sells bags of quilt batting, it is for stuffing quilts. Put it under a waterfall or where the water flows back into the pond. It will collect all the fine dirt, pollen etc.

 

[Tula]

I'm curious about methods for placing the batting under a waterfall, or return line? I'd like see how much debris is passing through my filter, but the 2 inch PVC pipe, extends out, into the pond.

 

[Craig Brown]

Thanks! I'll try that. My Waterfall has three filters then bags of filter floss. If I pull out the filter floss there is room for that batting.

 

[sissy]

I use a crate .The batting is cheaper than filter floss and if you put it in neatly you can hose it off .My crates sit on top of my filters ..There is reusable furnace filter on top to catch the bigger stuff

 

[rebelangel_3733]

yup quilt batting is what I use and amazingly it'll clear right up...I have a small 170 gal pond that I use a tote biofilter with and have lava rock then quilt batting in it (the filter is fed from the bottom up then into the pond)

 

[Craig Brown]

Oh man did I make a mistake! I cut some batting and put it in the waterfall filter between the mesh filters and the bags of filter floss. I figured that if it got clogged, it would over flow into the pond.

My daughters bedroom window is closest to the pond. At 3:00 am she woke me up to tell me my pond was making bad noises. When I went out, I saw the water level had dropped below the skimmer (so the pump was pumping dry).

Its a new pond, so it could have been a lot of things. There were no signs of spilled water, but the only explanation would be the waterfall.

I added more water and removed the batting. I then put batting in a milk crate and put it under the fall (I have a pile of rocks that go to the surface).

The water is still very brown. I hope that over time it clears up. Hopefully not to much time as it is pretty ugly :-(

 

[Meyer Jordan]

If the water discoloration is due to pollen, then this is caused by tannins released into the water. Tannins readily break down over time when exposed to sunlight. Your pond will clear on its own. I have experienced the same thing every year because of both Oak leaves and Oak pollen. Usually cleared in a week.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Isn't pollen more of a greenish color? I know that's what it looks like when it's on my car. Never really noticed it in water though.

When I had brown water after a heavy rain it was due to part of my pond liner slipping and dirt being wash into the pond. We re-did the liner and have not had an issue since then (I realize in Craigs case his pond is above ground)

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Pollen turns brown as it begins to decay.

 

[cas]

If the water discoloration is due to pollen,

ahhhh... thank you Meyer. My pond water began to have a brown tint to it and I couldn't figure out why since I am very diligent about keeping the oak leaves out of the pond and from preventing water run off from the yard going into the pond. But pollen... that I didn't know. The lawn furniture has been covered with pollen, so I know the pond has had it's fair share.

 

[Smaug]

My pond is under a pecan tree and every year around this time the pollen sacks drop in and turn the water to tea. It is not harmless as it does change the pH to some degree and makes the water irritating if it's quite alot in . It will also limit the waters ability to contain oxygen. In the wild this sort of condition is called black water and most tropical fish thrive in it. Koi are not tropical and do not thrive in the same conditions. If you want it gone quick then I suggest activated carbon til it clears.

 

[JBailey]

Does fir tree pollen work the same way? That would explain a lot. I will def try the quilt batting fix for my pollinated pond problem.