cloudy water after adding plants

[mountaindew]

I just added plants to my pond the other day using kitty litter in the baskets.Now my water is very cloudy.Will this clear up after time or is there something I should add to it to clear it up

 

[addy1]

It should clear up, there is always some fine dust in the litter. Mine usually clears out in less than 24 hours.

 

[mountaindew]

I hope so

 

[addy1]

One thing you could try (I have not tried) is add some water to the plant and clay container out of the pond, let the cloudy dust water go out onto the ground. There will still be some cloud but may be not as much.

 

[taherrmann4]

I had clay in one of my pots and the koi kept getting in there and disturbing the clay which would cloud it for a short amount of time, ended up putting an inch of gravel on top to help reduce this. Then they just knocked the pot over and the gravel/ kitty litter went all over the bottom so now I just anchor them to the bottom with pots.

 

[Waterbug]

Whether and when the pond clears will depend on how fine the dust was in your litter, the amount of current in the pond, size of pond to amount of litter added, and even other particles suspended in the water.

I've never followed why people do this.

 

[addy1]

Whether and when the pond clears will depend on how fine the dust was in your litter, the amount of current in the pond, size of pond to amount of litter added, and even other particles suspended in the water.

I've never followed why people do this.

Easy to fertilize, easy to move around, control of root mass, easier to groom, plant roots don't become a huge hard to remove mass by joining together, Again just each persons preference. The dust has caused no issues in my pond clears up quickly sometimes with in 1/2 hour, just poofs away.

The only time my pond gets mucked up is when I net the bottom ow it stays clear.

 

[Waterbug]

Is clay better than say pea gravel or smaller rock?

 

[addy1]

Is clay better than say pea gravel or smaller rock?

I had the same kind of plants, side by side, one in pea gravel, one in clay, one stuck in the rocks. Without being real scientific, the clay plant grew the best. So I use clay. The others grew just not as nicely. I did this with some iris, the same kind, the same size, started at the same time. Also did it with some taros, the clay planted taros did the best.

So I use clay for plants I want to grow in the pond. The bog is obviously pea gravel, those plants do fine, just not the same type of plants.

 

[Waterbug]

But there's nothing in the litter to help plants I assume? Just that it's finer material? Makes me think something like decomposed granite, or any fine gravel would also work as well without adding cloudiness to the water. Do people use any of these finer rock materials?

 

[j.w]

I use the clay for the plants in my pond. Used to use gravel but was heavy and the water lilies really stuck their roots in that stuff and hard to separate. Easier to separate the clay from their roots. Just stick some fertilizer in the bottom and good to go. And tabs or spikes go in super easy for later feedings. No more gravel in the pond pots for me. Same here w/ the cloudiness, it goes away fast!

 

[sissy]

I use pea gravel .I guess weight is a factor though .I know I start my plants in kitty litter and it works great and it is light and allows the roots to spread better .I know my pea gravel ones are heavy but with koi they need to be heavy so they don't push them off the ledge .But for weight hands down it is kitty litter .Decomposed granite can get hard as a rock when it gets wet .I had a patio made of it back in NJ ,was like cement .

 

[sissy]

All you have to do before you put the kitty litter in the pond with the plant in it is set it in a bucket of water first to wash the fine stuff off or rinse with a hose .

 

[j.w]

Guess us w/ just goldies don't have that problem of them rearranging the furniture,lol!

 

[j.w]

I never bother cleaning the kitty litter or letting it settle in a bucket. I don't believe it hurts the fish or the water quality. But that's just me. I want easy in easy out on most things for the pond.