Cloudy Water

[snoozer]

I went out to check the pond like i do every night and the water in the opening that a small pump keeps open is so cloudy that I can't see the bottom. It was clear last night and there were comets eating algae from the rocks. Over night, we had snow which changed over to an all day rain. The pond is filled to the brim and the ice formed on top of what was there is dirty. My guess is with the frozen ground the rain washed whatever loose dirt there was between the rocks into the pond. The pond is 35x20 and the opening was only about 4 foot accross. Not sure what the water looks like on the other end. I will need to borrow my sons ice auger and check. i know that there really isn't anything I can do now but was I was wondering if anyone has had this happen and what happened to your fish? I am hoping not to have the fish kill I had a few years ago when we had a really severe winter

 

[Mmathis]

Since the water went cloudy, have you been able to see the fish at all?

 

[snoozer]

Since the water went cloudy, have you been able to see the fish at all?

Just saw it after the rain so isn't clear enough to see. with the size of the pond and only an opening os 4 foot or so it is hard to tell what is happening. I am going to pump a few inches of water out this weekend to get it down to a more reasonable level. There are rocks under water that have never been covered. My overflow is frozen

 

[sissy]

My water has always gone a little cloudy after snow melts into the pond when we get a little warm up .Most of the snow melted yesterday and my water is a little cloudy now

 

[peter hillman]

Has it cleared at all? I'd be concerned with the fish getting oxygen if it hasn't cleared yet.

 

[snoozer]

Has it cleared at all? I'd be concerned with the fish getting oxygen if it hasn't cleared yet.

Hard to really tell what is happening under the ice. It is supposed to be 45 by next weekend so maybe the opening will be big enough to see more. The water/ice level is 4 inches higher than i have ever seen it. Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

 

[addy1]

Mine goes between cloudy and clear over winter. Right now clear, last week a bit cloudy. Just a small pump running, 240 or so gph, to keep a hole in the ice in the shallow end of the pond. The birds love to drink from the hole.

 

[Lisak1]

This is the first year I've been able to see our water in winter - the ice cover had melted several times already, and based on the weather report for next week it will again. So far the water has remained crystal clear, even with no pump running.

Ponds really make you into a keen observer of nature I think... or is it that pond people are that way naturally, hence the desire for a pond?

 

[sissy]

I tested my water when it turned cloudy and it was testing for ammonia .So after one day of the quilt batting in the crate it is zero .Everything else seemed fine and not sure the test was good since the water is so cold .I never have luck with the tests once the water gets to a certain temp .

 

[snoozer]

Welll, I found out the cloudy is dirt being washed into the pond. The shallow swales that direct water in summer are filled with ice. It is pouring now and the pond is overflowing. I put a 700gph pumo in with a hose and will let that run for a coouple hours to get the level closer to where it should be. We are getting some weird weather lately.