Crystal Clear?!

[JBtheExplorer]

So, my pond was fairly murky during August and September. Some days I could see only two steps down (about 1.5'). Last month I took the pump out and the day after the water was crystal clear.

Now, I know it could also be related to bringing the fish and most plants inside, but is it possible that my pond had a murky look only because of the flowing water stirring everything up? If so, is there a way to solve it?

 

[dieselplower]

I guess I would have to ask about your filtration. Is it up for the job? Doesn't sound like it but without knowing what you have, I can't say. At some point, a filter must be cleaned to continue to remove solids from the water

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I guess I would have to ask about your filtration. Is it up for the job? Doesn't sound like it but without knowing what you have, I can't say. At some point, a filter must be cleaned to continue to remove solids from the water

No filter other than the one that came with the pump, which was cleaned often while it was in. We plan on a bigger filter next year if we get one or make one cheap enough. So I'm guessing that's my answer, that the flowing water was stirring it up?

 

[dieselplower]

Well yes I would say that could be the problem. However, you would have probably had bigger problems had you not run the pump. I have had great success with large buckets fill or gravel as filters. Throw some plants in them and call them mini bog filters.

 

[JohnHuff]

Short answer = no.
If you have a good filter, anything that is stirred up in the water should be picked up by the filter, that's what a good mechanical filter is supposed to do. When I stir up the muck in the bottom, my filters will usually clear it away in a day or two.
To give you a more thorough answer, we'll need to know your entire setup.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

However, you would have probably had bigger problems had you not run the pump.

Oh, I completely agree with that. I would never not run a pump while in season, but it was definitely an interesting thing to see how clear it got once the pump was out of the pond. I may have to look up some DIY filters for next spring. I didn't worry about it this year since it was more of a test to see if we could maintain a pond.

I don't even know the first thing about them or how to get them to work. or how to get water to pass through the filter when it has to go through the pump first... :huh: im so confused

 

[addy1]

Oh, I completely agree with that. I would never not run a pump while in season, but it was definitely an interesting thing to see how clear it got once the pump was out of the pond. I may have to look up some DIY filters for next spring. I didn't worry about it this year since it was more of a test to see if we could maintain a pond.

I don't even know the first thing about them or how to get them to work. or how to get water to pass through the filter when it has to go through the pump first... :huh: im so confused

Have your pump, pump the water into a filter out of the pond and let it flow back into the pond. A mini bog, skippy type filter, sand and gravel, barrel etc would all help you out.
If it is submersible you would still need to have a pre filter on your pump.

 

[dieselplower]

JB I am sure you have what it takes to successfully manage a pond. Keeping your stocking level low is key to having a maintenance pond. It sounds like you have a pump in the water. What was this pump pumping water to originally? A waterfall or something? I will post a picture of my pond. In it, you will see a taller barrel on the left, and a shorter one on the right. The one on the left is a rain barrel, from home depot. It is filler with gravel. I just took the hose from the pump and shoved it onto the water spout built into the bottom of the rain barrel. The water flows up through the rocks and then comes out an overflow at the top. Works great. The one on the right is just a large bucket, inside half of a whiskey barrel. It has a spout to allow the water to overflow out like a waterfall. I have the hose going over the top of the bucket, and then down to the bottom. Again, the water just fills up and flows through the rocks until it overflows back I to the pond. With just these 2 simple filter, I was able to see the bottom of my 4.5 foot deep pond all year long. I should note that my pump does have a UV bulb built in, which helps keep the floating algae away. Hope this helped.

 

[shakaho]

Yes, you are right that the pump was stirring up debris that settled to the bottom when you removed the pump. Fish, pond plants, leaves and other stuff that falls into the pond produce lots of debris that will decompose in the bottom of the pond. If this stuff is not removed by vacuuming or by a filtration system, it can eventually make the water toxic for your fish.

Here is a diagram of a filter system in a pond.



A hose takes the water from the pump to a filter and the filtered water flows back into the pond. The filter has a drain so that you can remove the trapped debris. In the diagram, the filter is a commercial product, but most of us use DIY filters. You can find many filter builds in the DIY forum here.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Have your pump, pump the water into a filter out of the pond and let it flow back into the pond.

That's where I was getting confused. With a small filter on my pump, I thought no debris would be able to get pumped through to a bigger filter.

I definitely have an idea of how to do a filter but that part was confusing to me.

 

[dieselplower]

A prefilter only filters out large debris. If it was a fine filter, it would clog quickly and the pump flow would decrease significantly.