Darksaber Pond - My Next Adventure

20' by 30' pond w/ 30' stream and 10' by 20' wetland
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Milonedp, maybe post some close up photos of your issue if you can, so we can see more what you are talking about. I’m thinking if you are going to have a wetland area with not much (or any?) water movement, you’re going to get dirt and silt from the air anyhow, so it’s a losing battle. If, however, you’re wanting to clean the rocks first, it’s a matter of removing all of them to clean it out. Need to know what your end goal is.
 
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If you are having run off getting into your pond i would be calling the company that built it. Even the patio runoff should be diverted away though so long as its Only rain water from the patio is ok but anything from the lawn or else where should have a area mounded up to keep it from the pond. Now it the clay was not running untill you disturbed it I could see that being ok but as a whole no run off from surrounding areas should get in the pond thats pond building 101
You are still under construction and the last items to address is tucking in the liner which is the build up i was talking about. I got you and countryescape mixed up there . That build up is all part of the landscaping and finishing.
 
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I would wash down the rocks when ever possible and after it rains pump it out. You only get one chance before its filled and full of fish or not. If you see an area thats bleeding into the pond dam it up. Stop it anyway you can spreading straw over the exposed mud / dirt can help greatly but make sure you stay away from the pond its self straw or hay can get annoying in the build and could possibly puncture the rubber.
 
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I would wash down the rocks when ever possible and after it rains pump it out. You only get one chance before its filled and full of fish or not. If you see an area thats bleeding into the pond dam it up. Stop it anyway you can spreading straw over the exposed mud / dirt can help greatly but make sure you stay away from the pond its self straw or hay can get annoying in the build and could possibly puncture the rubber.
Yep you had us confused. Although my pond appears to be close to flush, it isn’t. And there is a pipe under the liner just in case too much water gets under the liner. I can easily pump it back out with a shop vac. When I mentioned having somewhat elevated pond edges in IL, I meant that stopped the leaves from blowing in, most were diverted around the ponds.
 
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I'm not having run-off. My question was about clay / mud from the build process, the rock as it is being moved around, the quarry, boots, etc... I washed and pumped out a lot but everywhere I turn off I dig down s few inches then gravel is dirty.

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow if it's not raining again

I wanted to get as much out now as I could but don't want to be going overboard so I wanted 1. thoughts on what is normal and 2. methods for cleaning as well as water polishing for just after start up as I'm sure more fine particles will be disturbed and need to be filtered then too.

End goal is a stable system without having to treat it with the "perfection" I'm used to from the reef aquariums side of the hobby. It'd be impossible on this scale so I guess I'm really trying to learn the right balance for a pond. I know most will settle out (the water was clear before I even started mucking around and cleaning) and the water will clear once filter are running but I wasn't sure if the clay would leach nitrates, phosphate or other organics than I need to worry about.
 

Jhn

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I'm not having run-off. My question was about clay / mud from the build process, the rock as it is being moved around, the quarry, boots, etc... I washed and pumped out a lot but everywhere I turn off I dig down s few inches then gravel is dirty.

I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow if it's not raining again

I wanted to get as much out now as I could but don't want to be going overboard so I wanted 1. thoughts on what is normal and 2. methods for cleaning as well as water polishing for just after start up as I'm sure more fine particles will be disturbed and need to be filtered then too.

End goal is a stable system without having to treat it with the "perfection" I'm used to from the reef aquariums side of the hobby. It'd be impossible on this scale so I guess I'm really trying to learn the right balance for a pond. I know most will settle out (the water was clear before I even started mucking around and cleaning) and the water will clear once filter are running but I wasn't sure if the clay would leach nitrates, phosphate or other organics than I need to worry about.

Really the only issue the silt in the rock will cause is aesthetically. If it does have phosphates/nitrates in it that is the beauty of your wetland filter, once it gets going it will take care of it. I have a reef aquarium myself, while some things are similar others aren’t like worrying about perfection in your water quality. Pond fish like koi/goldfish/orfes aren’t as sensitive to water quality as denizens of reef tanks and plants will bank a lot of harmful elements in their mass, keeping your water quality up.
In the gravel that is how the fines work it will settle to the bottom of the gravel pile. I would do the best you can and not worry about it. That is why most haulers worth their salt will get on loader operators in quarries about not scooping directly at the bottom of the rock piles, no one wants to pay for fines/dirt in their rock or gravel, although some is unavoidabl.

I will say as well, with my wetland filter running I can kick up silt etc. in the pond by walking around weeding back plants,etc. dirtying the water, within hours it is clear again.
 

addy1

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I will say as well, with my wetland filter running I can kick up silt etc. in the pond by walking around weeding back plants,etc. dirtying the water, within hours it is clear again.
When I work the plants in the bog it will totally cloud the pond to the point you can't see inches under the water. Like @Jhn says a few hours later back to clear.
 
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Also remember your pond is outdoors - you will naturally get silt and dust that will fall into the pond when it rains or the wind blows, not to mention dirt from your plants, organic material breaking down, etc. Dirt in a pond is pretty much a foregone conclusion. It won't affect water clarity because it will settle. When you start planting in your pond, your plants may even gather some dirt around their roots - it's pretty interesting to see how that happens. You can plant a barefoot plant one year and by the time you go to thin it out the next year, it looks like you planted it in dirt. In any case, your pond will never be "clean" so don't worry too much about it.

Here's what SHOULD happen since this pond is a pro build - at least this is what I have seen every single pro do as they reach the finish line. They will complete the interior pond rock work and then will start to fill the pond, rinsing rocks off as they do. Then they will pump that dirty water out (with a pump that can handle solids) and continue filling and rinsing until the water reaches an acceptable level of "clean". Your pond will still be cloudy for a few days, but again - that all settles. If they don't do this or you watch and feel they are stopping too soon, I'd talk to them about it. But I'm assuming they've done lots of ponds - they know how far they need to take "clean".

And yes - forget everything you know about reef tanks and aquariums. Ponds and tanks have two things in common - fish and water. It ends there!
 
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Exactly what Lisak1 said above. They washed off my large boulders and then pumped out that dirty water before filling the pond. Everything else settled. They recommended I use beneficial bacteria product they gave me to add daily for 10 days. Then I bought additional BB stuff I added for another 7 days. Have had crystal clear water ever since, including right now. I’m in Cincinnati OH and the pond was filled first week of July this year, also built by professionals. It’s heaven, especially since I had 2 nice sized ponds in IL before moving this past spring. Our new pond is much larger (about double size of previous koi pond), and just love everything about it, including the rocks on the bottom, which I never had before and argued didn’t want them this time. So far, I have a feeling those rocks are part if not most of the reason for the clarity.
Good luck to you! You’re going to love the finished product. We are going to love it, too.
 
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The peach fuzz that grows on everything in the pond is life for everything in the pond . it will help convert co2 to o2., It gives the fish food. it gives countless other creatures a home and food. While it to adds to the over all surface area where bacteria and photo plankton can live and feed.
 
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Thanks all, I actually wanted to do some work myself which was why I was rinsing down the rocks, I wanted to be more hands-on but really can't with a builder doing the work so this was something I could do. If I just run the water through the rock it pumps out pretty clean, it's just the settling in the gravel that surprised me. I'm not going to worry too much about it given the feedback. Still owe everyone some pictures but it's been raining the last couple days.
 
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In the first picture, you can see the water running clear, when I disturbed the gravel by digging down into it with my hand you can see all the silt that came up, and this is after a full day of rinsing things down. I bought some poly-fil and if it's bad after I fill it up I'll put it in one of the waterfalls and then toss it. If anyone has other ideas I'm open to them.
PXL_20210103_190739438.jpgPXL_20210103_190752765.jpg
 
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Day 17 of work back at it, filled the wetland most of the way, working on some edgework, finished the steps and fish cave in the lower bowl, and will be filling that section overnight. Hoping to get the plumbing in tomorrow and the electrical on Wednesday...

 

addy1

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In the first picture, you can see the water running clear, when I disturbed the gravel by digging down into it with my hand you can see all the silt that came up, and this is after a full day of rinsing things down. I bought some poly-fil and if it's bad after I fill it up I'll put it in one of the waterfalls and then toss it. If anyone has other ideas I'm open to them.
View attachment 135911View attachment 135910
I did not even wash our 38000 lbs of pea gravel, the dirt flowed into the pond and got filtered out by the pea gravel. Anytime you work on the bog, even if it had been rinsed, dirt will flow out when you disturb the pea gravel. It is doing its job collecting debris.

Mine clears within a few hours from not being able to see into the water back to crystal clear.
 

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