Dirty pond - algae, silt, sludge?

[MariaT]

I’m at my wits end with my pond. I feel like there is nothing I can do to help with all of the gunk that keeps building up. It’s brownish green and when I move the water it will suspend in the water, but it mostly just settles on the shelves, around the plants planted in the gravel, and in areas around the bottom.

I will move it so that it suspends and help the filter by scooping it out with a net. I’ll do this and it will look good and I come back the next day and it’s all gunky again. I’m at a loss. I’m going to attempt adding a bog filter but I’m not sure that it will make a difference as the double biological filter I have hasn’t been working.

I’ve had a filter box that filters waste before the water enters the pump and then also a filter where the water goes back into pond. It does fill up with waste and sludge but this “gunk” just seems like it wants to stay in the pond. I have lilies and small hornwort and parrot feather that I planted in the gravel last summer. It has all survived and I’d hoped it would compete for nutrients. The pond has goldfish and an algae eating shark and all are healthy and survived two winters. I did put snails in last year but I don’t know if they survived. I added beneficial bacteria at in the spring on a weekly schedule according to the instructions.

It just looks terrible and I feel like I’m fighting a losing battle. I did a full clean out last year at the start of the season but I was hoping to avoid it so as to not damage the plants. It’s small, about 3x6 in an odd shaped liner. The water is clear….unfortunately because you can see all the gunk lol.

 

[MariaT]

Some is floating in this image. I did also shop vac a bunch out but it all came back. I sucked out some with an aquarium vac into a bucket and some of the gunk settled to the bottom of the bucket and some floated. It’s also stringy so it clogged the motor very quickly.

 

[Mgessert]

Looks pretty normal to me, but I would add a bunch of big plants that will suck up the nutrients and compete with the algae as well as providing a little shade.. Maybe, taro, iris, papyrus, ginger, and cannas. The bottom is not supposed to be “clean”.

 

[GBBUDD]

The smaller the pond the more daily attention is needed. If this picture is outside of what you want then you could purposely add salt and no fresh water bacteria algae will survive including plants but your rocks will be clean.
You can also add chlorine same effect.
A third option is think of the last time you saw a spotless pond. There is always algae plants bio film even string algae in the best of ponds.

Aeration helps keep algae down to a degree as it raises the O2 and lessons the CO2.
A better mouse trap as they say. Buy a better filter. What are you using for a filter and how often and how do you clean it..

A bog can help but it will almost need it to be more than half the size of the pond . But again that will pull in water it won't do much for what's laying about the bottom unless you circulate the water using a pump or feed from the pump. With a small pond like that id entertain buying a aquarium vaccume that is clear and works on a siphoned. You can watch what's getting pulled in.

Go to you tube and pull up John j at modern design aquascaping or ozz ponds . Ozz has more the videos for tinny ponds like yourself.

 

[Lisak1]

As mentioned these tiny ponds are much harder to get and keep in balance than a large pond. What I'm seeing is algae, some of which is normal but can be unsightly if you have an overabundance. The answer to too much algae is to reduce the nutrient load in the pond - fewer fish, more plants, less feeding, etc. Otherwise nature will do what nature does and send in the solution - aka algae.

However it can also be hard to get enough plants into a pond this size and still be able to see the pond, so a bog filter is a great idea. Remember - the bog filter isn't designed to remove the debris, but it will reduce the excess nutrients which will in turn reduce the algae growth and hence get rid of the floaty, stringy, gunky stuff.

 

[SarahT]

A plant in a big-ish pot will eat up some nutrients, provide some shade, and hide a bit of "stuff", as will a water lily (small variety) and plants on the side of the pond draping over. Take it easy on how much and how often you feed your goldfish. Refer to the gunk on the bottom as "natural", sit back and enjoy the pond.

 

[bagsmom]

I think you would be happier if you didn't have to see the stuff on the bottom. They make miniature water lilies that are prolific! My Dad has one in his small pond and it blooms like crazy!!!! If your water parameters are good and the water is clear - if just seeing the mulm at the bottom is frustrating, maybe this would be a solution. The small lily leaves would hide the detritus at the bottom. I agree that cutting way back on any feeding would be helpful. As Lisa said, adding a small bog won't physically remove the bottom algae but it will consume the excess nutrients that the algae is feeding on.