Good Afternoon all

[Repsolkid]

Hi
Just joined today...
I am hoping that someone on here likes interesting problem solving, as I have small one that for the life of me I cant figure out

A quick intro and background

I have a 3000L pond, 1m deep, and has 12 fish, a few nice koi (6") and a mix of common and mirror carp (4") plus a couple of tench.
Filtration system is my design and has been operating perfectly since introduced a year ago. Its designed for a pond of 20,000L as I wanted it for my next pond, so its great for a 3000L size. The bio filter within it, is 30L
UV 25W
Air stones, water fall, and fully planted.
The pond is about 3 yrs old
Water checks are perfect by my tests, and had them check by a professional fish distribution / pond build centre.

I wont blab on about the small problem unless someone would like to help me.

If not, thanks anyway... I will just continue to read and learn some more from here

Cheers
Nic

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome! The folks here love to problem solve, figure things out, and learn from each other!

 

[Repsolkid]

Hi
Thanks for your reply..............

As I said I cannot work this one out, and I have dealt with a few issues over the years, but this has me stumped.

The pond filtration I introduced is giving amazing results. Not just on water clarity but also on water quality. So much so that I designed and added a camera system that feeds into the house and onto a flat screen TV, that gives me a perfectly clear underwater shot of my pond. A fantastic way to see your fish!

Anyway, 2 days ago, out of the blue and overnight my pond went from pure crystal clear to no visibility whatsoever! This is not the run of the mill, murky pond syndrome you get in spring/summer, this is an end of Jan 8C, clear to cloudy in 12hrs!
I have checked PH levels, result as normal @ 7, I then sat a glass of the water on the table to see if dirt settles, nothing.

I have checked around all areas of the pond and see no disturbance, and no obvious reason.
It is so baffling that I am actually smiling about it as I love a mystery but as I said above I am lost.

The only thing I notice is that there is some very slight foaming in the surface that wasnt there the day before!

I have added 2 shots to show what I am talking about. The clear shot was taken in Oct, but the pond was just as clear if not more when this happenned.

Any ideas would be great!

 

[Repsolkid]

Sorry, not all files uploaded. Try again

 

[Repsolkid]

Sorry, this doesnt seem to be loading all pics.........Trying again!

 

[j.w]

Nic
Hard to tell looks like perhaps a mud flow occurred somehow. Have you had lots of rain lately? Done any water tests? Maybe an extremely dirty bear went for a swim :razz: You have a lot of plants covering the edges of your pond, maybe there has been a sunken area created somehow allowing the dirt to get in that you haven't discovered? Very nice pond by the way.

 

[Mmathis]

Has there been any run-off from your yard into your pond lately?

 

[Repsolkid]

Hi guys

The rain run off is what I thought might be the obvious answer, as thats what it looks like, but 2 things stop me thinking it is this

1, what you cant see in the photos is that I have a raised boarder all round the edage of the pond so the ground level is 2 inches down, so I get no run off at all

2, The filter should clear this in a day if it is dirty water, and yet 2 days later it has made no difference.

Having said that the top filter media is getting dirty quicker than it should at this time of year.

Thanks for the response btw

 

[addy1]

Very nice pond! What underwater camera are you using? I have a lorex, love watching my fish.

The cloudiness looks like fine particles got into your pond. Try some quilt batting or something that would collect fine dirt, put some in your filter or base of water fall see if that helps.

That is how my water looks after I muck in the bog or add plants that are planted in kitty litter. A real fine clay dust, mine usually clears in a half day.

 

[Repsolkid]

Hi
I love the camera. It gives me an aquarium inside the house, and still have the pond outside!
My camera is a Sony 37CPH-IR colour day / B&W night. Its fantastic.

I have put in some matting in the first stage part of my filter to see what was showing on it, and it looks like dead algae, but to be honest thats not disimilar to plain old mud and clay particles, so I am not sure what has happenned still.
Like you if i disturb the pond with plant moves etc the pond clears in a couple of hrs, as the filter is turning over the pond 3 times an hr!

Also, I am baffled how rain run off could possibly do this, even if it could get into the pond, as its been crystal clear for over a year, and it rains alot in the UK, so it would of happenned before.

I will continue to investigate

Thanks

 

[DrCase]

Could something have happened in your filter ?
Welcome to the Forum

 

[taherrmann4]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Repsolkid]

Hi DrCase et al
Thanks for the welcome. I have been on other forums before and not had such quick and helpful responses, so I shall definately be hanging around here

I dont think anything has happenned in the filter, as on inspection it seems to be operating exactly as it should. The only obvious change is that the foam media stage of the filter is definately showing more deposits than it was before this started. I think under the circumstances that would be expected, but it doesnt help with the cause.

I have now completed 2 seperate water changes, 25% each time, and I will now leave it alone.

It is possible that I will never find the answer, as there aren't many things that can turn a perfectly clear pond to this state overnight, and the most obvious conclusion is as suggested here, rain/mud run off. I just cant see how (yet)

I know this is way out there, but has anyone seen a large outbreak of algae bloom in Jan before, or a sudden change in bacteria levels that could cause this to happen?
I know both of those ideas sound mad, but I am just looking at all alternatives now

Cheers
Nic

 

[mtpond]

Welcome Nic!

 

[CountryEscape]

Welcome, Nic!
I wonder if your koi found a plant in the pond that they decided to mess with, and have continued to mess with it, thus causing the "muddy" water. I see you have lilies and assume other plants in the pond. What are they planted in? Is it possible a lily has overgrown it's pot, and the pot split, thus causing whatever planting media it is in to seep into the pond? That's my best guess.
As you can tell, the members on this forum LOVE to try to solve problems!