green water (yet another )

[JCschild]

3 800 gallon ponds waterfalls start at top so 3 of those.
very large pump (3500 gph) with a decent size filter (lava rock and filter)

only 3 of my fish lived thru the winter out of 18 or so. all 3 are decent sized at least 6-8 inches

100% new water I emptied all 3 and completely cleaned them. a slight amount of string algae still left on sides which I later brushed off into the new water (was not green at that point, but did cloud it some)

within 10-12 days its very green whats up with that?
been very hot here but I don't see any algae growing yet
no uv light a decent amount of direct sun on the top pond
no plants in the water
thanks
scott

 

[JBtheExplorer]

With the little experience I have, I'd guess its likely due to being brand new water. The pond has to cycle all over again which is why the water is green.

You should add plants to the water. They can use up nutrients and help shade the water.

 

[CometKeith]

Hi JCshild, I think JBtheexplorer hit it on the head. I would read up on how to cycle a pond and the importance of it. There are lots of threads on gpf about it. The emphasis for a new pond owners should not be on how the pond looks but rather how healthy is the water for your fish. I'm sorry you lost so many fish over the winter but that's odd. I wonder why? Is it not deep enough? In Chicago I only lose one or two fish max over the winter out of 30 fish. Actually spring is more dangerous than winter because of bad bacteria in the pond and the fact fish have low resistance in the spring. Please give some more information about your setup so people can give you proper advice.

 

[dieselplower]

Nope the cycle is not in the water. the green is algae. Wait it out. Stop cleaning the sides.

 

[JohnHuff]

I agree with the above. A 100% vater change and 100% cleaning is strictly verboten. Usually I do a small water change and no cleaning of the sides, I let the pond cycle naturally from Winter to Spring.

Of a greater concern is why only 16% of your fish lived through the Winter. It is more customary for all fish to live through the Winter. Were there some special circumstances?

 

[dieselplower]

I disagree that a 100% water change is "verboten".

 

[sissy]

agree and i have found over aerating the pond really helps .I have the laguna plus have the top water really pushed around a lot .Did this in my waterfall also .You can see all the surface air bubbles

 

[JCschild]

no choice but to do a 100% change out
1) far far too much dead leaves way more than ever before. I think it has to do with me doing a huge addition (2200 sq ft) to my house last yr (started in June ended in Feb) in other words neglect for one.
2) I spent days trying to clean it including vacuum. totally gross so I gave up and emptied.
3) my shallowest pond is at least 30" (other than the spawn area which is 6-12") the other 2 are more like 42" , frost line around here is 30" but never gets that cold(well normally) before winter set in I moved almost all to the 2 deeper ponds I couldn't catch all of them.
4) we had a extremely long and cold winter for this area. (ready to move back to FL after that) I think most of the country did no? (US)
5) what was odd was I only found a few of the dead fish (well bones) and they were stuck in a dead plant wonder of something ate the rest.
6) plants yea well they never survive the winter and are not cheap, getting tired of buying/dying. plus the only semi close place to buy I wouldn't buy from (dead fish floating in with live fish for sale) so I have to go ebay.. hopefully it will clear. looked so pretty for about 5 days. my wife is ready to have me fill it in I keep having to defend it.

thanks for any thoughts

 

[JCschild]

sissy, I have 3 waterfalls with a powerful pump lots of aeration!. might need a uv llight or a bio filter I do get string algae pretty easy.

 

[CometKeith]

Just wondering how the 100% water change went. Is everything okay now?

 

[Lisak1]

You should be able to find pond plants that will survive a Kentucky winter. I'm in Chicago and my plants all survived this past winter, which was brutal. Plants are an important part of the pond ecology - without them you will probably need heavy duty filtration. What kinds of plants have you tried?