Hello and advices please.

[Whawcutt]

Hello from Mt. Hope, Ontario. We just cleaned our backyard pond and was enjoying the clarity and fish. I purchased a hardy water lily and placed it at the bottom. 2 days later we noticed the water was very murky. We figured it was just some soil from the lily and that the water would get filtered. A week later it is very murky and now green. The lily is completely empty except for roots. We have bought lilies before and usually the soil stays in there for a year. We have an Aquascape biofalls system. Any thoughts as to our next step?
- Backwash and refill,
- use chemicals-coagulant
-or leave it to come around on its own?

Thanks
Wendy

 

[addy1]

If you cleaned the pond ie drained scrubbed etc, you are having new pond syndrome, water will turn cloudy green etc.
The lily are you saying there is no growth? is the tuber still firm if so, put it where it gets good light, sun, shallow if you can, ie warmth and it will take off. I use kitty litter for my lilies.

Welcome to our forum!

 

[Whawcutt]

Thanks.!
We clean it every spring and haven’t had this happen, just figured it was the lily soil. The lily has 4 leaves and all roots. Is there special pond soil that stays in the pot? Will investigate the kitty litter.

 

[Whawcutt]

If you cleaned the pond ie drained scrubbed etc, you are having new pond syndrome, water will turn cloudy green etc.
The lily are you saying there is no growth? is the tuber still firm if so, put it where it gets good light, sun, shallow if you can, ie warmth and it will take off. I use kitty litter for my lilies.

Welcome to our forum!

I forgot to mention that the ph is “ very high” according to my test strip.

 

[addy1]

It is special kitty litter from walmart, just pure clay.

Make sure the growing tip of the lily is above the soil line.

 

[j.w]

and welcome @Whawcutt
I never use chemicals or clean out my pond. Just use a good filter and plenty of plants, not too many fish and all should be good.

 

[poconojoe]

You need plants and lots of them.

Sometimes what happens is the pond gets green from having too much of a fish load.
Even if you have the same amount of fish as previous years, they likely have grown and your pond may have reached the tipping point.

 

[CometKeith]

Hello from Mt. Hope, Ontario. We just cleaned our backyard pond and was enjoying the clarity and fish. I purchased a hardy water lily and placed it at the bottom. 2 days later we noticed the water was very murky. We figured it was just some soil from the lily and that the water would get filtered. A week later it is very murky and now green. The lily is completely empty except for roots. We have bought lilies before and usually the soil stays in there for a year. We have an Aquascape biofalls system. Any thoughts as to our next step?
- Backwash and refill,
- use chemicals-coagulant
-or leave it to come around on its own?
View attachment 139313
Thanks
Wendy

Welcome Whawcutt. So I usually plant everything in pea gravel. I’ve tried kitty litter but it didn’t work for me either and just washed out. Maybe I have too much water movement in my pond... If you use pea gravel be sure to rinse it thoroughly before putting it in your pond. I used a lot of pea gravel in my bog and got it very cheaply from a stone yard. About $6 for each 80-100 lb bag!

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @Whawcutt ! Your green pond problem may have been exacerbated by whatever the lily was planted in. I've found that lots of plants - aquatic and otherwise - are jacked up with fertilizer when you buy them.