Help I am at the end of my rope!!!

[stonecreek1]

Hi. I am in need of help again.
I absolutely know I am fish overloaded. My koi have bred and bred and we have made multiple attempts at catching to sell but come up with only a few. And I need like 50 gone. But. I am just overwhelmed with if that really is keeping my water ever from being clear?? I am product burnt out. We really don’t have any local help so I guess I am not sure what I should be treating. What is this on the filters? The filters can literally look like this every two days? I don’t think it should be necessary to have to hose out filters every two days? Is it sludge? It is 20,000 gallons. I have almost 100 lbs of alfalfa pellets in there. All the parameters are good. No high nitrates or anything. I run UV light. Good water flow. I just can’t even once get this pone clear. Help!!! I am burnt out. Tell me what I need to put in to help clear up this pond! I know there are. I leaves at the bottom. Ps. KNow anyone looking to buy fish??? If you help catch them, I will make a good deal! Good homes are important!!!

 

[Ronfire]

Reduce fish load and build a large bog type filter.

 

[poconojoe]

From your pictures, the clarity of the water doesn't seem that bad. Remember, the fish don't care about totally clear water, that's just what we as humans strive for. As long as you water tests show good parameters, it won't harm the fish.

I kind of like my deeper water to be not so clear. It gives the fish a safe place to hide from predators. A friend of mine had a hawk swoop down and steal a big koi. Maybe if his water wasn't so clear the fish would not have been so visible. Just a thought...

Since you seem to have a large fish load, the suggestions by member Ronfire are good.

The water is most likely clouding due to overgrowth of algae which is thriving due to your excessive fish load. The algae feeds on the excess nutrients created by the fish poop.

Two thing you can do...
Add lots and lots of plants which feed on the excess nutrients, in turn, starving the algae. And increase your filtration.

From the consensus on this site, the best filter for getting your water absolutely clear is a natural bog filter. Plus there doesn't seem to be any maintenance with a bog filter. No cleaning sponges or backwashing every other day.
Just build the bog and forget about it. It's also a great place to grow plants. The plants are actually an integral part of the bog filtration.

 

[SherrysPond]

Hi. I am in need of help again.
I absolutely know I am fish overloaded. My koi have bred and bred and we have made multiple attempts at catching to sell but come up with only a few. And I need like 50 gone. But. I am just overwhelmed with if that really is keeping my water ever from being clear?? I am product burnt out. We really don’t have any local help so I guess I am not sure what I should be treating. What is this on the filters? The filters can literally look like this every two days? I don’t think it should be necessary to have to hose out filters every two days? Is it sludge? It is 20,000 gallons. I have almost 100 lbs of alfalfa pellets in there. All the parameters are good. No high nitrates or anything. I run UV light. Good water flow. I just can’t even once get this pone clear. Help!!! I am burnt out. Tell me what I need to put in to help clear up this pond! I know there are. I leaves at the bottom. Ps. KNow anyone looking to buy fish??? If you help catch them, I will make a good deal! Good homes are important!!!

What are the alfalfa pellets for? Do you mean Barley straw?

 

[Lisak1]

I can feel your frustration in your post, but it's impossible to lead with "I know I am fish overloaded" and not just stop there. The equation is low fish load + high plant load - all excess organics = clear pond. Change any factor int hat equation and you're going to end up with water issues. So then it's "x heavy filtration" to get the equation to balance. No additives or magic pill will fix that issue.

Having said that - in a 20,000 gallon pond, you should be able to handle quite a few fish. How many do you think you have?

 

[poconojoe]

And I will stress not to use algecide or any other chemicals that claim to clear up your water. Too many horror stories that are usually titled " All my fish died after adding "X" additive".
Barley straw or concentrated barley liquid won't hurt, but is usually not that effective.

 

[stonecreek1]

What are the alfalfa pellets for? Do you mean Barley straw?

Yes. Sorry. Barley pellets!!

 

[stonecreek1]

I can feel your frustration in your post, but it's impossible to lead with "I know I am fish overloaded" and not just stop there. The equation is low fish load + high plant load - all excess organics = clear pond. Change any factor int hat equation and you're going to end up with water issues. So then it's "x heavy filtration" to get the equation to balance. No additives or magic pill will fix that issue.

Having said that - in a 20,000 gallon pond, you should be able to handle quite a few fish. How many do you think you have?

Oh my goodness. Too many. They have bred like crazy! I would guess maybe 100 or more. We have lots of people who would like to buy them. But it is so hard to catch them. But I just know the pond would be so much healthier if there weren’t so many.

 

[Tula]

What kind of filter are you using that has pads ? 20,000 gallons of water is a lot of water to pull through pads for filtration.

 

[stonecreek1]

What kind of filter are you using that has pads ? 20,000 gallons of water is a lot of water to pull through pads for filtration.

Well I am not sure of the name brand. The one is about two inches thick and black. Then there are 6 long ones that hang and are round. That’s in the pump box. Then up in the falls are two big green ones and three bags of the small cut up sponge like looking ones. Sorry I don’t know the names of them. I could take pictures tomorrow.

 

[Lisak1]

But it is so hard to catch them.

The easiest way to catch fish is to pump down the pond as far as you need to to give them no where to go and hide. Save as much of the water as you can (big above ground portable pools work great for this) and get in the pond with your nets. Make it an "all hands on deck" event - you want fish? Bring a container and come and get 'em!

 

[Relic]

I'm not sure I would even charge for the fish you're trying to eliminate - unless your just trying to make sure they "go to a good home." I would consider the lost income as the cost of getting a clean pond...what's it worth?

 

[Lisak1]

I agree @Relic - "free to a good home" is better than dealing with an overcrowded pond.

 

[stonecreek1]

I'm not sure I would even charge for the fish you're trying to eliminate - unless your just trying to make sure they "go to a good home." I would consider the lost income as the cost of getting a clean pond...what's it worth?

Yea it isn’t the sale of the fish. It is catching them! Lol. We have drained it down and have all kinds of different nets. They are so quick and hid and get the water so cloudy you can’t even see

 

[Tula]

Seine fishing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Would something like this work? This is how they harvest koi from mud ponds.