How do get that crystal clear pond!

[Lisak1]

With the right amount of circulation and plants ( in a bog or just planted in the pond) you won’t get green water

That's been my experience. In the first couple of years, we had string algae. LOTS of string algae. Like we could pull out two or three pounds a day. Then our plants matured and our pond matured and, even though our fish continued to grow larger, after year two we started getting smaller and smaller amounts of string algae. By year three, it was only on the waterfall. And so far this year - year 8 - no string algae at all. We have good circulation, good water movement, good aeration and lots and lots of bog and pond plants. We do have a good amount of algae covering all of the rocks in the pond - nice and green and lush.

While some algae in the spring is expected and actually beneficial, if your water is so green you can't enjoy your pond then I would try to figure out why that's happening and correct the issue.

 

[terraglen]

How often do you clean out your filter?

 

[KDubU]

Here's my bog just opened the pond so you can see pipes and a brief explanation then I was attacked by my little boss but shes funny.

I like this setup as it mirrors something similar to what I am thinking.

 

[KDubU]

cs dude my rocks cost 0 money theres plenty in the country side , old country walls knocked and left in the ditches,some
found half buried in dirt in fields , cliff edges fallen ,builders hardcore i dug from the yard ,the beach and rivers and streams
and im tempted to ask the builders doing the new estate nearby for some of the boulders they dug up and left there in a heap
only problem is how to get them home if given permission as there so big approx2- 3by 3 -4 ft each
imo their diamonds in the rough
as they say one mans rubbish is another mans gold

Exactly my thinking and problem as well! I know someone who has a mountain of boulders but have no way of getting them back to my house. I have a 50hp tractor but no trailer or big enough truck to hall down there. I guess I could rent those for a day or two and it may be cheaper than buying boulders.

 

[GBBUDD]

doobry be careful stacking anything against your homes siding like that will not allow the wood clapboards to breath and what more adding water evaporation to that. you may find some rot issues much sooner then you may expect.

 

[poconojoe]

Wow! I've never seen so much Parrot's Feather! Your pond us covered with it. That's crazy!
Yeah, check out the bog building thread. The bog is separate from your pond. It sits next to it. It can be made with a flexible liner or a solid tank. It's only supposed to be 12"-18" deep and 30% of your pond's surface area. You pump your pond water to a series of perforated or slit pipes that are covered with pea gravel. You have a lower section of the bog wall that permits the water to flow back into the pond. You grow plants in the pea gravel. They thrive on the nutrients in the water, thus starving the algae and clearing the water.
It's a really cool natural filter.

 

[Blueeyes]

This is what worked for me build a bog. Rotate your water volume 2 1/2 times an hour. Add Oxygen by using aeration. Barley. Bacteria to breakdown down the nutrients plants to convert nitrates in pond and planted bog. No room for algae or green water.

 

[csdude55]

@poconojoe, I have a 50G trash can, and I've been pulling out Parrot Feather all week. It's been tedious because I have to pull it out a little at a time to keep from damaging the lilies and irises, but I've pulled out 2 full cans of it!! I've been trying to give it away but with no takers, so I just had to dump it all in the woods.

I could probably pull out another can load if I wanted.

But while doing it, I discovered that the roots (tendrils?) are just layered with fallen leaves, so I'm sure that's the majority of my problem.

I put a net over it in the fall, but that's not a great solution. For example, this afternoon was just a little windy, and I watched tons of leaves and pine needles falling from the trees! Every good rain storm is going to knock leaves loose, too. Short of keeping a net on it 24/7, I don't know how to keep them out :-(

I'm definitely researching the bog, though. I have room for it, so all I need is to find some time... which is easier said than done!! lol

 

[Blueeyes]

Skimmer for intake Bay would take care of the leaves. Pine needles well I have used nylon screen for Windows to catch smaller debris that falls through the net especially in the springtime I have maple trees overhead so a lot of us debris from the helicopters fall in and go straight to the bottom passing the skimmer. So I use a screen over top of the net temporarily to catch that smaller debris the only thing I have found that works. You can find large size screen rolls at places like Home Depot or Lowe's this might help you prevent those needles from going straight to the bottom don't imagine they float for long.

 

[Blueeyes]

Skimmer or intake Bay sorry

 

[ChrisP]

@doobry, I love how you've done the rocks! I have over $2,000 in rocks for mine and it doesn't look anywhere near as good. I'm afraid that, to get the look I really want, I'm going to have to get a LOT more rocks.

You need grandparents with a big farm and huge rock pile.


But it starts looking like a big pile of rocks and not anything close to natural.

I do notice that you have no ledge around the inside - that's where you can place some plants in baskets, some rocks, and some plants lodged in the rocks. Plus it really hides the liner. If you have a lot of liner around the edge, you may be able to dig around and it, at least in some place.

You got plenty of space so you can add a bio filter and have it powered by a separate pump.

 

[csdude55]

You need grandparents with a big farm and huge rock pile

Oh yeah, I can definitely see how that would help!! LOL

I do notice that you have no ledge around the inside - that's where you can place some plants in baskets, some rocks, and some plants lodged in the rocks. Plus it really hides the liner. If you have a lot of liner around the edge, you may be able to dig around and it, at least in some place.

I built in 3 ledges for plants that are more like steps. The pond is 3' deep, and when I dug it (by hand) I made 2 ledges that are 2' deep and maybe 1' x 1' wide, then one more that's 1' deep.

I used dirt from the dig to build up an edge, then covered the outside with rock. I didn't think long term, though, and most of that dirt edge has washed away or gotten packed down over the years :-( I do have a fair amount of excess liner, though, so next time I can get 2 pallets of river rock I plan to pull up the liner and dig out a ledge that's about 1' deep and 6" wide, all around the pond. Then I can lay the liner in that ledge and fill it in with river rock, so that you don't see the liner anymore.

It's gonna be a ton of work and about $500 in materials, though, so that might be a 2020 project. I've been landscaping all spring and now it's almost summer... I don't know about doing that in 100 degree sun!

 

[mgmine]

Do you have a skimmer?

 

[csdude55]

No, the ones I've seen that float weren't particularly attractive so I've just been skimming manually a few times a year. But obviously I'm not doing a good enough job! I literally just watched a leaf float in to the pond, and immediately sunk to the bottom.

Another culprit are the live plants. The pond lily pads come up, then when they die away they just go to the bottom. Same with the cattails and irises. So I have all of this dead vegetation on the bottom, and a skimmer wouldn't really get that.

Mine is getting clearer, though! I have another thread asking about opinions on Diatomaceous earth and melamine foam, and there I mentioned that I've pulled out a lot of the Parrot's Feather (which had a bunch of dead leaves in the hanging roots) and put 2 pieces of melamine foam in the filter. Within 2 days, my water was clear enough to see to the bottom! Pictures attached

 

[GBBUDD]

vary the size rocks you have, and look around if you go to your local landscape /hardscape supplier yes 2,000 is popcorn. there's away a supplier who takes in rock from local construction companies, the trucking cost are negligible in comparison. the rock may not be weathered lime stone but if its natural to the area it's amazing what you can create with trucking in rock from around the country