Well I'm glad the responses shoot down the UV...not spending a lot of money is always good.
My poor pond!
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sissy
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It could be just the fine muck that covers the liner once you filter out a lot of the fine stuff you will see your fish even better .I keep quilt batting in mine all the time and it has gotten to the point where it only needs cleaned once a month or even less .Remember muck on the sides of you pond means a healthy pond
it worked gardenlady... similar to how some people do skippy filters..and even what sissy does..she modified it a little bit for your application i believe
I can do that for sure (24/7 on the quilt batting) but I'm going to have to find something that fits into my landscaping since the little green basket certainly doesn't
You know...I almost wrote that it seemed like the same basic idea as what Sissy has me doing. BTW...Gardenlady aka Julie
I keep calling you addy b/c that's what I see when I get something in my inbox...but obviously I wasn't quick enough to realize and you've been to nice to call me out on it. So your initials are JW...funny...so are mine. First and last name.
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jw is a sweety, she won't be po'd being called my name lol
callingcolleen1
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your glass did have a slight green tinge to it, and when in the pond, with a large volume of water, it will appear to make the water murky looking. it should clear up in a few days. Keep cleaning the batting and filters, ensure good water flow. You said that the water looked like it was getting better, so don't worry and see if it clears up soon. My water stays so clear thanks to very very large sedges and good filtration.
I'm hanging in there and yes it seems to be a little better. Are sedges used in the pond itself or the bog? You'll have to post a photo!
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GL, the reason UV's are not good with a bog filter is that you don't want to kill the stuff that goes through the pipe into the bog, as the plants need that stuff. A UV is good with slower water flow and going to a fountain or something like that.
I have to ask, because I don't think you said or I have forgotten, does your water flow into the bog through the bottom, up through the pea gravel, and then return to the pond? I'm assuming it does. That means that it's filtering your water and your new plants will begin to take off and when they do, you will notice the pond clearing quicker, too.
I had brown water this spring, sooo frustrated, went from crystal clear to murky brown. Not pea green like last year, brown. I too was frustrated, and then POOF, it cleared up! Almost overnight. Still wonder if it was the Pond Perfect, the quiilt batting I was cleaning out twice daily, the new old plants coming alive or the new plants taking off, or just patience and ALL of these items. Take pics looking down into your pond daily and maybe that will help you see the difference.
BTW, I and most on here do not vacuum their ponds. They use a fine mesh net and net the bottom. Some stuff on the bottom is ok to have, as it harbors beneficial bacteria. I learned that when thinking I needed to net all the gunk when I had brown water, and someone said to leave it, unless I had lots of leaves, and I have no leaves.
I also wonder if your shark or fish were spawning, stirring up your muck on the bottom, and if that caused the problem in the beginning and then things escalated from there, with the water changes, etc. BTW, what looks awful to us, like you don't want to put your hands in it, may be heaven to the fish! They don't ask for crystal clear water, that's for the benefit of us humans. They say best water to start out fry is pea green water. But, I'm like you, I want to see all my fish! I think you're making progress, I'm really glad for you.
I have to ask, because I don't think you said or I have forgotten, does your water flow into the bog through the bottom, up through the pea gravel, and then return to the pond? I'm assuming it does. That means that it's filtering your water and your new plants will begin to take off and when they do, you will notice the pond clearing quicker, too.
I had brown water this spring, sooo frustrated, went from crystal clear to murky brown. Not pea green like last year, brown. I too was frustrated, and then POOF, it cleared up! Almost overnight. Still wonder if it was the Pond Perfect, the quiilt batting I was cleaning out twice daily, the new old plants coming alive or the new plants taking off, or just patience and ALL of these items. Take pics looking down into your pond daily and maybe that will help you see the difference.
BTW, I and most on here do not vacuum their ponds. They use a fine mesh net and net the bottom. Some stuff on the bottom is ok to have, as it harbors beneficial bacteria. I learned that when thinking I needed to net all the gunk when I had brown water, and someone said to leave it, unless I had lots of leaves, and I have no leaves.
I also wonder if your shark or fish were spawning, stirring up your muck on the bottom, and if that caused the problem in the beginning and then things escalated from there, with the water changes, etc. BTW, what looks awful to us, like you don't want to put your hands in it, may be heaven to the fish! They don't ask for crystal clear water, that's for the benefit of us humans.
They say best water to start out fry is pea green water. But, I'm like you, I want to see all my fish! I think you're making progress, I'm really glad for you.
Well darn...more great information! Yes..our bog works exactly as you described..showed this to my husband since he built it and he said yes. Based on some things you said, I have to ask then...do most people routinely net their ponds because we don't and maybe that's our problem? We actually have no leaves that fall into the pond but it's full sun for the majority of the day. People say I need to add more plants...I'm automatically thinking they mean into the pond itself but maybe they mean the bog. The bog has new plants *if you are looking at the current state of our pond when I first joined the forum*, then we actually have quite a few but they need time to grow. If people are referring to the pond itself I can certainly go buy some more, but it's interesting that I was looking at the different forums and was looking at people's photos of their ponds and there don't seem to be many that have a lot of plants in the pond itself....certainly not more than in my ponds current state and their ponds are crystal. I'm not sure how much muck is on the bottom since we emptied the pond, to be stirred up but I would love the fish to be spawning since we haven't had babies since we moved the lone koi to the lake behind our backyard a few years ago. Here's a question..I have the frogs that we hear a lot of nights and I wake up to all of that stuff *don't even know what it's called"..wrapped around my lillies. I'm use it's eggs, but WHAT do you do with that?? I usually try to get it out and dump it in the garbage. Is there any reason I should leave it be? I've had to be careful walking lately as I see tiny little frogs around the pond. For the first time in our 11 years at this house, we have tons of baby lizards which I love! Thanks for taking the time to pass on valuable information!
Sissy...I forgot to comment about this ..was dealing with car issues today ..........but that's so funny about the dogs peeing into the pond and Gross!! :surprised: Our pool is on the side where the back door is so we had wrought iron fencing put up to separate that side from the pond side..thank goodness! Since all of our dogs love to go into the pool it's a given there would have been an issue with the pond. Our silky terrier loves to pee around the darn furniture out there though and that's gross too!
sissy
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look at the muck algae in there .Thing is I wish there could be an easier way but never found one yet .Fine algae clogs everything and makes the water look terrible .
callingcolleen1
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Your Pond does look much better this morning! Good advice Sissy!