Need help solving a problem

[David Hardesty]

Hey, my first post here and need help from an expert on easiest and best way to solve a problem here. First, photos of my pond.

The first pic is the overall pond from the front. Next is the bottom section and then the top section. There is a bottom drain w/ aerator in the bottom section with an inline pump that pushes 4,000 gallons / hr to a uv light/filter and then to waterfall. This isn't actually pushing 4,000 gallons because the filter slows it down but it's probably doing every bit of the entire pond (approx. 2500 gallons) every 1 hr. There's nothing at all wrong with the bottom section. It stays very clean and extremely easy to maintain by just cleaning the filter now and then when flow seems to be reduced.

The last picture of the top section shows my problem. This is where I screwed up because I didn't do a bottom drain in the top. It's less than a foot deep and so I thought there would be enough flow up there to cycle that water through the bottom drain. Boy was I wrong. It gathers algae and dirt as you can plainly see. Below all that algae and dirt in the top are some beautiful blue rocks that can't be seen. They are shiny and about the size of a golf ball on average. I know rocks on the bottom collect "badness" but the fish weren't going to be in the top section so I wanted it to be shallow and show pretty rocks in the bottom of it.

SOME POSSIBLY IMPORTANT NOTES:
- I have a drip line that spits out water into the back part of the top section every day for overflow of the pond and to cool the water down a bit for the fish during the summer.
- I also have a 3600 gallon / hr submersed pump in bottom section pushing water to top section. This was added to increase the amount of water that pushes from top to bottom so that you could see nice flows of water over the middle wall.
- There is also a small submersed pump under waterfall. This was added just to increase the flow of the main waterfall for aesthetics.
- Finally, the power to the whole pond is on a timer that shuts off for 1 minute every 4 hours or so. This was added because the small submersed pump in the top was getting clogged over time and reducing the waterfall flow but just shutting it off for a minute and back on fixes that entirely because all the snails and whatever else clinging to it fall off in that minute and it flows better again. I fully recognize that this is something I had to do because I didn't bottom drain the top but that's where I am.

MY THOUGHTS ON HOW TO FIX THIS:
- I know I need a UV light in the top to try to kill the algae and either find a way to push the "badness" to the bottom so it can cycle through bottom drain....or add another filter somehow up there. Basically I'm looking for the best way to get that top part clean again and maintenance free without having to take apart the entire top section and add a bottom drain, which will probably be a few days of work.

Thank you to anyone who read this long post and has any advice. Sorry to make it so long but I feel details are necessary so that you understand the tools I have there already that I can possibly use to my advantage for solving this problem.

 

[pecan]

Welcome and beautiful pond!

Unfortunately, any pretty rocks submerged in a pond will eventually be coated in green. It's just how ponds work unless you chemically treat the water and in that case you can't have anything living in the pond. I periodically use a brush to scrub the string algae off my falls when it builds up too much, but as far as submerged rocks, you would need to hand clean each rock frequently to keep the green off of them. And "ain't nobody got time for dat"

 

[David Hardesty]

It's a good point. Maybe I need to get in there, clean it all out, including the rocks and use them for something else. So if I do that, how can I control the algae in the top better without a bottom drain?

 

[pecan]

It's a good point. Maybe I need to get in there, clean it all out, including the rocks and use them for something else. So if I do that, how can I control the algae in the top better without a bottom drain?

Shade helps to reduce algae growth, you could put some sort of shade sail over it. Others who know more may have some better advice.

 

[cas]

Very nice pond! Have you considered putting in some plants in the top section?

 

[pecan]

Very nice pond! Have you considered putting in some plants in the top section?

That's a good idea Cas! The plant roots would act as extra filtration and plants help shade the water. It would look very pretty too.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Interesting problem that some people would appreciate having. That is not said in jest because what you have done is inadvertently created a settling pool. This is basically a positive thing because it reduces maintenance i.e. filters require cleaning less often. It also helps to improve water clarity.
I would remove the rock in this top pool. You will still have a certain level of algae growth but if feeding of the fish is properly managed it should only be what many refer to as carpet algae. This is also beneficial as the algae adds Oxygen to the water through photosynthesis. It assimilates Ammonia and feeds on Nitrate, Any accumulated organic sediment can be periodically removed using a wet/dry vacuum.
So your problem is not really a problem but maybe a minor nuisance.

 

[addy1]

Very nice pond! Add some plants to the top section, it will add to the filtration for the pond

 

[David Hardesty]

Very nice pond! Have you considered putting in some plants in the top section?

Great idea.

Interesting problem that some people would appreciate having. That is not said in jest because what you have done is inadvertently created a settling pool. This is basically a positive thing because it reduces maintenance i.e. filters require cleaning less often. It also helps to improve water clarity.
I would remove the rock in this top pool. You will still have a certain level of algae growth but if feeding of the fish is properly managed it should only be what many refer to as carpet algae. This is also beneficial as the algae adds Oxygen to the water through photosynthesis. It assimilates Ammonia and feeds on Nitrate, Any accumulated organic sediment can be periodically removed using a wet/dry vacuum.
So your problem is not really a problem but maybe a minor nuisance.

Very much appreciate the help. Haha, I had to research my butt off just to build this thing and had no idea that what I have there is actually a good thing for my fish. The wet/dry vac idea could work well so I'll try that and it may be the thing to do along with the plants suggestion.

Thanks a ton for the advice guys.

 

[sissy]

plants are the cure ,put them in pots and they clean the water and you can trim the roots .Really nice pond I have not seen one built that way yet

 

[David Hardesty]

plants are the cure ,put them in pots and they clean the water and you can trim the roots .Really nice pond I have not seen one built that way yet

Thanks for the advice. Definitely cleaning out the top, including the rocks and will get some plants in there and see how it goes. Thank you all.

 

[sissy]

You will be amazed at how they keep the water clean and keeping them in pots means they are easy to divide up and easy to trim the roots .I have plants in my waterfall pond and in my filters .Easy to remove them come winter also

 

[Usman]

hi , very beautiful pond , i can give u advise as hobbyist only . you can add few goldfishes in upper section they will keep bottom pretty clean they will eat algae and disturb bottom so dirt algae will flow in filter . i have some gravel underwater inside pond , i cant clean it but fishes keep it clean

other thing u can try adding a jet at the bottom .

if ur worried about the algae on waterfall , that needs to b cleaned , u can use a hose for that . ur lucky ur fall has green algae , mine develops blackish algae lol

 

[Lisak1]

What a clever design! I love it!

You've already gotten the advice I was going to give - plants, plants, plants. Your entire pond - top and bottom - would benefit from some plants. They can help provide shade, which is good for your fish, and will take up nutrients from the water to help keep it healthy for your fish.

And please stop thinking of algae as "bad stuff". There's nothing wrong with algae in your pond. @Meyer Jordan explained it better than I could, but in a nutshell - plants are good in the pond and algae is nothing more than an aquatic plant. Overgrowth of algae is a sign that you have too many nutrients in your water, but in that case, the algae is HELPING not hurting. Get the problem under control and you'll get the algae in balance, too. And rocks are not bad in the pond either - lots of people have rocked ponds with gravel bottoms. A deep layer of gravel is problematic, but done correctly a gravel bottom will add to the surface area where beneficial bacteria can grow.

I chimed in here because I know these threads live forever and lots of new ponders will read "algae - bad" and "rocks - bad" and get no further. Algae can be the best friend your pond will ever have!

 

[DutchMuch]

plants are good in the pond and algae is nothing more than an aquatic plant.

I know this sounds sarcastic but it isn't meant to be I just wanted to clarify that algae is not a plant. Algae are in the plant kingdom, but technically they are not plants. ... Algae range in size from microscopic to meters long and from single-celled to complex organisms that rival large plants. These organisms may look like true plants, but unlike plants, algae do not have roots or true stems and leaves.
They are photosynthetic creatures