New Pond-Green Water

[Joe3zz]

We had a 1000 gallon pond build late last October. We live in Central NC, so it was too late to put any plants in at the time. My water is now pretty green (not string algae). We just bought a couple of plants today.

Should I wait a while and see what happens as we add plants? What do the experienced people here think?

Joe

 

[koiguy1969]

pea soup (green water) is a natural cycle but can be skipped and / or eliminated...a 9 watt u.v clarifier will handle a 1000 gal pond no problem..and keep the water clear. barley products will help but they should have already been started.. what are you doing for filtration?

 

[Joe3zz]

Thanks for the response, the pond was built with a Savio skimmer. I've thrown some feeder goldfish in there, but the water is just reaching about 60 F, so I have not seen much of them, though I have rescued a couple from the skimmer and two died in it.


Joe

 

[DrCase]

Welcome to the forum joe
do you have a filter after the skimmer ?

 

[Joe3zz]

The Savio skimmer has biofilter panels built in. But I wonder if they are enough, and if someone has some thoughts on augmenting them, perhaps I could put more filter material in the pump chamber.

Joe

 

[koidaddy]

How much water is passing through the skimmer? You want to turn the water at the very minimum 1x per hour. I am shooting for a 3-5X turn rate with multiple magdrive pumps feeding into containers with mechanical filter media. From there it goes into a vegitable bog or back into the pond. You really need something to filter the fines as well untill the bio media and pond get established.

 

[Joe3zz]

It turns over a little more than 1x per hour, but I was wondering about fine particulates...I've ordered a UV light. My pond is uniform depth, so there is no bog or other opportunity for that kind of filtration. Any other options for particulate filtration.

I don't know if you have seen a Savio skimmer. It has a pair of bio filter pads maybe 12 x 18 inches. Is that enough biofiltration?

Joe

 

[koidaddy]

I have gone to my local fabric store and purchased some matting that is used to stuff pillows and other things alike. $6 for a hugh bag. I stuffed that into some mesh bags and placed in filter containers so water has to pass through that media before even going back into the pond. Just did this yesterday and was amazed at all the fine particulates that have accumulated there alraedy in under 24 hours. Then when they are full just rinse out and put back in. I read about this type of media on this forum I believe. I like it because water flows through it better then faom. I will post some pics later.

I also purchased some foam type squares of very similar stuff that I mentioned above. I placed this in another bucket that water passes down through the top and out the bottom. When it gets dirty just rince in a bucket of pond water and replace. This stuff is pretty cheap and looks just like the "Fine" pads I was buying for my RENA xp4 canister filter on my oscar tank.

This is just what I am trying and by no means the golden rule.

 

[koiguy1969]

just a skimmer ....thats not enough filtration, first off you really want a way to pull debris (fish fecal matter and dead vegetation) from the bottom of the pond. as they break down they release nitrites into the water which is poisonous as the nitrites are broken down they are turned to nitrates, also slightly poisonous but usable by plants. when these solids are picked up and trapped by a biological filter these processes are controlled and for a good part completed in the filter...with a flush or back flush feature you can eliminate atleast a large portion of these wastes from the system entirely, so the filters job is made easier, and thereby more effective build a filter even a 20 gallon model and run a pump from the bottom of the pond, and flush it every week or two and see what kind of muck you'll eliminate from the system....you will be amazed!!

 

[koidaddy]

Also I am a familier with the Savio skimmers. They are good. Do you have the large one? You could still add an UV clarifer as well untill your really establish. I used one in my 1200 gallon pond untill it stopped working and it cleared it up pretty fast. My biggest thing I am clearing up is the oak leaves and pollin which gives me brown water.

 

[koidaddy]

thats not enough filtration, first off you really want a way to pull debris (fish fecal matter and dead vegetation) from the bottom of the pond. as they break down they release nitrites into the water which is poisonous as the nitrites are broken down they are turned to nitrates, also slightly poisonous but usable by plants. when these solids are picked up and trapped by a biological filter these processes are controlled and for a good part completed in the filter...with a flush or back flush feature you can eliminate atleast a large portion of these wastes from the system entirely, so the filters job is made easier, and thereby more effective

Exactly, You need to pull water from the bottom of the pond as well. That is why I have several smaller pumps placed in different areas. I even use one as a skimmer type design placed just below the water surface. That way debris is drawn to thet area and collected by the foam pre filter. Food and fish can't get trapped that way. My pumps are 2 pondmaster 18 1800gph and a pondmaster 24 2400gph.

Each year I upgrade my pump and filter system as budget permits but never by junk that cant be used as well.

 

[Joe3zz]

My Savio is the "compact" model.

Joe