Hi there, all. I've lurked here before, but I haven't posted before. This spring, I was bewitched by a Pinterest post that showed amazing water gardens and ponds made from galvanized stock tanks. I guess the supposed ease and simplicity described ought to have been my first warning, but like I said, I was bewitched! I couldn't get myhands on one of the big boys, the 6-8' ones that holds in excess of 1,000 gallons, but I got one that is 175 gallons, oval not round, 3 feet deep, 2 feet wide and 6 feet long. This is my lifelong dream, and I started in on my reading and research.
I'm an avid gardener in southern california, and I have always had aquariums, so I thought I was ahead of the game to start. WOW, was i WRONG and did i have a lot to learn!! The first "pins" i read said full sun, no filtration needed. My container is a high quality one, no leaks or issues. I thought my inhabitants were modest. 8 2" long koi, some teeny tadpoles a few narite snails for algae control and 2 baby water turtles. I already had water plants, but I got lots more of different types. I knew about testing my water, so I thought I would knock this out of the park. Not so much. From the start 3 months ago, it was Instant murk, instant green. I started out with no filter, but a little fountain pump. I had water lilies, and a few different floating surface plants, some bottom oxygenating plants and a few marginal plants that like wet ankles.
I have river rock and cinderblocks for plants and internal hiding spots. I knew we have very hard water here, so I monitored my water levels very closely and could make very little sense of them. Everything got green, murky and cloudy. I saw stories about people making their own filters and invested in my first pond pump. I think it moved like 200 GPH. I wrapped a pump inside a planting box with a combination of activated carbon and whatever pieces of aquarium filter sheeting and put the whole thing inside poly quilt batting. Weighted it down and hoped for glory. Not glorious. My PH levels were consistently on the high side. I know own five different testing kits - strips and liquid, and none of them agree with one another. I suspect it's a nitrogen cycle thing, but sometimes I showed highish ammonia levels, but the nitrite and nitrate showed as in the good range. I went out and bought a stronger pump that moves 560 GPH. I have been through barley straw, peat and every chemical made by Tetra and API to neutralize ammonia, stabilize PH, you name it. All of which was hard to come by during a pandemic quarantine. I've added more sources of oxygen, reduced my oxygenation, moved to shade, put up a huge umbrella. I've lost my tadpoles, and one resultant frog, but turtles and fish endure. I've been doing partial water changes every other day for weeks now. It just won't stabilize.
Two days ago, i bought a total pond brand water filter with UV clarifier. Read all the paperwork, watched every Total Pond video, checked on You Tube. Couldn't get the UV to light. Returned and replaced the unit yesterday and set it up yet again. Crystal clear last night, good test results with the API master test kit. Today, it's again Murky City, USA. I can't get through to Total Pond, and I seem to know more about the chemistry than the sweet guy at my local pond store. Can someone please give me some hope? Thanks, flexney in SoCal.
PS: FWIW, I have two much smaller "ponds" also in galvanized tubs. about 20 and 30 gallons each. I set those up with just a tiny canister filter and they are crystal clear and lovely planted gardens with fish.
