Help!!!! I have had my pond for 7 years. It is 16 x 9 x 3. Its spring here and I am having a problem getting rid of pea green water. I have done water changes, cleaned filters and have been adding beneficial bacteria. No change. Today I lost 2 koi. Not sure what else to do here.
Pea soup water and how to clear
- Thread starter bludwig
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Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your trouble. Green water algae, though unsightly, does not harm the fish. Do you have water tests? If so, check for ammonia and nitrite. Excessive cleaning can sometimes disrupt the filter bacteria and ecosystem causing an ammonia or nitrite spike that can harm the fish. I would test the water and stop feeding for a while until you verify water quality.
Plants, bog filters and UV clarifiers are solutions to green water problems. Bog filters are the best long term, low maintenance solution since they trap debris and the plants in them use nutrients that fuel the algae growth. I installed a small one next to my ponds and I have had no further green water issues; like I used to have in my profile picture.
Any other info on your system such as number and size of fish, filtration information and pictures can help us help you.
Plants, bog filters and UV clarifiers are solutions to green water problems. Bog filters are the best long term, low maintenance solution since they trap debris and the plants in them use nutrients that fuel the algae growth. I installed a small one next to my ponds and I have had no further green water issues; like I used to have in my profile picture.
Any other info on your system such as number and size of fish, filtration information and pictures can help us help you.
j.w
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Hi JRS, Here is some info on my pond. It has been up for about 7 years. I am a DIY pond person so I have done everything by trial and error and research. My pond is roughly 2000 gallons. My filter is homemade with a 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub. Water comes in the bottom via PVC pipes then filters through different levels of mats. Then down my waterfall and into pond. I have 12 KOI ranging in length from 6 inches to 12 inches. I do have 5 plants in the pond and awaiting delivery on the floating plants I add each year. I do not have any aeriation other than my falls but am adding one today. I think I made a big mistake by doing water changes to rid the green water. I normally add beneficial bacteria once a week but was told to add daily until my water clears, is this too much? I did water testing and it reads that everything is fine, which cannot be right (I use testing strips). I have added some pictures hoping to help. I really appreciate anything you could help me with. Would a bog filtering system be in addition to what I have or would I change it?
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I also agree, add lots of plants, good sized ones that will suck up a lot of nitrogen. The koi are growing and the increased waste is providing extra nutrients for the algae. It needs some competition.
Some years during the spring my pond gets suspended algae, but once the plants start to grow the water clears on its own.
As said above, more plants, mature plants that start growing early in the season to combat the algae for the nutrients.
As said above, more plants, mature plants that start growing early in the season to combat the algae for the nutrients.
Welcome @bludwig !
You could very easily convert your tub filter into a bog by adding gravel and plants - no more filter mats to clean! More on that if you're interested!
Anyway - your pond is on the small side for the number of fish you are housing. Initially 12 small koi may not seem like a lot in a pond that size, but as they grow, the amount of waste they produce grows by leaps and bounds. There's no real "formula" for how many koi you should keep in a pond, but the standard advice is 1000 gallons for the 1st koi; 250 - 500 gallons for each additional. A lot depends on the type of filtration you have on the pond, but water quality with koi can turn bad very quickly. I don't know if that's what happened to your fish, but it's certainly not uncommon for fish in an established pond to suddenly start dying when the biomass exceeds the ability of the filter to keep up.
Having said that, pea soup water is not an indication of poor water quality, but it does point to too many nutrients in the pond that are not being consumed by either the filter or the plants. This is especially true in spring before the plants start to grow. Water changes do not address this issue - in fact they may actually make it worse. Your pond is trying to find equilibrium - every time you add fresh water, that process starts over.
Getting more plants in the pond will be the most helpful, so that may require some patience. As someone else said - the green water is of no consequence to the fish. They don't mind it and it is in fact doing its part to keep the pond healthy.
You could very easily convert your tub filter into a bog by adding gravel and plants - no more filter mats to clean! More on that if you're interested!
Anyway - your pond is on the small side for the number of fish you are housing. Initially 12 small koi may not seem like a lot in a pond that size, but as they grow, the amount of waste they produce grows by leaps and bounds. There's no real "formula" for how many koi you should keep in a pond, but the standard advice is 1000 gallons for the 1st koi; 250 - 500 gallons for each additional. A lot depends on the type of filtration you have on the pond, but water quality with koi can turn bad very quickly. I don't know if that's what happened to your fish, but it's certainly not uncommon for fish in an established pond to suddenly start dying when the biomass exceeds the ability of the filter to keep up.
Having said that, pea soup water is not an indication of poor water quality, but it does point to too many nutrients in the pond that are not being consumed by either the filter or the plants. This is especially true in spring before the plants start to grow. Water changes do not address this issue - in fact they may actually make it worse. Your pond is trying to find equilibrium - every time you add fresh water, that process starts over.
Getting more plants in the pond will be the most helpful, so that may require some patience. As someone else said - the green water is of no consequence to the fish. They don't mind it and it is in fact doing its part to keep the pond healthy.