Pond water not consistant - clear - brown - green

[MrKielbasa]

Hi Folks

New to the forum so , hello

I built a pond last year and left it until around spring to start putting in my plants and fish . I purchased a Hozelock EasyClear 9000 pump/filter system which as a UV light etc and has a maximum flow rate of 2850lph (627gph)
I have around 17 fish (goldfish) and at a guess I would think there is between 6000-7000 litres of water in the pond . Its not very deep , around 2' in its deepest area with a good few shallow areas .

The issue I am seeing is that the water stays clear for a few weeks , then goes a browny colour . I put in an additive to clear this and after around 1 week it cleared up again . I noticed it started to cloud a little over the last 2 weeks and yesterday I noticed it turning a bit green with today being worse.
I also noticed a lot of alge or weed floating around the top and also clinging to the rocks and around some of the plants .

I am reluctant to throw anymore additives in . The pond is not in direct sunlight with it getting maybe 4/5 hours of sun per day approx .

The only thing I have done in the last few weeks is I topped the pond a few inches of water due to evaporation and also I turned up the waterfall valve on the pump so its pumping more water through the filter but directly out into the pond. I thought this would be good as its also creating water circulation and the fish seem to like it

Any suggestions I can try ? I know there is a lot of info here , which I have been reading and is great . Would it be a good idea to test my water PH value ?

Tks a mill
Martin

 

[Waterbug]

I think testing water is a good way to understand a little bit about what's going on with the water. In order of importance: ammonia, nitrite, KH, GH, pH. But you also have to be willing to learn what these numbers mean. Most people don't test water. Of those who do, many see a high KH number for example and freak out, and try to lower it without any understanding of what KH is or does. Good way to kill fish. So testing water can be a bad thing in the wrong hands.

To clear water...
It can be complex to understand the source of the cloudiness and how to reduce it.

Additives...
These contain different things, from bacteria to flocculant. All do not clear water under most conditions and when conditions are right will provide some clearing for short periods. For example, a pond can support a limited bacteria population. Bacteria reproduce quickly to fill any available niche. If the environment becomes less able the bacteria die back. If this seems reasonable to you then adding more bacteria does what? Just adds more organic waste for the pond to deal with. Under unusual conditions the new bacteria could consume some suspended particles, but soon the environment just can't support the new population, otherwise it would have already been filled, and the bacteria population dies back and release a net of more organic waste, suspended particles, and less clear water.

Flocculants can bind suspended particles together which can make water seem more clear, fewer but larger particles is clearer. And even the right kind of particles are present, these larger bits can even sink. But flocculants don't last long and the particles will be released and water goes back to not clear. Flocculants are very good at clearing water if used correctly, but it's complex.

Filters...
There is no filter than can be plugged in, be forgotten, and clear water.

Here's what Hozelock's web page says about the EasyClear 9000:

- Foam filters to ensure crystal clear water.
- Kaldnes biomedia to ensure healthy fish and plants.
- A 13w UVC to eliminate green water.

Has it "ensure crystal clear water"? IMO foam filters are worthless. They can work if cleaned every day. There are even a couple of people in the world who may actually do that, but I doubt it. Certainly most people don't. They're not at all easy to clean imo.

Bio media that's clogged with muck is not bio media. Worthless.

The UV does kill green water algae. Bulb has to be changed every year. I would remove the foam and bio media. They'd only interfere with UV operation while providing no benefit in most cases. I'm not a fan of combo pump/UV because you can't turn down the flow to the UV which is often needed.

Keeping water clear...
Green is handled by a UV. 100% effective if installed correctly and maintained.

Tannin can also be brown. Tea is tannin and generally that's what the water looks like, tea. Doesn't sound like what you have so I won't go into that.

Suspended particles, normally called brown. Caused by organic stuff decomposing into tiny bits. If you have good eyesight and look close you can normally see the particles. There are complex ways of removing these particles. Way easier imo to get rid of the source. Without a constant source of new particles the water will be clearer and bacteria can concentrate on the remaining particles. Food (particles) are not normally the limiting factor in bacteria population.

Primary sources of organic matter is algae, plants, fish poo. Most start out laying on the pond bottom, decompose and becomes suspended particles. You can scoop that stuff out with a net or a good vacuum (not many good vacuums). If you do even a little scooping once a week you can get very clear water. The scooping also stirs the bottom, adding O2 which speeds decomposition of tiny bit. Like turning a compost pile. Decomposition can work to your benefit, but only when the volume is reduced to what the pond can handle.

Trickle water changing can also reduce suspended particles and even green water. Here's a video on that.

 

[JohnHuff]

You can test your water, but no matter what it shows, I think you're still going to need a more substantial filter as the one you have does not appear to be adequate. The little amount of foam and media in that filter is not going to be enough.

Unlike WB above, I'm a firm believer in foam filters. I have several foam filters in the pond and I'm happy to clean them once a week, and it's amazing to see how much muck they pick up. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that the brown color is suspended material in the water. I occasionally get that and my massive foam filters will usually clear that in a day or two. So my advice is for your to check and clean out your foam filter diligently, perhaps every 1-2 days and see if it clears.

Also, are you feeding too much? That can create a lot of nutrients for the algae. Lastly, you can just manually remove the algae from the pond.

 

[Waterbug]

Oh I believe in foam filters. I don't believe most people clean them. Especially when encased inside a pump case at the bottom of a pond.

 

[MrKielbasa]

Thanks for the excellent replies , really appreciate your time .

I had cleaned the filter a few times since installation but it recall reading somewhere that a dirty filter will perform better due to the build up of bacteria so I have not touched it in maybe 4 weeks . To be honest , having to clean it every 2 weeks is not something I want to be doing due to the fact its submerged in the center of the pond so maybe I need to invest in a better filter or an external one that is easier to access.

>So my advice is for your to check and clean out your foam filter diligently, perhaps every 1-2 days and see if it clears.

Yes I could do this and see if it makes a difference at least .

>Also, are you feeding too much?

I was feeding every day , just once a day , around a handful of feed but I have cut back to every second day . Is that too much ?

 

[addy1]

I feed mine about every 3 days or so, the fish do fine without constant food from the outside. They groom the pond instead of eating the food falling from the sky lol

every other day will be ok, just make sure they eat all that you toss in usually it will be gone in a few minutes.

 

[MrKielbasa]

thanks , yeah perhaps I am overfeeding ... dont want the little buggers to go hungry

 

[MrKielbasa]

so I just cleaned the filter . the foam was failry clogged but more with a browny gunk . I am wondering now if my problem is the fact that around a month or so ago I put in an additive to clear brown water and it turned the particles into a sludge which dropped to the pond floorbed. This is now being sucked into the filter and clogging the foam ?

On closer inspection ( i took up a sample of water in a glass) the water actually looks quite clear and has no odour, has some random greeny/brown particles floating in it maybe due to the fact that I was just in the pond taking up the filter ....

Should I be looking at a way to extract this sludge that has built up on the pond liner?

Should I also look at maybe slowing down the flow rate of water through the filter and turn off the waterfall valve completely ?

 

[addy1]

I don't use that kind of filter, make sure you clean it with pond water if you are on city water. I wouldn't slow the flow or turn off the waterfall, imo

A swimming pool net does a great job of netting muck off the bottom of a pond

 

[Waterbug]

So let's see, 1500 gal pond, one year old. Foam filter the size of a sandwich. Cleaning it everyday should have the pond spotless in late 2023.

 

[MrKielbasa]

seems that way - what filter would you recommend ? I was looking at this online http://www.hozelockpondproducts.co.uk/Hozelock_Bioforce_12000_uvc_Pond_Filter.htm

 

[JohnHuff]

... around a handful of feed but I have cut back to every second day . Is that too much ?

How big is your hand?

... dirty filter will perform better due to the build up of bacteria so I have not touched it in maybe 4 weeks.

They're talking about bio-filtration here, but you're using the foam filter as a mechanical filter so you must clean it more than once every 4 weeks if clearing your pond of suspended material is what you want.

IMO foam filters are worthless.

Oh I believe in foam filters.

Mmm... a little confusing there for the huddled masses.

MrKielbasa, aka MrTastyPolishSausage, I think you should build your own filter. It's fun and works a lot better than something like that.

 

[fishin4cars]

Check out the DYI section here on the forum for filter ideas. from reading I'm going to let waterbug cover this post as he has already posted so much useful information. In reading I didn't notice any mention of how much leaf and trash build up is on the bottom. Just netting and removing some of that may help until more filtration/better filtration can be put into place.

 

[Waterbug]

A filter that's easier to clean would at least make frequent cleaning more doable. The real question only you can answer, is this something you'd do, clean the filter every few days? I know the answer for me...no way in hell. Waaaaay too much work for me. Ponds are suppose to be fun.

Here's the issue I have with basically all manufactured pond filters...they're built and marketed to appeal to first time buyers. They do mechanical, bio and even UV all in one compact unit...just what the buyer wants to hear. What happens when the foam gets clogged? Water flow decreases and can even stop...that causes the bacteria in the "bio filter" to die and the UV to over heat. Pressure in the unit builds and over time the pressure changes can cause these inexpensive plastics to crack, leak and drain the pond. The manufacturer fixes this problem by telling you to keep the foam clean...by definition if the thing blows up it's your fault because you didn't keep the foam clean, even if you cleaned it yesterday. Other people just love them....right up until it splits open of course, then not so much.

It's about as bad an environment for a bio filter as is possible. Tiny, lots of muck, the lowest low O2, kind of a joke. The manufacturer knows people buying these filters don't actually need a bio filter so no harm in saying it's a "bio filter" on the package as people like to read words like that even if they don't know what it means. That's why these types of filters are never sold in fish farming or high end pond markets. These people actually need bio filters to keep fish alive and the manufacturer would soon go out of business trying to sell into those markets.

I see videos posted on YouTube from time to time of people showing their split filters...but the videos seem to be taken down pretty fast. Letters from lawyers are cheap.

So, if you check the filter every few days and keep it clean these are great filters. For me I think they're worst than worthless.

Unfortunately filtering a pond is more complex than a single component. I went over my suggestions. If you need bio filtering because of ammonia levels you can't beat a DIY Trickle Tower. Pretty much self cleaning.

 

[Waterbug]

How big is your hand?

Huge.

Mmm... a little confusing there for the huddled masses.

A foam filter that is cleaned every couple of days is a great filter.
A foam filter that is cleaned every couple of years is worthless.
Reallly, that was confusing? Oh dear.