tea anyone?

[curb]

ok here is my story-my boat-pond which is 1/2 under a carport has 900-1100 gallons of water in it, every time it rains the rain turns my water tea color-which my guess would be it is coming off the walnut tree which is directly above it and are tannins, so w/out cutting down the tree, moving the pond or draining it every time it rains what will help? Iv tried just about everything i have a skimmer and a large filter and uv light wont touch it-im thinking reverse osmosis a little expensive but if it works il try it...ANY N' ALL SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!!!

 

[sissy]

thats coffee color .You could use quilt batting in a basket ,you may have to clean it often .I take the dirty piece out and hose it off and soak it in peroxide water while I put a fresh piece in and hang up the old piece to dry out and then keep reusing and cleaning them
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[curb]

Thank You for the reply-iv tried small experiments such as the uv light and coffee filters and i would think that coffee filters would be bout the finest i could get-how much is it i will def try everything!!!

 

[sissy]

You could do like I do also use metal conduit and sew with fishing line pockets in window screen to keep the fine stuff out ,you may have to shake the stuff off a lot though
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[curb]

Thanks again-I will def do this come spring time tho the rain will surely run thru screen-nothing else shall...

 

[j.w]

I think you are stuck w/ the 2 ideas you don't like, moving the pond or taking out the tree. Is the tree way to big to move? They do have company's that will move big trees but oh yes, It'll cost ya! Wonder which is more expensive paying to move the tree or reverse osmosis?

 

[sissy]

You could put an ad out some tree places here will actually take down walnut trees just for the wood or just charge you a small fuel cost amount .There is a logging company here that advertises for walnut and cherry trees .

 

[curb]

oh moving the tree is out of the question i like the tree as it provides plenty of shade and it is very big-but thank you

 

[Mmathis]

Activated charcoal will help a lot in removing the tannins! But it does take a lot of it, and you have to leave it there for a while. Once it does it's job of neutralizing (or whatever chemical reaction happens) the tannins/tea color, you have to change it out as it can't be reused. I put mine in a mesh bag and leave it in my SKIPPY filter. I had (just removed it a few days ago!) a cedar fence across my pond to give my box turtles a safe place. Had it positioned where the wood didn't touch the water, but every time we'd get a good rain (which also raised the water level), my water was like cola!

 

[curb]

Can you explain how much i would need for 1000 gallons and how long it would take-also what is a skippy filter is that the same thing as a skimmer?

 

[crsublette]

Now, if it could be dirt simply being washed off the leaves or some other run off, then this would cause the water's murkiness and this would be removed from a fines mechanical filter, such as quilt batting or some other fines filtration.


Major water changes is also an option to reduce the tannins, but be careful with this since it can cause major temperature fluctuations and potentially harmful pH fluctations. If you are confident in the quality of your source water, then doing slow major water changes (around 40%) spread out over a period of 8~12 hours is an option, might be cheaper, and be sure to use a water conditioner (before, periodically throughout it, and at the end of the change) if you are using city water that has chlorine or chloramines. (( if wanting a cheap dechlorinator that lasts at least 24~36 hours in the water, look into sodium thiosulphate))


If you are positive it is a compound, such as tannins, then I don't think any particulate mechanical filtration will have an impact on the colored water.

To remove something that is not a particulate, such as microscopic algae or dust or soil or other solid waste, then you will have to use an appropriate medium that attracts the appropriate chemical compound by essentially magnetically pulling the chemical compound from the water that is absorbed and bound into another medium. These mediums involve polymers or granular activate carbon (GAC) materials.

There are many different formulations of granular activated carbon (GAC) materials, where one particular formulation is better at absorbing and binding different compounds.

A proper 3-5 stage Reverse Osmosis system actually involves a special formulation of carbon filter, but this route would be incredibly slow and expensive. If the water is not properly filtered for sediment and other very fine particulates prior to entering this carbon filter, then the dirty water will significantly reduce the effectiveness of the special carbon filters since RO carbon absorbs pretty much everything, not just the metals and chemical compounds. I would not go this route.

You can build your self a type of RO carbon chamber, such as a DIY source water filter that you fill with granular activated carbon, but this will add a significant amount of head pressure causing your flow rate to go down. You could have another pump, such as an emergency backup pump, that is only connected to this filter to periodically filter the water through the carbon material. If you do not have an emergency backup pump, then I highly recommend looking into getting one.

You could also build your self a type of quite small sand & gravel (S&G) type of filter where there are thick layers of carbon, but the carbon product would have to be removed eventually. So, the S&G is not a viable option.

As Mmathis described, a Skippy, with the carbon in mesh bags, works fine, or even puting a layer of it where there is moving water but effectiveness will significantly increase if you can push, or squeeze, the water through the mesh bags of carbon rather than the water going around it so there is more water in contact with more surface area of the carbon. This is why I like the filter setup in the afformentioned hyperlink.

Keep in mind. You do have to eventually remove the old GAC material, trash it, and put in new carbon. This is due to the fact that the contanimants are absorbed into the carbon. If you keep the carbon in the water too long, then the carbon will eventually decompose causing the absorbed compounds to be released back into the water. I have no idea how often the carbon needs to be changed out, but I know eventually it will have to be removed and replaced with fresh material.

I have only dabbled with GAC materials. Some can get real expensive and some is quite cheap. Some absorb "X" better whiel others absorb "Y" better. So, you might want to start out with the cheap regular koi freshwater pond grade stuff while you do more research.

Reef hobby, is all GAC created eqally?, is the one arena that use all sorts of different GAC formulations, but their context is on a very small scale and might be too specialized for simply absorbing tannins and likely might be too expensive when applied in a larger scale.


Again, I have only dabbled with GAC materials since I never had a real need to use them...

But... I do know that GAC materials absorb tannin issues quite well, but properly implemented water changes might be the cheaper route.

 

[haver79]

I also have light to med tea colored water. I'm sure its from decaying leaves. Its been a constant battle this spring. Can someone recommend how much charcoal I should use for my pond? Its about 3000 gal. Will put it in my skippy. Hope to have it hooked up tomorrow.
Will have to order the charcoal. Any particular type of charcoal???

 

[haver79]

Will Zeolite (I think that's what its called) also work for absorbing tannins?

 

[sissy]

I think zeolite is just for ammonia .I keep it in my pond filters all the time .Activated charcoal and quilt batting will help .What is causing the tannins would have to resolved some how.I wonder if a tree expert could give you an idea of what to do .I know my dad wrapped his in a burlap surround .Sorry but can't really remember if it helped or not .it had something to do with the natural spring we had as we used it to water some of the gardens and I think when it rained the stream from the spring would turn sorta brown and it would kill some of the plants in the veggie gardens

 

[morewater]

Activated charcoal......