water quality

[bluzervic]

Just a quick question for you all, I am pretty familiar with what to expect, however it has been a few years since my last pond.

My 3 week old pond is 4x5x4 with shelves, creek and 3 waterfalls. I have thriving plants, goldfish and mosquitofish.
I can see algae growing on the rocks now.

The water is brown in color and visible down to about 1.5 feet. Not sure if I will get an algae bloom though.

What do you guys recommend to help speed up the clarity of the water or will this come naturally ?

BTW I already had my 1st Lilly bloom

 

[sissy]

liquid barley

 

[bluzervic]

liquid barley

I have this stuff called "real clear" Bio clarifier. It this the same stuff ?

Was told to do this weekly.

Your pond looks nice too

-Blu

 

[sissy]

real clear is a binder but liquid barley is a all natural product .You can use it and see what happens but pay close attention to the amount and how to add it

 

[Mmathis]

@bluzervic Hello and welcome!

How many gallons is your pond?

How many fish do you have, and how big are they?

How much and how often do you feed them?

Brown water is usually a sign of "tannins," which come from leaves, sticks, wood.... Is there anything like that that could be leaching into the pond? If it is from this, then charcoal is the only thing [other than massive water changes] that will remove the discoloration. And you have to remove the source, as well.

Are you testing your water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH? Your pond is new, so probably not cycled yet. I would recommend that you test.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

At three (3) weeks old, your pond is still going through maturation. Give Nature time to do its work. Do not add anything at this time.

 

[bluzervic]

I tend to think there is some tannin activity from the Oak tree leaves and acorns that occasionally fall into the pond.
Nothing that I do not think nature can deal with. However, I do clean them out and the fish are not dying.
Algae is beginning to grow everywhere but not excessively.

My last pond had a tree that constantly dropped leaves. It eventually had an algae bloom and cleared up after.

Pond Specs to follow...in the next post.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I tend to think there is some tannin activity from the Oak tree leaves and acorns that occasionally fall into the pond.
Nothing that I do not think nature can deal with. However, I do clean them out and the fish are not dying.
Algae is beginning to grow everywhere but not excessively.

My last pond had a tree that constantly dropped leaves. It eventually had an algae bloom and cleared up after.

Pond Specs to follow...in the next post.

The seasonal presence of tannins in waterways is a common occurrence and typically causes no real issues with water quality or fish health. If found to be aesthetically unpleasing, activated charcoal is the most benign method of removing them.

 

[bluzervic]

Some Pond Specs and info:

* Pond size = about 375 to 400 Gallons, Almost running 4 weeks
* Pump = Aquasurge pro pump 4000-8000 with 2 inch hose to bio filter
* Filter = Aquascape Signature Series BioFall Filter, Signature Series 1000 pond skimmer
* Last Water change = I have not changed any water out, however I have topped it off about 1 inch
* Fish = about 15 small goldfish about 1-2 inch long which eat algae, about 10 very small mosquito fish
* What kind of water additives or conditioners have you used? Started with Beneicial bacteria to establish bio filter, used Real Clear once a week last 2 weeks
* What do you feed your fish and how often? fish eat whats in the pond
* Any new fish added to the pond recently? no
* Any medications added to the pond? no
* List entire medication/treatment history for fish and pond = N/A
* Any unusual findings on the fish? no
* Any unusual behaviour like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? no

No water testing done at this point. Fish seem healthy, actively feeding on Algae on the rocks
An occasional gold fish gets sucked into the skimmer

 

[Mmathis]

The seasonal presence of tannins in waterways is a common occurrence and typically causes no real issues with water quality or fish health. If found to be aesthetically unpleasing, activated charcoal is the most benign method of removing them.

When my pond was new, I had a bad problem with this. It was bad! Of course, everywhere I looked and asked, was told it was highly toxic and would immediately kill my fish. But, then I looked at nature....duh! Finally read more scientific info and less "gossip" info and felt better. Activated charcoal did the trick, but then I had to remove the source.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Pump = Aquasurge pro pump 4000-8000 with 2 inch hose to bio filter

Seems a bit excessive flow rate for a 600 gallon pond. Do you have a valve plumbed in-line to throttle this flow down? I can see why fish would be sucked into the skimmer.
Ideal turnover rate is 1.5 to 2 times per hour. At this pumps lowest setting your turnover rate is 6+ times per hour. More than 3 times the recommended rate.

 

[Mmathis]

Seems a bit excessive flow rate for a 600 gallon pond. Do you have a valve plumbed in-line to throttle this flow down? I can see why fish would be sucked into the skimmer.
Ideal turnover rate is 1.5 to 2 times per hour. At this pumps lowest setting your turnover rate is 6+ times per hour. More than 3 times the recommended rate.

Was thinking same thing.

 

[bluzervic]

I keep it on the lowest setting. The 2 inch hose feeds to the top waterfall 15 to 20 feet away. The creak is about 1 to 2 feet wide with 3 waterfalls. It would be pretty easy to swap out to a smaller pump the way the skimmer is set up.
Might take a bit more work to throw in a flow valve.

 

[sissy]

not that much when you consider the long stream that is up a few feet .Good aeration .Air fixes a lot .When I got my aerator and added even more air with the changes to my filters it really helped the water

 

[bluzervic]

Water is looking much clearer. Also, a second lilly has bloomed 4 days and running with 3 bulbs below the surface.
Finally I saw a frog as well. Mother nature is taking a foothold.