hi, my larger pond has been up and running for approximately 2 weeks. the water has not looked clear from day one. it looks like tea. there no leaves of any kind in it. most of the water is new as i was not able to save but 300 gallons from the old pond. it is around 9k gallons(i think more like 7k) its an odd shape so its tough to be sure. ,i have an aquascapes biofall, 25 watt aqua uv and aquascapes skimmer. 5k pump.7 koi, 2 goldfish, 2 tadpoles, 10 snails, and one comet i was hoping for water like sissy's pond. do i need an additional filter? or am i being impatient. ph is perfect 7.5, ammonia is nil. thanks
water quality
- Thread starter onemean
- Start date
Everyone wants water like that, but getting there in 2 weeks is not realistic. Your filter hasnt cycled yet, your microbiological environment is still immature.
Tea color usually comes from leaves, twigs, and pollen. If that is the case, I read that adding hydrogen peroxide is a quick (and temporary) fix for this (1qt per 1000 gallon), but Im not a fan of adding chemicals. Activated carbon could be quite effective to, and is definitely safe. Just put a bag in your filter or waterfall.
That said, your pump, filter and UV seem on the small side for your size of pond.
Tea color usually comes from leaves, twigs, and pollen. If that is the case, I read that adding hydrogen peroxide is a quick (and temporary) fix for this (1qt per 1000 gallon), but Im not a fan of adding chemicals. Activated carbon could be quite effective to, and is definitely safe. Just put a bag in your filter or waterfall.
That said, your pump, filter and UV seem on the small side for your size of pond.
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
I've never heard of peroxide for tannins..i know it kills algea...but activated carbon definately will help remove most water discolorations. if youve got no leaves or other debris in the pond...did you just remove them? or were their never any to begin with?
Here are a few guys claiming it works to clear up tea water:
http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?94730-How-to-treat-tea-colored-water
Cant vouch for it, just reporting what I read :fish:
http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?94730-How-to-treat-tea-colored-water
Cant vouch for it, just reporting what I read :fish:
there were no leaves or twigs. the water never seemed to be clear, even the day i filled it.the pollen count is very high this season. i feared what veritigo is thinking. my equipment is too small for the pond. i added the charcoal on sunday. no improvement.
A biological filters purpose is to convert ammonia and nitrite in to nitrates, Apparently you have that covered, bigger pump or bio filter will do little to help. .UV only tackles floating algae (and parasites), but algae would usually be green afaik, not tea colored, so a bigger UV may not help either.
Judging by what you say, what you are seeing is probably organic material or tannin, or small solids. HAve you put plants in earth baskets by chance? Take a large glass of pond water, put it inside and let it stand for a few days. If it clears out, with muck falling to the bottom, you will need more mechanical filtration. A settling chamber, vortex or sieve as prefilter. If it remains tea colored, Id say you need more plants, more activated carbon (how much did you put in?), more water changes or possible a protein skimmer (not cheap and/or easy to build).
All that said, your pond is still brand new, so I wouldnt panick yet, and give it some time before doing big changes and expenses.
Judging by what you say, what you are seeing is probably organic material or tannin, or small solids. HAve you put plants in earth baskets by chance? Take a large glass of pond water, put it inside and let it stand for a few days. If it clears out, with muck falling to the bottom, you will need more mechanical filtration. A settling chamber, vortex or sieve as prefilter. If it remains tea colored, Id say you need more plants, more activated carbon (how much did you put in?), more water changes or possible a protein skimmer (not cheap and/or easy to build).
All that said, your pond is still brand new, so I wouldnt panick yet, and give it some time before doing big changes and expenses.
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2010
- Messages
- 45,141
- Reaction score
- 30,224
- Location
- Frederick, Maryland
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Hardiness Zone
- 6b
- Country
Interesting, never knew peroxide would clear water of tannins.
In that thread they mention
"Sodium Percarbonate 1 table spoon per 1000 gals works for me.
the chemistry store .com "
which is powdered peroxide.
In that thread they mention
"Sodium Percarbonate 1 table spoon per 1000 gals works for me.
the chemistry store .com "
which is powdered peroxide.
hey, i added barley extract and now my water is brown, looks even @#$%%^&* than before. i used one full bottle of charcoal . cleaned all my filters and they were nasty. lots of bubbles in the pond now. my scary floating gator is now loaded with some type of brown scum.
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
onemean said:
Ahhh it's working, that is the barley extract killing and breaking down the algae cells, Not uncommon to see it start surfacing and foam to start being produced during this breakdown period, Filtering the water through a batting material will help remove this as it is being broken down. the more you can get out of the system the better, You should start seeing improvement in water clarity once these algae are being removed from your system.
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
onemean said:
Instead of a major water change I would do smaller water changes and more often, The breakdown is going to take some time, maybe even a few weeks, If you'll do several smaller water changes you should stay ahead of the breaking down of the algae, if you do a large one you'll do a lot of good but it will still be breaking down. In this case several smaller changes I think will do far more good than one large one.
sissy
sissy
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2011
- Messages
- 33,151
- Reaction score
- 15,769
- Location
- Axton virginia
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Hardiness Zone
- 7A
- Country
Yes you just need to be patient now and it will clear I use activated carbon all the time at least a small bag in each filter and I use liquid barley and the dreaded lava rock in my filters .I have 2 filters and they work fine for my pond and extra oxygen helps also .Take your poor gator out and clean him good to get the gunk off .And oh yes my quilt batting to pick up the fine stuff .I just fold it nice and neat and keep hosing it off and putting it back .You do a big water change you will just be starting the whole cycle over again and you will end up in the same place .You will get there be patient like they say it wins the race slow and easy .I have had my fair share of problems in the last week Aggie killed 15 frogs in the pond it looked like a frog cemetary and having to fish them out well yucky .Two days ago it was 6 frogs and and a couple of days before that it was 8 of them makes one heck of a mess .Every morning I'm out there with my net fishing them out .
Oneman, the component your pond is lacking most, is one that is pretty cheap: patience. A well working, crystal clear pond just isnt going to happen in 2 or 3 weeks. Not saying you shouldnt invest in an UV, but dont expect it to cure everything. It will kill floating algae, but most likely result in brown foamy water and/or string algae until your pond, the filter and your plants mature.