Water turning green

[cinder]

Hi everyone I have a question about the water in the pond. It's not as clear as it has been, and it's getting a little greener by the day. The only thing when I tested the water was the ph was a little higher then usually it' so higher then 8 but not much. It's not as high as 9. Any suggestions as to what I need to do to clear the water again? I added microblift on Saturday and I also add pond force bacteria with barley for sludge. The weather has been really warm 90's for the last week or so, except for a day here and there where it's in the 70's or low 80's. I have a 1000 gallon pond and right now I have 2 shubunkins that are about 6" and 4 that are 1 to 2 inches and 2 Moe's in between. So a total of 8. I would appreciate any information . Thanks

 

[Mmathis]

Hi everyone I have a question about the water in the pond. It's not as clear as it has been, and it's getting a little greener by the day. The only thing when I tested the water was the ph was a little higher then usually it' so higher then 8 but not much. It's not as high as 9. Any suggestions as to what I need to do to clear the water again? I added microblift on Saturday and I also add pond force bacteria with barley for sludge. The weather has been really warm 90's for the last week or so, except for a day here and there where it's in the 70's or low 80's. I have a 1000 gallon pond and right now I have 2 shubunkins that are about 6" and 4 that are 1 to 2 inches and 2 Moe's in between. So a total of 8. I would appreciate any information . Thanks

How long has your pond been up & running? How often are you feeding? Remind us again about your filtration system, please. And when you checked your pH, what were the results of your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? Do you have any plants? How much sun does it get?

 

[cinder]

Sorry really busy but here are a few pictures of my pond and I have a Laguna pressure flo filter 700 gallon. And also a urn pond filter running. The numbers are nitrate 0 ph 8 kh carbonate hardness 80 and gh 120. That's with the test straps. I did the other test on Sunday and they were about the same as the straps. My pond is about 1000 gal. I have a few plants but they aren't growing as well as the previous years. I also did a partial water change on Sunday about 25% . The fish weren't very active and after the 4th of July i.wanted to make sure there wasn't any problems with the water. The village I live in spayed for mosquitoes. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[cinder]

I haven't added pictures before so sorry if there not great.

 

[Mmathis]

It's really hard to see a water problem from your pics -- water appears clear to me. How long have you had your pond (since you mentioned "previous years")? What are your ammonia and nitrite levels? How often do you feed?

Green water is mostly caused by excess nutrients in the water. Having lots of plants and limiting the amt. of direct sunlight can help. I wouldn't add anything else to the wafer -- give things a chance to settle down on its own -- and continue to keep an eye on the fish. From what I've read, the thought is that the general broadcast of mosquito spray in a neighborhood isn't going to be enough to cause a problem for a pond.

I like your pond, BTW, and the only problem with your pics is that you duplicated the same one -- really, not bad -- it was forever before I figured out the whole image-posting thing.

And what's a "Moe's"?

 

[cinder]

Well I had a preformed pond and then we flooded about 3 years ago and had this one installed. With the preformed pond I had it about 6 years and I just had figured out what to do to keep the water clear now I feel like I don't know what I'm doing again. I feed them usually a little in the morning and then when I get home from work I feed them again. My ammonia and nitrate levels are 0.

I do have 1 fish that is really fat and sometimes when it swims it's sideways? Is that fish sick? I know it keeps up with the others and always comes to eat when I feed them.
Thanks and MOE'S SHOULD HAVE been more! LOL how funny I didn't see the typo. thanks for your help

 

[Mmathis]

Thanks and MOE'S SHOULD HAVE been more! LOL how funny I didn't see the typo. thanks for your help

. Hey, that's OK. I just realized I typed "wafer" instead of "water!"

 

[Usman]

I wish i have green pond , it increases growth rate , from what i see ur walls stones are green and i can see fish clearly feet deep? u can do few things
one u can decrease feeding ithink with 8 small fishes in 1000 galons they dont need food atall , let them eat algae , feed very little or after day or 2
Increase circulation and aeration , let the water fall smwhere to keep aeration nd current
if u want imediate control remove 50 % water untill u see walls stones dry out then fill again , it will balance things
If ur femilier with potatium permagnet , its a pink salt it controls greenery like magic ithink quarter teaspoon will b enuf , will stabelize and balance ur pond , dont use filter at tht time.

 

[CometKeith]

I don't recommend any chemicals. Actually green water or algae does not hurt your fish in the least and I wouldn't make any big changes like wholesale water changes or chemical treatments. I don't see a lot of plants in your pond. They help filter the the water and will use up the nitrates. Also you can add a uv filter to kill single cell algae. Also I agree with mmathis about sunlight and nutrients. I think our pond sizes may be similar. Here is a picture of my pond from a few weeks ago so you can see how many plants I have. Also I have a large clump of sedges and irises that you cant see and I think they help a lot too.

 

[Usman]

I don't recommend any chemicals. Actually green water or algae does not hurt your fish in the least and I wouldn't make any big changes like wholesale water changes or chemical treatments. I don't see a lot of plants in your pond. They help filter the the water and will use up the nitrates. Also you can add a uv filter to kill single cell algae. Also I agree with mmathis about sunlight and nutrients. I think our pond sizes may be similar. Here is a picture of my pond from a few weeks ago so you can see how many plants I have. Also I have a large clump of sedges and irises that you cant see and I think they help a lot too.View attachment 92892

Very nice fishes , which plant is this on left

 

[cinder]

My plants aren't growing that well last year at this time I was weeding out the water lettuce and hyacinth 's. You sure have a lot of fish. It looks really pretty. Do you plant ones in the water other than the water lilies? And where do you purchase them? In my area there aren't to many places that sell the water plants. I've seen some online but wonder how health they would be if they were shipped.

 

[Lisak1]

@cinder - you don't live that far from me. We have seen very slow growth of all of our plants this year, both in and out of the pond. Normally by this time our water lilies would have been blooming for weeks - we are finally seeing regular blossoming. Our butterfly bushes should be fully bloomed - not a flower on them. The weather is having an impact on all growing things. The cool nights are the biggest factor. So be patient - things will start growing.

As for where to buy pond plants - any good garden center should offer plants that will grow in your pond. If they don't, start asking! You'd be surprised how responsive they will be to customer requests. One of our favorite places for pond plants - and plants in general -is Lurvey's in Des Plaines. A bit of a drive for you, but worth it if you enjoy gardening and need pond plants. They have some water features on display that are fun to see as well. We also love taking a trip to Wasco Nursery - probably about an hour drive for you, but worth it.

 

[cinder]

Thanks for the info I'll check those places out. There really not that far from me. And the garden shops I go to I haven't seen any but I'll start to ask them . Thanks for the suggestions

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks Usman. It's an obedience plant. It grows like crazy and has pretty purple little flowers. Cinder there are some wonderful people on the forum that have way more plants than they need. If you hint a little that you need some typically they will ship you a box of plants and you just have to pay for postage. Think who has one of the nicest ponds on the forum and start from there... I agree with Lisak. Lurveys is good but not really cheap. I think they are in the western suburbs too. I buy one water lettuce and one water hyacinth from them every year and now I am taking them out by the bushel! The other plants I have are different sedges and irises. Also I have anacharis and hornwort. I have had penny wort in the past and a few others. The plant that looks like a tree is a hat palm. It's a tropical but somehow I have been able to keep it alive since I started my pond. I have had a lot of other plants too. You can even plant things like mint in the pond and it gives a nice smell. My wife nixed me making the pond any bigger a few years back and I have been working on my plants ever since then because I didn't know how else to improve it. Good luck!

 

[cinder]

One other question for you, I've never really had to many plants for 1 because I couldn't find them and 2 how do you know how to.plant them. Do you need shelves in the pond to put on them on? I have all these questions and I like the pond but never realized all the work that goes into them. I always admired others work. Yours really looks great. And do your plants survive from year to year or you purchase new every year.