Weird problem in my pond! Need advice asap! PLEASE!

Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
3
Location
Butte-iful Butte, Montana
Hardiness Zone
3b-4
Country
United States
I have a concrete pond, never have had a problem with murky water. Decided to completely drain it because the ph was super high. WE use well water which tests perfect. This year we cleaned it before we put the fish in like usual. Added plants as usual and fish ..blah blah.. Got really brown/green murky and cloudy super fast ...the only new thing is that we bought a few new chimney flue liners that we use for tunnels for fish . Is there something that maybe leached out of them that would cause this ..as soon as it drained it left this yellow residue on edges. Not like normal algae.
I also added some of the pond clear (green clean) granules, but that didn't help either...so its drained, fish are back in their winter condo and we are power washing the whole thing...any ideas>>
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1545.JPG
    IMG_1545.JPG
    246.2 KB · Views: 252
  • IMG_1546.JPG
    IMG_1546.JPG
    296.8 KB · Views: 274

DeepWater

The Great Abyss
Joined
Sep 14, 2016
Messages
134
Reaction score
208
Location
Madison, WI
Hardiness Zone
5a
Country
United States
If the flue liners are the only thing different, you could try taking them back out and start over with the water. Add them in later if the water is good after a month or 2.

But then again, if you completely drained and cleaned, your bio-balance is starting over and this could be the normal pond cycling as all the goodies get growing on the surfaces again.

Not sure what filtration system you have, but you say you've never had this problem before so I'm going to assume it's sufficient for the pond size and fish/plant "usual" load.
 

DutchMuch

Lord Of The Aquascapes!
Joined
May 18, 2017
Messages
1,082
Reaction score
580
Location
Arkansas
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7
Country
United States
WE use well water which tests perfect.
What were the test results?
ammonia?
nitrite?
nitrate?
phosphates?
Also did you take ALL the water out of your pond could you give a descriptive Description of the process you use to "clean" your pond?
pond clear (green clean) granules
These are pointless (imo), chemicals should be rarely added to an aquatic habitat (weather wild or man made) unless it is a last resort.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
3
Location
Butte-iful Butte, Montana
Hardiness Zone
3b-4
Country
United States
If the flue liners are the only thing different, you could try taking them back out and start over with the water. Add them in later if the water is good after a month or 2.

But then again, if you completely drained and cleaned, your bio-balance is starting over and this could be the normal pond cycling as all the goodies get growing on the surfaces again.

Not sure what filtration system you have, but you say you've never had this problem before so I'm going to assume it's sufficient for the pond size and fish/plant "usual" load.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
3
Location
Butte-iful Butte, Montana
Hardiness Zone
3b-4
Country
United States
Ive got em all out now ...i have had them in before (flues) , but they were old ones that were sitting out for years ...so I'm thinking its not them ...its an oven baked clay so it can't be whats causing it ...I have a Hayward (300#)sand pool filter, a Shinmaywa(sp) 1/2 hp pump , just changed the sand as well in filter ..we.do it every year. Power washing as we speak and fish are in the 320 gal stock tank. will leave the flues out for a bit and see what develops ...Ive had string algae before when it gets hot out ..but never murky water....and not this slippery stuff with a yellow residue as soon as air hits it....
confused @ wonder, is there a way to kill all of the spores before i refill ....??
 

Attachments

  • image1.JPG
    image1.JPG
    266.7 KB · Views: 256
  • IMG_1547.JPG
    IMG_1547.JPG
    304.9 KB · Views: 231
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
3
Location
Butte-iful Butte, Montana
Hardiness Zone
3b-4
Country
United States
What were the test results?
ammonia?
nitrite?
nitrate?
phosphates?
Also did you take ALL the water out of your pond could you give a descriptive Description of the process you use to "clean" your pond?

These are pointless (imo), chemicals should be rarely added to an aquatic habitat (weather wild or man made) unless it is a last resort.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
3
Location
Butte-iful Butte, Montana
Hardiness Zone
3b-4
Country
United States
I used test strips ...the pond water was high in alkalinity ..but in the well water , all results were in normal range like usual...we take the fish out every october and stick them in our garage in a stock tank with filters and everything. We keep it at about 45-50 degrees in there even in 30 degree below weather ( Montana)...so they pretty much go dormant. We leave about 3/4 of pond water in the pond during winter as to not have it crack ...then in spring we do the same thing every year...drain it , pressure wash it, reseal if needed, change filter sand, and add the new water and leave for a week or so. We add fish after a week of it running it with pumps filters etc...we backwash the thing at least 3 or 4 times per week when its hot to keep flow up ...realized it was the pump last year restricting flow a bit ...so we purchased a big one...its awesome! and we used it all summer too last year....so i have no clue what the deal is ?? This is weird slimy thin stuff ...
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
3
Location
Butte-iful Butte, Montana
Hardiness Zone
3b-4
Country
United States
And I only have 3 med koi (10") and 1 12" and one big girl (14") and the others are just goldfish that we put in 5 years ago to see if the water was safe.....as far as plants, just usual king tut palm thing, and some creeping jenny and verbenas ..nothing different ..and they are in pea gravel..hardly any soil
 

Meyer Jordan

Tadpole
Joined
Oct 10, 2014
Messages
7,177
Reaction score
5,674
Location
Pensacola, Florida
Hardiness Zone
9a
Country
United States
SO...

was just informed by hubby ....the main part of pond has NOT been resealed, just the streams and upper portions.
I would follow this course of action.
-Thoroughly clean and prep the concrete Allow to completely dry. Reseal with a quality marine coating.
-Discontinue any future scrubbing and/or pressure washing of the main pond basin. Any growth on the submerged surfaces is beneficial and aids in maintaining a biochemical balance in the pond.

I have seen this yellow stain before on concreete ponds that the seal has disintegrated.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Messages
37
Reaction score
3
Location
Butte-iful Butte, Montana
Hardiness Zone
3b-4
Country
United States
Thanks Meyer ,,
Thats exactly what we are doing ...wasn't going to use "marine" sealer ...just the normal concrete sealer that I had used before, but maybe i will look at a different type for this.
 

DrCase

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
4,400
Reaction score
788
Location
Arkansas
Hardiness Zone
7a
Have you ever tried adding baking soda to hold your PH at 8.2 ?
You would benefit by Using a KH test kit .
Add 1 lb per 1000 gal once a day until you get your KH up too around 12 drops
 

sissy

sissy
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
33,086
Reaction score
15,702
Location
Axton virginia
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7A
Country
United States
You said flues and they were sitting out unused and could they have soaked up things like chemicals you use on your lawn or weed killers to keep weeds down .Cleaning a pond of all the good muck is not good and what was high ph .Crushed oyster shells at a farm store well hold ph stable
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,782
Messages
508,591
Members
13,043
Latest member
cisifom

Latest Threads

Top