Why, why, why

Joined
Apr 4, 2021
Messages
4
Reaction score
4
Country
United States
Our pond has been up and running roughly two months... We've been having a non stop battle with cloudiness, first brown then green, we had it clear, and for the last three days, we've had hot sun for three hours a day, and here we go again, green and cloudy....
We know and have been told about new pond syndrome, but we're loosing patience...the fish are happy, healthy and growing, so it appears to be cosmetic, and nothing else...
The pond is roughly 2200-2500 gallons, and for filtration we have the aquascape 2000-4000 biofalls, and skimmer w/2000-4000 pump...
There's a total of 9 small fish, 5 gf, 4 koi...had 11, but somehow Houdini made them vanish, (we have trail cams set, so no fowl play is suspected)

We have water lettuce, hyacinths, creeping Jenny, and several other plants, and are slowly adding more..the plants are either free floating (lettuce) or planted in rock (biofalls plants included)
We can handle the hue from the tannins, as we can see the bottom and fish happily swimming, but now we can't see the bottom and can only see the fish when they are on or near the surface....
We also have activated carbon and the fine filters installed, but they're not working......I read about uv light, but do not want to do anymore digging to install, unless we have a misconception of how they're used.
View attachment 139865View attachment 139866

IMG_20210605_112818250.jpg
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,340
Reaction score
29,091
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
Welcome!

Very pretty pond!

The nice hot sun probably got some free floating algae growing. Feed the fish lightly. Get more plants.
I filter with only a bog, pea gravel and plants. The algae can't survive, the plants suck out most of the nutrients.
 
Joined
Oct 28, 2013
Messages
13,070
Reaction score
13,394
Location
Northern IL
Showcase(s):
1
Welcome! What a pretty pond!

Here's the thing about patience - lose it all you want, but things will happen when they happen. Your pond is working to find it's balance and once it does, you'll forget these days even happened.

Yes you have plants and that's great, but look how tiny they are. They're just getting started. And they won't really get going until year two or even three. They're waiting for the proper amount of nutrients in the pond to develop from the fish doing their thing. Same with your filtration - it's doing it's thing, but nature takes time to establish the bacteria that is the foundation of good filtration. And eventually you'll have algae covering all those rocks which will do IT'S part to add to the biological filtration in your pond. We had a wise old pond guy tell us that it takes a full three years for your pond water to mature, but once it does, it's like gold.

And I'm with you on the UV filter - not worth adding to solve a problem that will take care of itself. Plus it adds extra maintenance and expense, neither of which will add to your enjoyment of your pond!

It's all good... just let it happen! Oh and as for fish - no more koi. At five, you're already at your limit. More goldfish will appear on their own, but hopefully you won't deal with an overabundance of the big guys!
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
13,384
Reaction score
10,486
Location
Ct
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
@LEath to be honest with you you maybe expecting more then what a pond is. It's doubtfully you'll get turquoise waters and the color of your pond now from the pick anyways is not doing to bad at all. I can see the bottom and the fish so it's coming along. You need to be patient.these ponds aren't a pool where you dump shock into the water to clear them up . It's plants plants and more plants help tremendously. But it may be a year or more before your pond stabilizes.
 
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
Messages
2,517
Reaction score
2,999
Hardiness Zone
7b
For a two month old pond, it looks GREAT to me! Really! As others have said, your plants need to mature before they will start helping with the water clarity. That is going to take a while. I am so impressed you can see down to the bottom at this stage. It is going to take some time to get a natural balance going. I think you should congratulate yourself on a job well-done!
 
Joined
Sep 18, 2020
Messages
2,956
Reaction score
3,095
Location
Pacific NW
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
Looks pretty good for 2 months old. Kind of like having a baby, I think. You can get impatient and try all sorts of things. Still gonna take 9 months. :)
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
3,990
Reaction score
2,682
Location
Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
Hardiness Zone
6a
Beautiful pond!

Agree with everything said.

As a newbie you might not realize what needs to take place concerning the nitrogen cycle.

Your filter doesn't just filter out solids, it's a home for beneficial bacteria that converts all the bad waste that your fish produce.
It takes a while for that good bacteria to colonize and do its job. It could be a few months or more, depending on your fish load.

You introduced a lot of fish in the beginning which didn't give your filter a chance to fully establish and catch up with that amount of fish waste.

You want to be careful when cleaning out your filter. Don't use chlorinated water. It will kill off that good bacteria and it will have to start all over. Don't go crazy cleaning the filter parts. Just rinse the heavy stuff off in a bucket of pond water. Save as much as that beneficial bacteria as you can. If there are bio balls or other bio media in your filter, leave that alone, don't clean it unless it's really clogged up. It's usually at the bottom stage of your filter and should be left alone.

As stated, you need more plants and give them time to mature.

Patience is the big thing with these ponds. Nothing happens overnight. There is no instant gratification here. Two months is not a long time. Your pond is extremely young.

Please don't add any chemicals to fight the algae. Too many horror stories of fish dying due to "fish safe" algaecides.
Keep it natural.

We're all here to help each other, so ask any questions you have. There's a lot of knowledgeable friendly members here and you can learn from our experiences.
 
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
4,684
Reaction score
3,759
Hardiness Zone
5b
Country
United States
put in a LOT of floaters; water hyacinth, water lettuce, that will really help while your other plants get established. Ideal is 60% coverage, so you're far from that.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
3,990
Reaction score
2,682
Location
Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
Hardiness Zone
6a
put in a LOT of floaters; water hyacinth, water lettuce, that will really help while your other plants get established. Ideal is 60% coverage, so you're far from that.
Yep, and the floaters not only suck up the excess nutrients, but also provide shade which deters the algae growth. A two part function.

I love all the floaters. You eventually might have to thin them out though. Every year by mid to late summer, my pond can be completely covered by them.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
30,782
Messages
508,590
Members
13,043
Latest member
cisifom

Latest Threads

Top