murky pond help

[tdemarest]

I have not been able to get the water clear in my 3000 gallon pond for about 2 months now. I have several ideas why the water may be murky, but no solutions. Over the last two months I have treated the water with an algicide, bacterial sludge remover (aqua-zyme), barley straw, and water clarifier. I have also recently added a hardy lilly, dwarf papyrus, and cattails. The murkiness appears to be suspended material, which may come from runoff (due to the large amount of rain New Jersey has experienced since April), dead algae, from the lilly pot soil (into which the koi keep digging). The barley straw also may not be helping; it smells funny and releases suspended materials when moved. Please help me identify the problem and how to fix it. Thank you very much,

John

 

[Dangerdoll]

IMO, the only thing to clear up a tank or pond isto water change. Adding chemicals such as the clarifyer and all that would be of no benefit and may even exacerbate things.

 

[Koilady]

Hi John. Making a one third water change from the bottom of the pond once a month will help a little with the murkiness of your water but it could be that you have too much dirt in your pond with your plants. Bog plants don't have to be potted in dirt. Many people use gravel but I do it a much easier way. I hose the dirt off of the roots of the bog plants and place them into a container that has holes in it. I place a rock on top of the roots which will not only hold the plant in place but keeps the container steady. This way, the roots of the plant will fill the inside of the container and the roots will also find their way out to the pond to retrieve nutrients from the water that causes suspended and hair/blanket algae. Also, if you have rocks at the bottom of your pond, and they've been there for a number of years, there could be sludge between the crevices keeping your water dirty. Bare bottom ponds are the best. Also, the filters that many companies make are never large enough for the size of their ponds, especially if they have lots of fish in them. You can make another biological filter to work in conjunction with the one you already have and you can find a copy of the diagram we use at our clubs website at: www.geocities.com/ont_pondkeper
This filter is easily made and maintained. Also, the pump should be at the bottom of the pond opposite from the waterfall to make sure that the current shoots debris to the pump which then takes this debris to the mechanical part of the filter for easy removal.

Yours Koily, Lorraine