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HOPE YOU CAN
HELP !
This year we
put in a new pond, I can't get rid of the green water, it
measures about 15 x15 and steps down 2 steps, the center is
30 inches deep. I believe it is around 1,500 gal. it has a
5 foot waterfall, a 4,000 gph pump in the skimmer and 3 -
2 inch 24 x 24 inch filters and a sack of bioballs on the
top.
It is in full
sun around 9 hours a day and has 7 water lilies 12 oxygenators
and 4 other plants. When we first put the pond in it had 7
koi fish and the water was clear with green rocks on the bottom
looked great, then we got 20 more koi 3 days later the water
started turning green now we can only see down 3 " MAYBE.
The sides and bottom of the pond are covered with pea gravel
and a few other larger rocks.
From the start
I added microbe lift pl and barley liquid that I made at home
'I put the barley in a 5 LB bucket with water , set it in
the sun and I add about 1/2 gal 2 x a week.. I have been told
I have to many fish, there is not enough filters ' need 6
more filters' , Take my plants out of the pots, ' There planted
in pots with clay and pea gravel on the top. The largest koi
is 10 inches long 8 others are 7 inches and the rest are around
6'' long. The last 2 weeks I have done 2 partial 30 % water
changes each week, does help a little I hate to do that all
the time, my water bill will get to looking ugly. I feed the
fish 2 x a day a total of about 1/2 cup of food each x .
Please help I
cant sleep at night trying to figure this one out.
Thanks marty
Well, Marty,
for starters, you should have stayed
with the 7 fish. You are now severely overstocked in an
immature pond with a biofilter array that has not fully
matured, but is still generating plenty of nitrates and
fish that are generating more ammonia than your filters
can handle.
Barley straw extract will not help you,
since the inhibitory capacity of barley straw works on hair
algae only, and is a result of a synergy of pond chemistry
and a strain of bacteria found on the straw. Unfortunately,
it leaves a root-beer colored stain in the water.
Your problem centers around ammonia,
phosphates and sunlight. Microscopic floating algae love
these, and will explode in a pond with high levels of all
three.
Please resist the temptation to go out
and buy chemical algaecides. Not only do they not work,
but they end up killing all your other plants and leave
a huge organic load in the pond. This will leave sludge
in your rocks (which I personally dislike intensely) and
foster the growth of fish-killing parasites.
I would suggest:
1) Get rid of two-thirds of your fish.
1500 gallons with that filter array will not support 27
koi.
2) Leave your plants alone. They are
neither the problem nor (at this time) the solution.
3) If anyone tries to sell you a chemical
algae treatment, punch them in the mouth.
4) Install a good quality, high-flow,
high-intensity Ultraviolet unit into your system *after*
the last filter. Make sure it is constructed of materials
that do not deteriorate with UV exposure. It should also
have inlet and outlet ports the same size as your pipe runs.
The UV will sterilize the algae that flows through it, and
your water will gradually clear as you run the system and
do small water changes.
Bob Passovoy
President
MPKS
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