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Merdav Offline OP
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Just found this forum last nite I never knew it exsisted. I read through alot of post and I'm happy I found you guys.
I have a small pond about 65X150ft ranging from 2ft to 8 ft so I figure 1/3 acre 3-400,000 gallons?
We have some carp, bullfrogs(although the bullfrong number seems to have dwindled down this year) and turtles(which have just had hatchlings recently) in it, I have only owed it about 2 years, but I understand it's over 100 years old.
Since we have been here I have been using the biosperes for 1/2 acre ponds and some other stuff made by them to break up the debris on the bottom, I think I'm just spending money that isnt helping.
The clarity has never been more than a few inches or in early spring maybe 8-12 for only a week or so. From what I have been reading here I should expect alot more. I just took a sample of water in a jar which seems to be very greenish. I was going to try the gypsum as I have read about here but I was hoping for some opinions first.
Also I have been told it is fed from a underground stream but I cannot see any water movement other than my little water falls which is for esetics only.
Any advice would be appriecited.-MICHAEL from Long Island NY

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Hi Merdav welcome to Pond Boss.

Hang on and I'm sure that you will get some information related to the clairity of your water.

What are your goals for the pond?

What kind of fish do you want in the pond?

What is the basic shape of your pond?

Stay tuned and an expert will chime in with suggestions.

We're glad you found us and thank you for posting.


JHAP
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Merdav Offline OP
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Is there a way to post picture here?, a picture is worth a 1000 words \:\)

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You bet there is, here's a link to the archives.

From the archives, posting pictures

You will have to join a photo hosting site but many are free.

I use photobucket, easy to use and free, free, free.

And we really, really like photos.


JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
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I will get back to the photos another time, still hoping for some advice, the jar with the water is now sitting a few hours and still just greenish water.

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Merdav, welcome to the forum! The best solution for breaking down the "muck" is a bottom diffused aerator, BUT, this is not the time of year to start one in a pond of your age, UNLESS you WANT to kill a bunch of carp and bullheads, and are prepared to restart with new fish.

The green sounds very good to me, brown would most likely be sediment suspension. If your goals and desires are to have the carp and turtles, it sounds perfect for that. If your desires are for bass CC and BG, some changes are probably in store for the pond.

The experts will want to know the pond size, all fish species (include length and body condition), depth, watershed size and if a stream feeds it. Pictures of the green would be a huge plus.

There is tons of info here to read with lots of pictures and ideas so welcome to the forum and soak up the knowledge and humor!



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OK I got the photobucket account, here are some photos from today, you will see some of the local inhabitants. I'm aleady aware of the algae bloom on the far side. The picture of the water in the jar isnt clear but the water is very green and pond like. I dont intend on changing any of the fish and to my knowledege there are only carp, I have see babies and ones as large as 12-14 inchs with whiskers. I also dont know what a bullnose is, but we do have bullfrogs but not nearly as many as last year.

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03016.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03022.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03023.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03024.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03025.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03026.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03027.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03028.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03029.jpg

http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l357/Merdav/DSC03030.jpg

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Great, now that you have photobucket, you can add the photos to your post so that they show up like this:






















JHAP
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Thank you, I was wondering how to do that.

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No problemo (that, mas tequila por favor, and donde esta el banyo are the only spanish phrases that I know and that you'll probably ever need).

Oh and as an also and besides, is that a fly tying device in the last photo behind the energy saving light bulb?


JHAP
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"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
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Soldering iron holder....

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Carp will dig at the bottom while eating and keep sediments suspended, but I think that water looks darn good. Maybe too fertile, and a few cloudy days could give some oxygen concerns, but still looks good to me.


Pretty place!



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Very nice looking pond and surroundings. It appears that you have a heavy algae bloom. Probably from lawn fertilizer. Get a white coffee cup and see how far down you can see it. Sounds like time to drain it down if you can, then apply rotenone to kill the wild fish. Clean it up and be ready to stock Bluegill and fathead minnows this fall.


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Merdav,

Your water doesn't look a whole lot different than mine does through most of the summer -- right down to the green "dust" that floats on the pond each evening. Mine is a little muddy and quite high right now, as we got 5-inches of rain during two storms last week.

However, my fish seem to thrive. They are always hungry, they grow well, and I have little trouble getting enough for dinner whenever we try catching a few. Before last week's storms, I had about 10-12 inches of visibility in my pond. Tonight it was closer to 20 inches, and my water temp at 4-foot down was 75 degrees. By the weekend, I expect I'll be back to 12 inches of visibility, and water in the low 80s.

I've had one fish kill in the last four years. The water/weather was quite warm (water probably in the 80s), we had a major rain storm, and many of my really big catfish (30-40 inches) started to float up a few days later (no loss -- I was trying to get them out anyway).

Your pond and landscaping look beautiful. Like the others said, I don't think I change things unless your fish become lethargic and start sucking the top of the pond -- looking like they can't seem to get enough oxygen.

Keep us posted,
Ken G.

And, thank you Jeff, for re-posting the photos. (At a minimum, that post should qualify as #5!)


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I don't plan on changing any of the fish, I would hope one day to get the water clear enough that I could add some Koi as I had done in the past except the Heron had a party and wiped them out.
The real problem is when the kids do feed the fish the water is so greenish cloudy that all you can see is thier tails when they come to the surface, it would be nice to actually see some fish for a change.
The water had basically been the same the whole summer and I was hoping for some advice on how to get rid of the heavy green color, to me it looks closer to a swamp.
I checked the water sample in the jar this morning and it is the same thick green color is was from yesterday.
Thank you for all the compliments on the pond, and to my knowledge nothing has been fertilized in over a month now.
From what I am reading here it seems if the water was brown and muddy it could be cleaned but if it's green nothing can be done?

Last edited by Merdav; 07/29/08 05:37 AM.
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The easiest way for you to clear this size pond would be to use a 30-40 watt UV sterilizer. Most of your green looks to be free-floating algae. The Uv light would clear it in a big hurry with the proper water pump. I found a light that is cheaper to replace than to maintain. There are also many pond filters out there that will help to maintain water quality. Give me a PM if you would like more info on that.

The fertilizing looks to be from (rather heavy) overfeeding. Things can be done to clear the green, like aquashade reducing the feeding. That would destroy the base of the food chain in most ponds here, and why most people don't want it cleared. Since you feed, this is not a concern. It all comes down to your personal goals and how much time you are willing to spend on managing the pond.



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When I mentioned the kids "feeding" the fish that was an overstatement, what I meant was ever week or so they may throw a few pieces of bread in, we dont regularly feed.
I've been looking around and found this product: https://www.lakelawnandpond.com/captain.aspx?ItemGroupID=26
Which sounds interesting, also the barley I was thinking may help.
As far as a UV I beleive my pond is 300-400,000 gallon I dont know how realistic UV would be for my size.
Also if you look at my test water jar the green is throughout the water not just top floating.

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Hi Merdav,

Since the turbidity in your pond is caused by a heavy plankton bloom, I don't think barley or any chemicals will help clear the water. If you can prevent fertilizer and organic material (leaves, lawn clippings, runoff from livestock)from getting into the pond, it will eventually become less fertile, and begin to clear up on its own.

If a self-sustaining fish population is a goal, around 30" give or take is a good compromise between fish visibility and food chain.

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As you can see from some of the photos the pond is pretty well landscaped so leaves, pine needles and an ocassional branch always wind up in the pond, especially in the fall.
Is chelated copper or https://www.lakelawnandpond.com/captain.aspx?ItemGroupID=26
a viable option?

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Most algae control produycts are aimed at filamentous algae, not plantonic algae. Someone may know what the effectivity on phytoplankton would be.

Is the appearance of the bloom objectionable or are you worried about a possible fish kill from an algae crash? A nice (by many of our ways of thinking) bloom like that should promote a high density of biomass in the pond that could be turned into some interesting fish if managed properly, but if the appearance is more important you may want to consider using Aquashade or one of the other pond dyes to block most of the sunlight entering the water, thereby reducing plant growth (in this case the phytoplankton) - IF you would prefer a blue (IIRC black is also an option) pond to a green one.


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Merdav, personally I would stay away from those chemicals. they continue to build. A small bottom aerator would be perfectfor your detritus control, and be very attractive in your pond. The UV sterilizer will eliminate all the algae and other parasites and bacteria that are floating in the water without harming the beneficial bacterias on debris and anchored surfaces. The UV light with a small water pump will be far more effective, safe, and most inexpensive route to get to your goals. You could install a very effective system for under $100. Your water would become crystal clear for fish viewing, yet have the benefits of an outdoor bacteria colony to control detritus and ammonia. From what I read in your posts of goals is that you want a very large and extra beautiful aquarium.

Last edited by Rainman; 07/29/08 02:25 PM.


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You really think a 30 or 40 watt UV would clear my pond???? I looked online and saw some for $2-$3000!
You hit the nail on the head, I would love to have the worlds largest aquarium, but from a 40 watt bulb?!
I have two waterfalls in the pond for aestetics can I put the UV onto to one of them?
I actually prefer the pond to look natural, if I had a aerator I would probably only run it at night, I would not want some bubbling mass in the middle of the pond. But I'm open to what ever would work, I hate seeing the pond looking like it does.
Where do I start?

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Anybody besides Rainman know anything about clearing an algal bloom with UV?


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I don't think a UV sterilizer is going to be effective for large volumes of water (in excess of 10K-20K gal). If it is I would like to see proof or data that back up the claims. UV sterilizers can be problematic in that the bulb in unfiltered water can fairly quickly form surface films on it which reduces the effectivenes of the UV. Regular Cleaning the bulb in your situation would in my opinion be troublesome. Chelated copper products are effective on many species of phytoplankton, although the entire pond has to recieve a uniform dosage of the herbicide. This could work in your situation but it would be no doubt require annual or semi-annual treatments since the algae will keep reoccurring. Long term benefit or cure for your problem would be a pond daining and then sludge removal. Bottom sludge and deposits have over many years have created a large nutrient sink which is likely the cause of dense planktonic algae blooms. Since the pond sits at the bottom of a hill it is prone to accumulation of excessive dead and fresh organic materials plus probably some fertilizer runoff. Remove or eliminate the cause (excessive nutrients) and then you will naturally minimize the problem.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 07/29/08 09:54 PM.

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Merdav,

You can try a lot of fixes that we routinely post/read about on this forum, but I think Bill hit the nail on the head. Your pond is an immense nutrient sink particularly when you consider that your pond may be 100 years old!! That's a long time for grass clippings, leaves, fertilizers, fish/turtle waste, etc. to accumulate. It probably has been dredged some time in the past but not necessarily. If you begin trying algaecide treatments and find that you are continually having to perform them, then the real fix will be to drain and remove sludge. Given the relatively small nature of the pond, you might even consider draining and installing a high quality liner. I only suggest this because you can cover-up decades worth of organic build-up and because you desire more of a water-garden/aquarium type of setting. Just food for thought. By the way, you have a pretty cool setting. Good luck.



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