my 1700 gallon KOI pond is so green.....what can i do to clear the water up ???????

Question

i have a 3100 GPH bio filter with water falls. i have a few lily pads and some hias. (floating plants). and i have 7 small Koi.

Answer 1

First of all, realize that crystal clear water is not necessarily a sign of a healthy pond. Sometimes, what looks gross to us humans is exactly what the fish and other wildlife critters prefer!

Having said that, though, a combination of plants and a UV sterilizer should solve your problem. UV's are expensive, so I'd try upping the plant load, first. You should aim to have the equivalent of about 60% of your pond's surface area in plants, though not all need to be surface plants. The algae is feeding on nutrients (probably nitrates) available in the water, that wouldn't be there if you had more "desireable" plants to scrub the nitrates out by sucking up the nutrients with their roots. Lillies are good, as are other heavy feeders like water iris, anacharis (a good oxygenator but big koi will eat it), azola/fairy fern (sometimes they eat that, too), and water lettuce.

Once you have your plant/animal load in balance (fish waste combines with decaying plant matter to create ammonia, which is consumed by bacteria to create nitrites, which are consumed by another bacteria to create nitrates, and so on), your green water should improve markedly. If it doesn't, or doesn't do it to your satisfaction, then I would see about installing an in-line UV sterilizer. They do a pretty good job but you need to change the bulb at least once per season, even if it is still "lighting," because they lose their effectiveness over time.

As another option, I will tell you my personal experience: I don't necessarily think UV filters, or any mechanical filters, are necessary, as we've had our 3,000 gallon pond for 8 years, and started off with a bead filter and UV filters. We had a terrible time maintaining water quality - it was a daily worry (take care of the water and the fish will take care of themselves!). We had a friend that kept telling us to install a veggie filter (a part of the pond filled with gravel and heavy feeder plants, where the water circulates slowly to allow sediment to fall in the gravel and the plants to absorb excess nutrients, before falling back into the pond). We thought no way could a "primitive" veggie filter be better than the latest technology in mechanical filters and UV filters, etc., right? Boy, were we wrong! Last year, we finally switched to a veggie filter - we pump the water out of the pond through a bottom drain, and through a 500-gallon stock pond filled with water iris, before letting the water spill over an 8-foot waterfall into the pond. Our water has never been better! This year, we discontinued the bead and UV filters altogether, and we have had ZERO water maintenance problems since - running solely on a veggie filter! As an added bonus, it is WAY easier to take care of. We empty the leaf basket on the pump and skimmer about once or twice a month, replace any water lost to evaporation, and only have to clean out the veggie filter once a year - at most! Here is a link to a couple of different plans if you decide you want to try one: http://www.bonniesplants.com/how_to/veggiefilter.html http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/articles_details.php?article_id=78&category=15&name=Filtration http://ezinearticles.com/?Pond-Plant-Filter-(Veggie-Filter)---How-To-Design-One&id=484987


Hope this helps - good luck!

Answer 2

You have a condition called "pea soup algae " the algae grows in the water not on the sides so algae eaters just won't work.
Algaecides work but are only temporary (they kill the algae now but it will grow back) and all that dead algae at once some times causes worse water quality problems.
The answer is to have a ultraviolet sterilzer installed inline to your filter. this will kill the algae in the water on a continuous basis and keep your pond crystal clear. goodluck

Answer 3

well the green is algae and i would take as much out by hand as you can then by chemicals to kill the algae from a pet store or lows.
when your algae problem clears up plant alot of other plants in there this makes it so that any new algae would have to fight fo food to grow.

Answer 4

Probably some sort of algae. I think they make anti-algae tablets you can drop in, but if you want a more natural and scenic method get some snails or bottom-feeder fish to clean it for you.

Answer 5

Get an alge light

Answer 6

try a nautlas or alge eating fish, also i hear certain snails will vacum that muck right up!

Answer 7

Go to your town or city pet shore and ask what you can do.

Answer 8

try cleaning your filter see if that helps.