Murky Water

Just about given up here. Our pond was so beautifully clear until we had the chap back who put it in to re-lay the paving around 2 edges. Since then its been a real pea-souper!!!!

We have tried EVERYTHING!!!!! Barley straw, barley straw extract, cleaned out the filter, checked the UV, cleaned off the UV tube, plenty of Water Lilles, etc, etc....

It seems to be thriving with wildlife, so the water can't be "off" - in that there are always loads of birds visiting for a drink and bath, healthy fish (when they come to the surface), loads of insects, the oxegenator is growing like nobody's business, plants growing well around the edges, etc.....

Short of draining it - has anyone got any suggestions???

(and - NO - I'm not going to get the chap back!!!!)

 

How long as the water been in it?
I wouldn't drain it.
You will just be starting from scratch again.
It can take months sometimes for a pond to settle.
The cold weather usually sorts them out.
I would just leave it until the spring.
Sometimes you can do to much to them.
I'm no expert.
But if it was mine I would test the water , if that was O.K just leave it to sort it's self out.

 

Honey Bee, how long has the UV tube been in your filter? If more than a year then it needs changing. David.

 

Sounds like some muck (moartar)dropped in when the slabs were being bedded. Things should settle naturally soon.

 

Is it it a green peasoup or a milky cloudiness if it's green it will be an algal bloom and will sort itself and clear as the light levels diminish, if it's a milky cloudiness then as Progard says its probably mortar and as its not killed your pond life already it looks like you have got away with it if in doubt do a partial water change.

 

Hi H/B, as already mentioned, sounds like some mortar has fallen into your pond. Tell me, has this just happened ? The reason I ask is because cement(used in mortar)can be quite toxic for fish. In any event, partial water changes as suggested by walnut are a good idea. Cheers...freddy.

 

Thanks for all your replies - this is what happened:

Up till June crystal clear
Edges were done - water went murky so we left it for a while as we thought it may just be sedement. Then we did the Barley straw treatments. We checked the UV at the weekend. The tube it was in was scaled up and brown, so we cleaned that all off - the bulb still works, and has been in just a year. The pond was put in 13 months ago. There has been a fair amount of cover from the plants, and the wildlife and fish are thriving.
We took out a jar of the water and left for a few hours to see if it settled and cleared, but is a green colour. (and teeming with small bug things!!!)

Hopefully it is an algae bloom as Walnut says - but its just a co-incidence the it turned the day Whats-his-name did the edging....

Does the UV light stop "doing it stuff" after a year, even though its lit up?

Even the dog prefers to drink it to whats in her lovely clean bowl indoors!!!!!

:confused: hmmmmm....

 

Hi H/B, it is recommended that you change the u/v strip once a year.BTW, the one you have, is it sufficient given the size of your pond ? I think the equation is 10 watts per 1,000 gallons. Mine is 2,000 gallons and I use a 30 watter to be on the safe side(you cant have too much). Also I notice you say that the pond is still relatively young so it`s possible that your u/v`s shortcomings(if any)are only now showing up. Another problem might be the effectiveness of your filter. Any chance you could post a pic ? Cheers...freddy.

 

It seems a strange time of the year for algae problems, even I dont get them this time of the year with my, far too many fish.

I dont have a u/v either,if the ponds functioning properly you dont need them, a modern quick fix that tends to hide a real problem without solving it.

I have a feeling that the winter will sort it out, but next spring the problems start all over again.
Watercress I find is a good plant at removing nutrient from the water during the summer, marginals have no effect on the problem and infact make matters worse due to the addition of soil. Waterlillys also need soil, but do shade the water.
Unless the pond is totally un-natural, these natural problems will occur, if everthing is doing well. I wouldn't worry HB.

 

It's a good sign when you say the pond is teeming with little bug things, try to identify them if it's Daphnia you are on a winner they are filter feeders and feed on algae and should clear yor pond,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphnia

 

Hi again Honey Bee. Having just read again your comments, I notice you say that you checked and cleaned your U/V only a few days ago. Chances are that it will take maybe 2 weeks before it clears things up. You`ll need to keep an eye on your filter as it will probably be working overtime mopping up the algae. I`d see how that goes for now. Cheers...freddy.

 

NB : You CAN'T touch a UV bulb. It is like the halogen bulbs and even though it appears lit it will not function properly. If it was covered in sediment and you touched it to clean it which you most likely did then you need a new bulb. Although with so many plants and given the time of year it is more likely to be sediment than algae. the clue is in the caked bulb which when switched on and hot gathered scale just like a kettle element in a house which has a water supply which is hard water (high mineral content)

 

You can touch a U.V. lamp, no problem or ill effects.
Halogen lamps are not the same as fluorescent lamps; I think I see where the confusion is coming from in your post.

You refer to the lamp and tube both as ââ?¬Å?bulbââ?¬Â

A halogen lamp does have a quartz ââ?¬Å?envelopeââ?¬Â you should never touch one because of the very high operating temperature, the grease from your fingers will burn as soon as the lamp is switched on and turn black. (only in the places you touched it)

A fluorescent tube does not run at these high temperatures so it is ââ?¬Å?okââ?¬Â to touch one.

You would also under normal circumstances never clean one (the U.V. Lamp), you would however clean / de-scale the quartz sleeve that the fluorescent tube sits in, again this is safe to touch because it never gets up to the high temperature that the envelope of a halogen lamp does. (because cold pond water runs through it)

just my 2p worth.

 

When I worked in the garden centre selling pond lighting, we were told by the Hozelock rep, ( who`s products we sold) that you should never touch the glass of a UV tube. Just my 2p worth.

 

Watergarden is right the disadvantage of tungsten halogen lamps is that the quartz envelope is on the "outside" and is much more sensitive to contamination than ordinary glass bulbs. The quartz capsule must not be touched with bare hands since contamination can lead to overheating and severely reduced life. Some designs get around this by encapsulating the lamp inside a glass envelope, Fluorescent lamps are a type of gas discharge lamp which generate invisible ultra-violet radiation and then use a phosphor coating on the "inside" of the lamp glass to convert this into visible light using a process known as "fluorescence". By using different coating materials, fluorescent lamps can be made to generate light in a range of different colour temperatures touching the outside is no problem,the inside coating is varied to get different lighting effects,u v,warm white,cool white,and daylight are some examples, there's a good sixpennyworth here :D