Green Water
Every pond suffers from it!
But with proper filtration and TIME, it will clear
I have three type of filters in my pond:
- Biological
- Mechanical
- &
- Veggie.
For my bio filter I have used a 110 gallon stock
tank and outfitted according to Skippy's design for a Rubbermaid
Stock Tank Filter.
This is being fed by a 3600gph mag drive pump in
a basket prefilter according to The Plant Place's specs.
I also have a laundry basket filled with lava rock
and furnace filters and netting under the bell fountain to provide mechanical
filtration run by a 1200 gph mag drive pump.
With plants in the top of the bio filter they are
also providing filtration. Next spring a small pond will be dug as
a veggie pond to help keep things clean and clear. The rule of thumb
is to have a veggie filter that is one tenth the total volume of the pond.
My pond is approximately 4000 gallons, so the veggie pond will be 400
gallons. It will be connected to the pond via a small stream that will
give me the perfect excuse to put in the little bridge I want. With
my yard being on a slope, the stream should flow to the pond nicely.
Plants in the pond also aid in the filtration of the water using up
the nutrients that cause algae growth. The also cover the surface blocking
the sun from creating an algae bloom and help keep the water cool. My
pond is considered new water and I am still going through green water. The
pond wasn't completed until late in the season and I don't have enough plant
coverage to block the full sun the pond gets. But it has cleared to
a depth of about 20 inches. The fish don't seem to mind a bit. Just
me.
It can't be stressed enough, the best cure for green
water is plants, plants and more plants.
Floaters, oxygenators, and rushes, lillies and any other plants that
thrives in water. The more plants you have the less nutrients available
for algae. So I'll say it again,
For Green
Water - Plants, Plants and MORE
PLANTS
