I think I messed up...

[Ruthie]

We have been having about ten days straight of 95-103 degree temps.  I was having a pretty huge string algae bloom, but it seemed concentrated in the roots of the hyacinth.  And the hyacinth was growing at a pretty incredible rate, too.  So, I took out a couple of wheel barrow loads of hyacinth out, moved the lilies around a bit, had a bunch of trouble with the fountain.  The pond was a cloudy mess for a few days.

Then  I noticed that the string algae had disappeared and the water was taking on a green hue.  Every day it has been getting pregressively greener.  It's not pea soup, but it is definitely murky.  Before the super hot weather, you could see straight down to the bottom.  I want my clear water back

Here's what I have been doing....

I cut back on how much I was feeding the fish.  I admit it...I was overfeeding.
I scooped out the bottom of the pond as much as I could (no bottom drain, a mistake I won't make on my next pond.)
I cleaned out both prefilters.
Today I cleaned both the whiskey barrel filter (added more lava rocks and several big net bags of scrubbies) and the veggie filter (sort of like a skippy.  It is about 200-300 gallons.  It has a layer of gravel that sits on top of recycled bread crates, the plant roots dangle into the bottom and the water flows over all that from the barrel filter.)  I kept all the filter media in a kiddie pool full of pond water while I did all this to keep the good bacteria alive.

What I am going to do...

Put all the pump power into the filter (I have some flow diverted to the fountain.) 
I think I can add hidden layer of filter mats or net bags of scrubbies or something in the "spillway"...it is not a waterfall so much as a trickling effect where it flows back into the pond under and over the rocks.

I think the heat, removing too many of my shading hyacinths....  plus the fact that I really was overfeeding the fish just overwelmed the filters.  I noticed the same type of bloom going on in natural ponds as well.  There were a couple of fish kills nearby.

Am I missing anything?  Does barley straw help?  We are planning a stock tank waterfall/filter down the road, but I have to remove about 30 feet of fence before I can do that.  Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated.  I am feeling kind of bummed about all this green water.

[Ky Kim]

Maybe its just got all the nutrients stirred up, and you don't have the WH there to suck up the extra nutrients and your just getting an algae bloom going on.  Is there any way of shading your pond? 



I'm with you on this heat we've had 18 straight days for 95 plus, today was 104, yesterday was 103 then the heat index.   

Kim

[Bonnie]

Hang in there Ruthie.. it will get better.

A few options, some like to use the Blue or Black Dye to help until the water clears but I think this is something more to do with a lily pond instead of a watergarden.

My suggestions would be to do small 10-20% water changes.
Also add quilt batting to your current filtration, cleaning it daily will be necessary because it WILL get dirty.
Adding koi clay helps some with green water issues. ( it definately will NOT hurt anything)

Adding a UV light would definately do the job !

[Bonnie]

Oh, forgot to ask ... how long has your pond been running?  Is this a new or fairly new pond?

[Ruthie]

The pond is still new...it has been running since the end of May?  beginning of June?

Quilt batting...I have some of that in the closet.  It is the just the poly fill...the stuff you get at the craft store?

Oh...and the pond is in full sun, all day.  I am thinking about how to shade. 

[miguynmkoi]

Shading part of the day when it's really hot helps alot.  I use a large outdoor umbrella over my 500+gallon pond during the hottest time of the day.

[Esther]

Yup your quilt batting is better than nothing. It will not hold up to the rinsing as well as the media designed for that. I would put media anywhere the water is moving and keep after it. Another reason the water is getting green is because the string algae eats up a lot of the nutrients and now it's gone. In my opinion, I filter, filter, filter because I am not willing to wait for nature to take it's course. I have added more floor scrubber pads to my skippy this summer and use  algaefix about once a month if I see the SA starting to take over.

[Ky Kim]

Just make sure its polyester and not the cotton.  The cotton will fall apart.  No, I didn't learn that from experience..., just what i've read.

Kim

[Ruthie]

I am going to add the quilt batting tomorrow.  Thanks so much

[obsessed-nj]

Ruthie, IMO you just removed the best protection against "pea soup" algae. Your hyacinths and string algae were keeping the water clear by using up the nutrients...now that they're gone, the suspended algae has no competition for nutrients and now thrives as your hyacinth and string algae once did. From my experience, string algae is a lot easier to remove.
Linda