New here and very much an amteur

[Love3Cats]

Have a pond that we deepened and make wider last year. Now all of a sudden I have green water and can't no matter what I do keep it clear. Obviously our little filter isn't working as well as it used to so I sure I need to make a biofilter. Problem is I have very little money to invest and need a very economical way to make one any help would really be appreciated. My pond is very illregular in shape and hold approx. 700 to 750 gallons of water. Thanks

[Johns]

Love3Cats ,

Welcome to the forum.  Planktonian algae requires three conditions to flourish: light, warmth and nutrients.  Best advice is make certain you do not have too many fish (See http://www.gardenendeavors.com/rack/web17.html ), then make sure you are not feeding them too much and try to shade the water column as much as possible (best done by vegetation such as water lily leaves shading the sunlight from entering the water column.

About filtering:  Bio filters generally do nothing to reduce algae, in fact, the biological process converts ammonia secreted by fish into nitrites and finally into nitrates, which are fertilizer to the algae. Mechanical filtration such as polyester batting, etc. can help by physically removing algae, but they require almost constant maintenance.

One of the best articles on green water is by Norm Meck at: http://www.koiquest.co.uk/GRENH2O2.pdf

[Love3Cats]

thanks for the article it made me a little more confused though. I have a small filter mechnical filter that is on the outside of the pond and the article seems to read that I do need something else but I am not sure what to use or how to make it. One good thing about reading the article is that I did see that I was doing more harm than good about water changes. Any more help would be appreciated.

[OldMarine]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum, and have been ponding on a small scale for 12 years now. Last year in September of 2008 I finally was able to install a 365 gallon pond with a attached skimmer/pre-filter in a 17 gallon tub that also contains the 700 gph water pump. The water is pumped into the base of the water fall, and the water fall has it's own independant water pump. The 27 gallon boi-filter is disconnected and put away for the winter.

With some trail and error, I have managed to tweek my filtration system to a point where I have a good sound balance in my pond. Of course the other part of this balance is due to the fish and water plants.

I hope to learn more about quality pond managment here at this forum.

Happy ponding,