Clarity and cold weather?

[milliemax]

  My new little pond (about 270 gal) got really murkey in Aug and Sept.
  We have a cheapo filter for the time being and got a vac that attatches to the hose for the elm leaves.
  The weather is really starting to cool off here (No Ca USDA zone 8ish), and we have noticed that the water seems to be clearing up!
  Is this due to the cooling weather and lack of heat to make algae?
   Boy! After reading another post, I was a little afraid to post!
  Sounded alot like someone on the old AOL garden board I used to read!
  Well, just a simple question.  Nancy

[EagleEye]

Is this due to the cooling weather and lack of heat to make algae?

I'd say yes, that's it.

Nice haveing clear water huh?

Steve

[Teresa]

Most all plants slow or stop growth in the cold - water or air, doesn't matter and algae is a plant.

[milliemax]

  Well thank you guys for the quick responses!
  It's kinda nice to see our new fish getting bigger! And healthy!
  It looks

like all 6 comets are still hanging out together!
  We have a new 270 gal above ground pond in USDA zone 8ish.
  I'm hoping Santa brings me one of those ultra violet light filters (alot of you say they aren't needed, but I need one for my house water, our water is so nasty!)
  I'll be pitching in big time this spring!
  Happy Ponding!   Nancy

[Rocmon]

Maybe you should consider a solid block carbon water filter for the house? Drinking water? I presume... Is it well water or city sludge?

[milliemax]

Maybe you should consider a solid block carbon water filter for the house? Drinking water? I presume... Is it well water or city sludge?

I've never heard of that kind!
  I have alot of eggy smell and alot of minerals in the water that turn my showers and toilets orange. The water tests fine. It is from a 171 ft well.
  Thanks all for replies!  Nancy

[Rocmon]

My in-laws have well water that is very iron saturated. They have to run a water softener (de-mineralizer) and a thing called an iron curtain. You can tell in the shower when it's time for the filter to run, as the water starts to smell.

I'd check with a local water treatment company to see what they recommend for your area. Solid block carbon is for city water—it removes chlorine and a whole slew of toxic chemicals and metals. They don't do large volume efficiently ~1000 gal per filter block.

[andrew davis]

>>Is this due to the cooling weather and lack of heat to make algae?

Partly. With cooler water, critters are less active, they are not stirring up the sediments or polluting the water so much

With a lot of plants locking up fertility on a pond, algae can be very subdued and the waters become 'oligotrophic', low on fertility, low in organic growth, clear water...

As Winter progresses, destructive freezes, rain run off, herbaceous plants decomposing can turn the pond water conditions to 'eutrophic' again, high in fertility and organic growth, algae such as blanketweed can run rampant in Winter, with little competition from other species of plants that don't grow so well in cold water conditions.

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

[karen J]

  I have alot of eggy smell and alot of minerals in the water that turn my showers and toilets orange. The water tests fine. It is from a 171 ft well.

I have a very similar situation. The well water often cycles between seasons, getting smelliest in the spring. We also get that orange stuff, but I am presuming that it is a specific species of mold or mildew that favors this type of water. It happens more when I shut the water softener off... so I keep that puppy going.  It certainly is not iorn, which instead produces a rust-colored stain.

The water softener will remove a little bit of iron, not much, but it doesn't need to be all that much unless you have huge amounts of iron.

"Iron Reducing Bacteria" and "Sulphur Reducing Bacteria" are pretty common problems with wells, we've been "diagnosed" with both.

The rotten egg smell is caused by hydrogen sulphide (H2S), either from dissolved organics or sulphate reducing bacteria.

A couple links- the first is general well maintence and the second is about iron reducing bacteria in wellwater. Sorry, my Sulpher links are dead. 
http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqbr/wqbr30.html
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/dwg/pubs/IronBactiInWell.pdf

Do you ever get screens clogged with little black specks? 

[Craig]

Not to quibble, but the trophic states of waterbodies are more to do with the natural and man-made changes of nutrient levels in large bodies of water of a period of years and not so much the seasonal changes seen in small ornamental ponds.