We put in a new pond last fall, and even though we tried to keep the leaves out over the winter, apparently we didn't do such a good a job because the water has been tea colored all spring. We've had another, smaller (200 gallons) pond for 4 years, and have never had this problem with it, so this is new to me. The new pond is about 800 gallons total, with a waterfall and several small pools between the waterfall and the pond itself, resulting in 5 "falls" all together. The water is clear--as in you can see to the bottom (28" deep), but tea colored. Is there anything I can do besides a complete water change--which I will do if necessary. Any help, detailed, please, LOL, would be appreciated. BTW, I've put some plants in, but no fish as yet--wanted to get this cleared up before the fish go in. (This pond gets a good deal of shade, so I don't think I'm going to have an abundance of algae for the fish in the best of circumstances.) The water was tea colored before the plants went in and they're not planted in any peat based soil, so I'm confident that they're not the problem.
Thanks,
Barbara
How do I get rid of tea colored water?
I think several things can cause that - oak pollen, leaves, runoff from mulch, soil in plant pots and others I am sure. No need to hold off on the fish as the tint wont hurt them. Once your fish get in there and start to eat and poo you will have some algea if you have a healthy pond -of course you will probably want to feed your fish some.
If the discoloration is caused by leaves or pollen, once you get the leaves out or the pollen has time to disapate the water color will slowly correct itself. Make sure you dont have runoff water going into the pond.
I had a similar problem last year for a brief time, we put aquarium charcoal (you can buy it in a carton at walmart) in a piece of panty hose and placed this across one of the waterfalls. I dont know if it helped but the water did clear eventually and I have not had a reoccurance, though my mom's pond is tea ish now....she has oak trees near her pond. It clears on its own later in the summer.
someone else may have better ideas....good luck
Great advice about the panty hose and activated charcoal/carbon! That is exactly what will take care of the problem without any detrimental effects to the fish. One thing to add: make sure you buy the high quality activated stuff. The cheap stuff is not heat treated the same way and does not do nearly as good a job.
Thanks to you both! One reason I'm holding off on the fish is in case I *do* have to do a complete water change I won't have to deal with dechlorination, etc.
Will get the charcoal on my way home from work and give it a go. I don't think I have run off from the mulch--that was a concern I brought up to the pond builder pre-construction, as it is at the bottom of a hill. He assured me it wouldn't be a problem. Hope he's right ;-) We've had an awful lot of pollen this year so that probably has contributed to it, as well as the fact that I have a woods full of oak trees.
Thanks again!
Barbara
Oh wow. If you have no run off and alot of oaks that is probably it ! The pollen will decompose in time, and the charcoal may hurry the process but until the pollen is gone I dont think you can completely solve the problem. Also, the charcoal will take time so dont expect results too quick. Here in upstate SC, my moms pond is beginning to clear from oak pollen. Also, I might go ahead and get just a couple of fish - 2 maybe -they will start to add to your water cycle and help your pond get a healthy balance. I know in aquarium folks make the mistake of adding too many fish at once .
I was also going to suggest activated charcoal. I keep mine clear that way. I created a water feature that looks like a continous pouring pot. Inside is a couple of pounds of activated charcoal inside a panty hose leg. The water has to circulate through the charcoal before pouring back into the pond. Works great. Every couple of months I change the charcoal. It only takes a few days to pull the tannin out of the water. You can see the pot in the background. Not a very good picture, but the water should be clear.
Thanks for the additional very helpful comments! Dave's people really *are* the best! Rylaff, your water feature is beautiful!!! Charlotteda, the pollen is still falling here--pines, too--but it is slowing down. Sure would help if we got a good rain to wash it all off once and for all, LOL. Will see about getting the fish on Saturday--I get them "free" with the pond but have been holding off picking them up.
Wal*Mart didn't have any activated charcoal when I checked there yesterday. I'll do some calling around today while I'm at work and try to find some and send DH to get it. Any ideas as to where I should look? Lowe's for sure. I guess I could check at my pond builder's--they have aquarium supplies too, but I expect that to be a bit pricey.
Thanks again!
Barbara
Anyplace that carries aquarium supplies. I usually get mine at Walmart. The one I usually get comes in a carton that looks like a small milk carton. The is another product out there that is cheaper but is only part activate charcoal. If your Walmart is out, then check any other place that carries aquarium stuff.
It is not cheap so Walmart will be the best place, Petsmart would have it too. Look yourself, dont count on the employees at Walmart understanding what you want.
OK, I didn't check the aquarium supplies (DUH!) at Wal*Mart. Will do that next, and talk to my pond builder. Thanks, guys.
It is not realy necessary to use the very expensive activated charcoal you see in Pet stores. I get the bags of Hyponex Activated Charcoal for African Violets at Lowes or any other garden product supplier. It is cheaper by far and works just as well. You can make your own bag to put it in for pennies. You don't even have to sew particularly well. Just use a running basting stich. The cost of the tiny muslin bags they sell is outrageous. Jessamine
jessamine, I called Lowe's and asked for that specifically and they don't have it--or they couldn't find it, at least. DH went over there and looked, and he couldn't find it either. I guess I'll just have to go myself, LOL. I'm hoping they just didn't know where to look. If I can find it I figure I'll just put it in old panty hose legs and tie the end up (yep, I still wear them to work ;-)).
If I can't find it at my local Lowe's, I'm going to have access to another one 30 miles away on Saturday night--I'll run by there then.
Thanks,
Barbara
OK, I checked Lowe's and they don't have the Hyponex charcoal. I called the pond/aquarium supply store and was told I could try something called Accuclear. I read about how it works. She said the particles that are making the water brown are minute so that's why there's no cloudiness, but they're there and this stuff will take it to the bottom. I read that it's not a good idea to use it with fish. Since I don't have the fish yet, that's not an issue, but I was going to get them tomorrow. What do you guys think of this approach? The water is getting browner every day, it seems to me :( Am I just putting off the inevitable: a complete water change?
Thanks,
Barbara
We use Lava Rock in our filtration system. The pond came with a large bag and we used that for 2 or 3 years until the Taro roots grew into it and made a real mess. We couldn't get them all out, so we replaced the rocks. We searched for a cheaper replacement, and ended up buying Lava Rock for gas grills.
We looked around for the largest chunks that we could find, and bought enough to fill the bag. It goes in a mesh bag, like a laundry bag with a string tie. This is in the bottom of our waterfall, and filters all of the water as it recycles. It works very well. If you move the bag it is loaded with sediment, but it also has all of the microbial activity, so we leave that alone!
This works for us, and sounds similar to charcoal!
melanie
Actually, charcoal and lava rock do very different things in your water. The lava rock gets good bacteria growing in it that eat up the fish waste. That is biological filtration. Charcoal has very tiny, microscopic pores that absorb different substances in the water like tannins, fish medications, and other toxins. This is chemical filtration.
The confusion arises because both of these methods also trap particles and sediments in the water, which is mechanical filtration. Also, good bacteria are happy to grow on the charcoal and provide biological filtration. The best systems incorporate all of these types of filtration.
The idea of using a particulate binder (or flocculant, as I learned here at dave's just the other day!) is that it makes all the little stuff in the water clump together so the mechanical filtration is more effective and catches it easier. There is a thread about it somewhere. . .
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/508821/
Found it. Hope this helps.
We already have the lava rock in the bag. It's in the upper waterfall tub, and we have a filter in the skimmer.
So maybe the flocculant will help. BTW, where do you put the quilt batting? (Can you tell I'm willing to try just about anything, LOL!)
Barbara
Try to put the batting somewhere in the water flow where the water has to go through it, not around it. Make sure though that the place you put it doesn't clog up and overflow as the batting becomes dirty and the water goes through less easily. Good luck!
Thanks, sylvi74, I can do that :)
Barbara
I stirred my water up good today so I decided to build a quilt weir to show you.
First I built a frame with some scraps from my husbands shop.
Then, I stapled quilt batting on it, you can use 2 layers but I only used one today.
Then place the frame (be careful of sharp edges) where it will catch all the water coming off the falls. This will help catch free flowing particles in your water but will not do anything for "colored" water, I would think. I will take the frame to the garden hose and hose stuff off after several hours. You can reuse this batting for a couple days usually. :)
Two hours later
WOW! Charlotteda that's amazing! Thanks so much for the pictures. They are indeed worth a thousand words. You bring up a point that's troubling me: my water is clear but tinted brown. I hate to beat a dead horse, but that makes me think this filtering is not going to help my problem?
In my opinion, filtering will only remove floating particles in the water. It wont hurt.. if you used the floc that some folks use with good results that might help but wouldnt it just clog up your filter - since we dont backwash pond filters like we do pools? I dont know...never done that.
Now if the tea coloring is from pollen, something like charcoal is the only thing I know of that will help remove the discoloring and even that takes time. And as I said until the pollen is gone I just dont think you can do much but learn to live with it a while each year.
I would, Try not to panic, get a couple goldfish (2-small) to start your biofilter. Maybe do a small water change if you want but not even half.
goodluck
Well, the saga continues ;-). Saw the pond guy today and here's what he said: wait (LOL). Got 4 fish--3 little ones and a 5" one. He said to go ahead and add the bacteria, let the fish start to work, and see what happens. Then do a partial exchange later if it doesn't clear up. He thinks, like Charlotteda, that we're in a part of a cycle and will just have to wait it out.
Then we went to clean the skimmer basket and the filters. DH was supposed to be doing that on a regular basis. Seems he hadn't been as, um, "faithful" about that as I had thought. The filters looked like giant tea bags, as did the bag of lava rocks in the upper waterfall tub. So, now the filters are snowy white, the lava rocks have been hosed down, and yuk stirred up. He's been properly chastised, as well ;-) We rigged up a filtering "weir"? (with quilt batting and the pond net) under the terminal fall. It's doing a superb job. Already replaced the batting once, and the yuk is clearing up again. I think all that junk was just sitting there, steeping, turning the water brown! Anyway, we're on the case and I *will* get charcoal tonight and add that filter element tomorrow.
I can't thank y'all enough for all the help!
Barbara
Glad you feel better about it. You can hose off that batting several times and not have to replace it. I would advise you to not feed the new babies too much if at all for a bit.
Charlotteda, the new fish don't seem interested in eating yet. I sprinkled a few flakes on the water yesterday and the little ones nibbled a bit. I think they're more interested in scoping out their new digs ;-) We've had to get the big one out of the skimmer basket 3 times already! Ack! I think he's lonesome for his buddies back in the aquarium at the store ;-)
I got the charcoal last night and will be putting that in place this morning.
Thanks again, especially for putting up with me as I go on and on and on with this ;-)
Barbara
Most folks say dont feed your fish at first. When I first got mine, they were not interested in anything for SEVERAL days. Dont worry they will get bugs, bits of algea and what not for a while.
The charcoal will help( even if you dont visiably notice it) but dont expect too much if you still have pollen around, it will cycle out in time. Then you can worry about algea :) Just kidding.....
LOL! Actually, at least in my smaller pond, we rarely have an algea problem. I must--purely by accident, I'm sure--have reached a good balance. I do keep lots of plants in it, and treat with Microbe-Lift. Also, my fish are not large. Hoping that I can reach that balance in the new pond too, once everything is up and running properly.
BTW, I've had to rescue the big fish 7 times today already from the skimmer basket. Either he's incredibly stupid or on a suicide mission. Anyone else ever have this problem?
Thanks,
Barbara
My pond has a retro fit skimmer (added after the pond- BIG mistake to not put one in at first) so I rarely have a problem but I know some folks do and have alot of fish die. You might start a new post with that as the topic and surely someone will help :)
My fish used to play around the filter, and sometimes would go inside. They learned how to get back out a few times, but after that first summer, they haven't gotten stuck in the skimmer since then.
I am interested in learning and trying the charcoal process. Thanks for the input.
mel
This fish *should* be able to get out but every time I've looked, he's been in the bottom of the skimmer basket. DH thinks he likes going in, sort of like an amusement park ride for fish ;-). We've now put a barrier over it so he can't get in. Eventually it'll come off and hopefully he will have forgotten the thrill. I feel like I've been baby sitting that fish all day, LOL.
Barbara
I had one last year that would swim UP the six inch waterfall from the main pond where I keep the fish to the little pool above it! He drove me crazy all summer. I would think he was gone and he'd show up later. I was afraid he would fall out of the water and die. This year, the fish are still in the house and he has grown, so we shall see what happens. . .
"I had one last year that would swim UP the six inch waterfall"
Oh, MY!! That would have driven me crazy(er) too!! DH suggested taking our guy to the top and let him ride the "white water" all the way down into the pond, LOL! Naturally I vetoed that idea ;-)