Water Turning Green In Fishpond

[sweetchariot]

Hi,

we have a small ornamental fish pond in the garden, with a fountain which I leave on 24/7 for oxygenation. We only have guppies in there - probably about 200 now (started with 7 about 18 months ago).

When I first set this up we used to clean it out about every 2-3 months when the water got a little murky, but now we have to do it every 2 weeks as the water ends up like pea soup in this time.

Anyone know why this is happening more than before, and any useful tips for stopping it going green so quickly.

Thanks.

[Crossy]

Do you have any water plants in there?

All those guppies are dropping waste into the water that's being used by the green algae, a few plants will use up much of the nutrient and keep the water clear

[sweetchariot]

Do you have any water plants in there?

All those guppies are dropping waste into the water that's being used by the green algae, a few plants will use up much of the nutrient and keep the water clear

No there are no plants, as I thought these would have the opposite effect. Would you recommend floaters or potted plants?

[Crossy]

Do you have any water plants in there?

All those guppies are dropping waste into the water that's being used by the green algae, a few plants will use up much of the nutrient and keep the water clear

No there are no plants, as I thought these would have the opposite effect. Would you recommend floaters or potted plants?

Floaters are probably better, any plant will draw nutrients from the water in order to grow, (algae are plants by the way) they'll give the fish somewhere to hide too. Water Hyacinth is common although you may need to clear it out quite often as it can get a bit, er, rampant! Have a look what's growing in other ponds in your area and filch some

Water plants are an important part of the eco-system in your pond, you'll see all sorts of other things visiting too once you've established a balanced system.

If your pond is too small to support many plants, you may score with a UV filter which zaps the algae when it gets pumped through

Edited February 26, 2008 by Crossy

[sweetchariot]

Thanks for the advice Crossy, much appreciated.

[Jai Dee]

Have a look at the Koi Pond thread too for some other ideas.

I found that by lowering the light exposure by adding floating plants worked really well.

Also, my pond is now infested with thousands of tiny snails who are happily munching away on the algae... keeping it under control.

[ilyushin]

Carp

[gennisis]

Hi,

we have a small ornamental fish pond in the garden, with a fountain which I leave on 24/7 for oxygenation. We only have guppies in there - probably about 200 now (started with 7 about 18 months ago).

When I first set this up we used to clean it out about every 2-3 months when the water got a little murky, but now we have to do it every 2 weeks as the water ends up like pea soup in this time.

Anyone know why this is happening more than before, and any useful tips for stopping it going green so quickly.

Thanks.

Does it get a lot of sun?.If so plant something arround to give shade.

Water Lilies will also help to keep the water clear,they use up a lot of minerals from the fish droppings.

[noise]

Hi,

we have a small ornamental fish pond in the garden, with a fountain which I leave on 24/7 for oxygenation. We only have guppies in there - probably about 200 now (started with 7 about 18 months ago).

When I first set this up we used to clean it out about every 2-3 months when the water got a little murky, but now we have to do it every 2 weeks as the water ends up like pea soup in this time.

Anyone know why this is happening more than before, and any useful tips for stopping it going green so quickly.

Thanks.

I can not offer a specific reason why your pond is soupy (dry weather, sun, or ??) but serious fish dealers have Anti-Green which, when added to the water, cause the floating algea to coagulate and precipitate out. You can then vacuum/siphon it out of the bottom. I have successfully used it in my 7000 liter pond when I only had mosquito fish and the like. It did help the oxygenation, but was more cosmetic than anything else (could see the fish better). I have since put in a full filter system as others have recommended so do not expect to need it any more.

Interestingly enough (to me) is that I also have a fountain (like pictured in one input) with about 10 mosquito fish and it never gets floating algea That may be because the fountain splashes water out and I have to keep adding fresh water a couple times a week.

Edited March 3, 2008 by noise