Oh This Flipping Algae

[meatboy]

we have a tiled garden pond 22ft.x10ft.x4ft.deep.water feature in the centre and 2 smaller ones,we did have some nice carp but after about a week the water was like green pea soup you couldnt even see the fish.the so called builders didnt put a drainage system in so i have to use a pump takes about 2hrs[3,000lts.] to empty it.we got rid of the carp as their shit wasnt helping and introduced some goldies who have grown to be rearly nice looking fish,but seeing this awfull colour on the water is peeing my wf.off and she wants to fill it in.i am toying with the idea of half filling it in and laying a drainage pipe to our main drain about 12ft.as to make it easy to empty it,that is the easy part,but because all the pipe work is under the pond and the pump is on top pumping water from a sump how do i get arround keeping the sump full[3ft] for the intake pipe.so if anyone has some idea how to stop the algae problem,we did buy anti-green but at 120bht.per tub enough for 300lts.it wasnt much help 1,200bht.every time we had to clean it.any idea's would be gratefully received.

[Cuban]

People that are seriously into such ponds spend much of their hobby time maintaining a filtration-plant (plant as in industrial process and not just a few green vegetable things), I have two friends that keep Koi and the area that is taken up by the filtering process is about half that of the ponds each of them have, also they are not based in Thailand where the warm average temperature will ensure your pond will provide a perfect breeding ground for algae etc.

Unless you have space for filters and are prepared to install them and pay for the electric to run the water pumps, UV lamps and air-bubble machines, along with the time to rinse out the filters (weekly I guess) you would be better off to have a BBQ or sashimi party and fill in the hole. Also bear in mind the filters might attract frogs, one friend was spending time killing frogs during my visits to his house. In Thailand this might also mean water snakes seeking the frogs.

Some of the filters available now days are mostly self contained and run with minimal support once they are set-up and have an active bio-film working to remove the fish-stool and urine from the water, crystal clear water is possible but takes much effort I'm told.

http://www.lagunakoi...esigns-c-9.html

This company is in Hua Hin but shows some filters sold.

Here are a few Thai sites that might offer a few leads: One, Two, Three.

In Thailand I suggest you seek a person/company that is "into Koi" as a hobby rather than a shop/builder that just sells the stuff, between the two sorts of people is a huge difference.

Do a Google image search for the key words "koi pond filtration"

I think you are in Korat? try this with your Thai speaker: "บ่อน้ำ นครราชสีมา, บ่อปลาคาร์ฟ" on Google.

[xen]

Is the algae is azolla spp. ? In Vietnam and other countries they farm algae (azolla spp) and it is skimmed off the top of the ponds and sun dried and then used as fertilizer . If it is azolla you will never get rid of it as one small piece will multiply when the weather conditions are right. It apparently can be also used as stock feed. I am just suggesting an alternative rather than fight it, utilize it. We have red azolla in one of our parks where i work and it just feeds off the nutrients washed off the streets - been trying for years to get rid of it but to no avail.

Wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azolla

[meatboy]

thanks guy's it looks like the wf.getting her way again[always].have to find home for a fountain feature and

2 spouting fish.she can sort the live ones.stir fry

[Sheryl]

A small amount of chlorine will stop the algae, but of course not be good for the fish.

I have heard it suggested (but not tried) that adding salt will also stop the algae, likewise it will not be good for the fish, at least not fresh water fish.

If anyone has a solution simpler than the complicated filters, please post -- I have a small "moat" around my house and while I don't intentionally keep living things in it (it's purpose is to keep out scorpions and slow down the ants), it has spontaneously become a breeding spot for frogs and home to small crabs, sometimes fish...none of which do I want to harm, but I do want to do something about the unsightly algae...

[canuckamuck]

A pump with a UV filter is a good start. It cooks the algae on the way through. But you need to workout how big or how many will fix you up. It is really a good idea to research your pond design in advance because there is a lot of smart things you can do to make it work better and use biological processes naturally.

You have 24 cubic meters of water there which is going to be a lot of work to keep clear. You would be better off to try 6 cubic meters until you got the hang of it.

Edited February 17, 2013 by canuckamuck

[Potosi]

we have a tiled garden pond 22ft.x10ft.x4ft.deep.water feature in the centre

That's big, was it intented to be a swimming pool? I asked the same question here two months ago, and got the advice to put more water plants in my tiled fish pool, I did and the water has remained reasonably clear since. Also put several sucker fish in to keep the tiles clean. I don't know if it would work in your case. Probably, it just has to be scaled up. Mine has 13 gallons of volume, two pots with water lilies, about ten goldfish in different sizes, and four sucker fish. I also run a small foam filter for a couple of hours every day, but that's more to oxygenate the water. If you put plants in pots in, you need to cover the soil with pebbles or the fish will dig.

Couple of years ago there was a waterweed problem in the Pattaya freshwater reservoirs, some plant that something like doubles the area it occupies on the surface every day. It floats on the water, doesn't need soil. Since it grows so rapidly, it removes the nitrates and nitrites from fish poo faster than algae, thereby suppressing them. When I looked two months ago with the idea to put some of those plants in my pool, I didn't find any.

[rsokolowski]

Agree with the UV filter, something else you could try if your pond was small would be to provide shade (but given the size of your pond this is not a viable alternative). I have had a Koi pond (with about 20 kgs of fish, 8 koi) here in Hawaii since 2006, but I have a really good UV filter, biological bead filter, and a really good pump. The water is normally crystal clear, but my setup was not cheap, but it is easy to maintain and works well.

I bought from this link:

http://www.aquadynamite.com/shop/

They were also very helpful regarding what I needed, not sure if they ship to Thailand. Shipping to Hawaii was not cheap, but it was fast.

Roy

[meatboy]

i am toying with the idea of covering the pond with a pergoda and building a tropical garden on top and putting in some large stones and making a bed of sand and pebble's.

[fazbender]

You may have found the solution by now but you need more filtering. A min of 10% + water volume is needed. If you have less than that you will never get rid of algee green water. I have an 11,000 ltr pond which is crystal all year round and never needs cleaning. I run my water through a bio filter meaning i Have set 1500 ltrs aside that has. water plants in. they grow massive root systems which are perfect for the pond filtering, Every 6 months os I cut some of the plants back, But in five years never had to clean out the filter its self, I don't run huge pumps either. My main pump pushes 5000ltr an hour which is slow but keeps the water in the filter longer, then out through a small water fall of 200mm drop.