Sarah Metlova
How To Keep A Fish Pond Clean – You have invested a lot of time and money in building your backyard pool. Now just put your feet up and watch the koi swim around in their crystal clear water.
But what if the water is not clean? What will you do if your fish is hiding behind the water of green algae or if your rock is covered in green gunk?
How To Keep A Fish Pond Clean
Damage to your pond’s ecosystem can turn your beautiful water unpleasantly green. The good news is that you can easily keep your water fresh – without harsh chemicals.
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Your pool is not just a place to relax. It’s a living, breathing thing full of fish, plants, bacteria and other life you can’t even see.
Many imbalances in your pond’s biology can lead to several types of water clarity problems. If you want crystal clear water, your first step is to figure out what kind of problem you have.
Unicellular algae are tiny organisms that live in your pool and turn the water into green bean soup. You’ll know you have a unicellular algae problem if your hands turn green or disappear completely when you submerge them in water.
Algae are not bad in themselves; it is nature’s only way of dealing with excess food. Unicellular algae enter your pool as tiny airborne spores. These fish feed on nitrite, a natural product of beneficial bacteria that breaks down harmful ammonia in the water.
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We can remove green water by introducing beneficial bacteria into the pool. We’ll take a closer look at how and why below.
Green algae are not harmful to your fish. Non-American pool owners sometimes embrace the natural beauty of emerald green lakes. (However, most Americans prefer to be able to see their backs!)
Filamentous algae are the most common type of algae in freshwater lakes and ponds. It is thin and green, but you can also pick it up with your hands. Unlike unicellular algae, algal fibers do not turn your water green. Instead, it sticks to rocks, lines and trees or floats on the water.
Filamentous algae are a natural, normal, expected and even beneficial part of your pool environment. You’ll always have a little bit of it, but there are things we can do to keep it from bleeding out.
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Like unicellular algae, algal blooms enter your pool via airborne spores that feed on excess nutrients in the water—in this case, nitrates. Check out our tips below to learn how to reduce this food intake and keep algae blooms to a minimum.
Algae are usually green. If you have brown water, the problem may be caused by other types of things in the pool.
Leaves, mulch and other natural materials contain tannins, which are colored compounds that can turn your water brown. If tannins are the problem, the water is usually clear and light brown – a bit like a cup of tea. If, on the other hand, your pool is brown and cloudy, something may have caused sludge to form on the bottom of the pool.
We can easily solve these two problems by using flocculants, carbon or other devices. Continue reading to learn more.
How To Keep Pond Water Clear Naturally (and Get Rid Of Pond Algae)
Green water is produced by single-celled algae, which consume a lot of nitrite in the water. Beneficial bacteria also consume nitrite. The secret behind water purification is therefore to get enough bacteria going and all the nitrites are consumed, but nothing is left for a single algae cell – starve the algae so they don’t grow and make your water look like green leaves.
No, not in this case. Beneficial Bacteria is a product sold specifically for pool maintenance and is one of the best and most effective tools you can add to your pool water. You don’t have to worry about adding too much – unlike algaecides, too much won’t kill your fish or plants – and it’s safe for pets and people.
You can drop off the bacteria or buy an auto-doser that does it for you. The exact amount will depend on the size of your pool and the specific product you choose (water, tablets, etc.). Just follow the instructions on the back of the bag.
A physical filter removes leaves, fish waste and other debris from the pool before it has a chance to cause problems. The best type of physical filter is a built-in pool skimmer. Like a pool skimmer, skimmers absorb debris into a basket that you can quickly empty when needed. Submersible skimmers are ideal for plastic pools, but you can also buy floating skimmers for smaller pools.
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If your current pool has no filter at all, installing a skimmer is the first step you should take to improve your water quality. A skimmer prevents debris from collecting at the bottom of the pool, where it can turn into sludge and contribute to the build-up of harmful ammonia. (Can’t add a skimmer now? Then it’s time to invest in a good skimmer net so you can remove the debris manually.)
Biofilters are a kind of breeding ground for hungry bacteria. And anything that makes the bacteria happy will make your pond happy.
Biofilters/BioFalls are essentially tanks filled with nooks and crannies – in the form of BioBalls, lava rock or something else with a large surface – where bacteria can breed. Having a large biofilter will help these important bacteria thrive.
Biofilters can take many forms. The most common is the BioFalls: a permanent plastic bag that contains the filter media and is the beginning of the waterfall. Water flows into the bottom of the trap, circulates around the bacteria chamber, and then pours out over the surface. These types of filters are easy to use with wood and stone.
The Benefits Of Pond And Water Feature Maintenance
Large ponds, meanwhile, may have built-in drains or grass filters. Or if you have a small pool, you can choose a decorative urn filter or a small water fountain. Regardless of the type of biofilter you choose, we recommend going as large as your space and budget allows. More biofiltration means more beneficial bacteria, which means happier fish and clearer water.
We also recommend building your pool floor with gravel. Cracks are not only decorative and grip smooth surfaces, but also give bacteria even more nooks and crannies in which to grow.
One last note about biological filters: you want to keep your biofilter separate from your physical filter. While some filters claim to provide both types of filters in one unit, it is better to have two filters so you can remove the waste through the physical filter when needed without introducing bacteria into the biofilter.
If you have not yet had your pool repaired or are planning a complete renovation, take a look at the sets of physical filters and biological filters. Buying kits will save you a lot of money while ensuring you get the right size and type of filter for the pool you are building.
Ways To Make Your Backyard Pond An Oasis
You can give your pool a head start on algae control by removing strands of algae from your stones. However, there is a big difference between pulling a small gun and pulling a pressure gun.
Washing your stones removes pieces of the environment that your pool has built up over time. This ecosystem is so complex that we can’t reproduce it with chemicals, so we don’t want to wash it down or push it to the point where we completely wipe out all living things. Algae will immediately return.
If you must give your stones a bath, remove as much dirt and grime as possible and rinse them with water from a pool instead of a bucket. The same applies to your biofilter. Clean it only once a year – it is best in early spring – and be as careful as possible.
When the bacteria eat the nitrites and help the algae, they produce nitrates. These nitrates feed on algae: the stringy, colorless substance that clings to your rocks.
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While some algae growth is normal for a healthy pool, you can control it by adding different types of algae to your water. Different types of plants consume different types of nitrates. The iris will produce one type and the lily will eat the other. In one falls a blue flower and in the other a pink flower. A tree that blooms in May eats different species than the one that blooms in September.
These plants work together to prevent algae from growing, so you don’t have to worry about killing them later.
Only feed your fish until they eat within about 5 minutes of putting them in the pond, and don’t feed them more than once or twice a day. Too much food can sink to the bottom of your pool, where it will rot and contribute to sludge and ammonia build-up.
You don’t have to worry about your fish starving; they feed on algae, mosquito larvae and other things in the lake. You can also add them
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