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  1. #1

    Water clarity issues

    Hello, I’m having trouble with my pond not being clear. Hoping someone can advise!

    4500 gallon pond, set up since last November with 6 koi, 3 carp, a few goldfish/tench and 10 large Rudd.

    Filtration wise there are 2 BDs going into an ultrasieve 3, then 20k vari pump set at 50%, which runs through a multibay full of jap matting and then 600l IBC moving bed with 150l of k1 before returning to pond. Skimmer line is currently just 20k vari pump set at 40%, then through 55w evo uv into pond.

    Water parameters are great (ammonia, nitrite are zero and nitrate very low 2.5 mg/l) so happy with biological filtration.

    Clarity however has been a problem. Back at start of June I had clear water (see attachments) which quickly turned very murky. I’ve managed to bring back some of the clarity by adding filter floss (cleaned daily) and cleaning the jap matting every 2-3 days, but it’s no where near what I had in June. I’ve tried letting a pint of pond water settle, which leads me to think there are lots of fines in the water, but it still has a green tinge.

    Any suggestions? I think my mechanical filtration needs improving, so am considering a drum or bead. UV wise, is the evo 55 ok for my pond or do I need something more powerful like a 110w?

    cheers


    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    is the pond in direct sunshine?

    ours is pretty much from sunrise (approx 5am) til just before sunset (approx 8pm ish) during height of summer, ours got very murky with loads of single cell algae, has improved a lot last week or so, but i also put a king size sheet (until either lily pads develop or a sail) over the temp netting to create a shade as well.

    our pond is approx 4k gallons i think and we're running a 110w (no idea if that's overspecced or not)

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by CBKOI View Post
    is the pond in direct sunshine?

    ours is pretty much from sunrise (approx 5am) til just before sunset (approx 8pm ish) during height of summer, ours got very murky with loads of single cell algae, has improved a lot last week or so, but i also put a king size sheet (until either lily pads develop or a sail) over the temp netting to create a shade as well.

    our pond is approx 4k gallons i think and we're running a 110w (no idea if that's overspecced or not)
    Yes it gets good sunshine most of the morning until early afternoon, and then a little bit in the evening.

    I did my research on which UV to get when building the pond, and thought the evo 55 would be up to the job based on the spec and my pond. Not so sure now. Interesting you’ve got a 110 on your pond which is similar size. What are other people running on similar size ponds?


    Cheers

  4. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Sim's Avatar
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    Is it algae or just dirty water (fine particles)
    I have a 5000 gal pond with 55 uv but only use it when I get green water.
    not in full sun but gets a fair bit.
    If it’s particles a drum would probably sort it, or perhaps pick up a bead filter, I ran one with a nexus and always had good water.
    I run a drum these days and again water is kept clear

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Sim View Post
    Is it algae or just dirty water (fine particles)
    I have a 5000 gal pond with 55 uv but only use it when I get green water.
    not in full sun but gets a fair bit.
    If it’s particles a drum would probably sort it, or perhaps pick up a bead filter, I ran one with a nexus and always had good water.
    I run a drum these days and again water is kept clear
    I took a pint of water from the pond and let it settle. The water was clear and the bottom covered in green bits, so think there is a fines problem. The pond still looks a bit green though, so not too sure. Good feedback on the drum or bead, think I’ll be changing things around.

    Cheers

  6. #6
    Japanese matting, is meant to be used for Bio ! So cleaning it means you are losing an ability to be efficient, at cleaning & controlling your bio’s loading, based on how much you feed, against the ability to filter useful mulm & control you water Parameters?


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  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by silver.wolf.9883 View Post
    Japanese matting, is meant to be used for Bio ! So cleaning it means you are losing an ability to be efficient, at cleaning & controlling your bio’s loading, based on how much you feed, against the ability to filter useful mulm & control you water Parameters?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
    Yep jap matting is great bio, and along with with the moving bed my water parameters are good. Don’t really want it doing this much mechanical though, seems more gets through the sieve than I expected.

    Think options are drum with both BDs and skimmer running into it, and then into the bio chambers. Or look at getting a bead to run after the sieve, or just separate on skimmer line before UV.

    Cheers

  8. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Gosai KevT's Avatar
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    Hi

    If the bits settle out in a glass then it looks like your mechanical filtration isn't performing and is allowing the muck to go right through your system. Might be worth seeing if slowing the water flow through your system a little more to allow it to settle the muck out in the multi bay. This will also improve bio filtration as the water is in contact with the media for a longer time.

    Another thought - I'm also in full sun and at 2000 gallons only have an 11 watt UV and I didn't suffer green water last year - I bought some cheap bulbs off a certain on-line site and had green water within days of changing these bulbs - 2 for £10 if I remember for the 2021 season. I went into my local Koi centre and he said I needed a good quality UV and that the Phillip's bulbs he sells were £22 each for an 11 watt. I purchased one and the pond was clear within 2 weeks!

    I will be changing the bulb next year for another £22 one. Might be your UV bulb even if it was replaced isn't working?

    Buy cheap / buy twice comes to mind

    KevT

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  10. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by KevT View Post
    Hi

    If the bits settle out in a glass then it looks like your mechanical filtration isn't performing and is allowing the muck to go right through your system. Might be worth seeing if slowing the water flow through your system a little more to allow it to settle the muck out in the multi bay. This will also improve bio filtration as the water is in contact with the media for a longer time.

    Another thought - I'm also in full sun and at 2000 gallons only have an 11 watt UV and I didn't suffer green water last year - I bought some cheap bulbs off a certain on-line site and had green water within days of changing these bulbs - 2 for £10 if I remember for the 2021 season. I went into my local Koi centre and he said I needed a good quality UV and that the Phillip's bulbs he sells were £22 each for an 11 watt. I purchased one and the pond was clear within 2 weeks!

    I will be changing the bulb next year for another £22 one. Might be your UV bulb even if it was replaced isn't working?

    Buy cheap / buy twice comes to mind

    KevT
    Cheers KevT, I did try playing around with my pump speeds but it didn’t seem to make much difference. I had the same thought about bulbs! So brought a brand new genuine osram bulb which also made no difference. It does seem to go more green as the day goes along, so thinking the UV isn’t up to the job for the pond.

    thinking of ditching the Evo and getting an Amalgam uv in the sieve or future drum. Anyone got any experience with the air aqua super amalgam uv? Wanted a fully submersible one instead of drilling holes for tank connectors.

    Cheers

  11. #10
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Hassai freddy's Avatar
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    I tend to think that UV’s are a bit like filters. Best to halve the quoted capacity.

  12. #11
    The Old adage for STD U/V' was 10 Watts per 1,000 UK Gallons!
    Minimum. .?
    More is always better, especially if Pond is in Full Sun for a big part of the day. Plus ensure you replace bulbs in Spring, as this time, & leading to Summer is when the bulb will be full strength! Weakening towards the Winter, when not really required much in winter. (Long dark days etc..)


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  13. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Gosai KevT's Avatar
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    Hi

    Don't know if this is correct, but here goes I believe that the bacteria (anaerobic denitrification) in a shower also feed on nitrate which compete against the green algae and obviously gassing ammonia in a shower will help too, as usual happy to be corrected

    KevT

  14. #13
    D3B88D16-C4AC-4313-954E-94506109144B.jpg

    Update. Pond has gone really clear again. Think a combination of increased cleaning, more water changes and the cooler weather has meant my UV and filters have caught up. Still going to make changes over the winter, but nice to see the fish better again!

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  16. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
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    Good to see, nice and clean !!

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  17. #15
    [QUOTE=dbs;386307]Good to see, nice and clean !!

    Cheers DBS! they also seem to have been eating well and grown a fair bit!

    Gone through plenty of Queni koi Japan mix, about 14kg I think since start of May.

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  19. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion dbs's Avatar
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    Blimey they are eating well too !!

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  20. #17
    Thought I would update this thread.

    I started this year off with the same evo 55 UV on the skimmer line. Quickly started having clarity issues again once the weather warmed up this month. So I purchased one of these from Cotswold koi.

    https://www.cotswoldkoi.co.uk/produc...le-uv-40-watt/

    I sat it within my ultrasieve 3 and the change has been incredible. Took the pond from greenish to crystal in 5 days. It’s so good in fact I’ve only had it on every few days overnight to keep 4500 gallons crystal. So obvious electricity savings vs running 55 watts constantly and much much better clarity.

    Highly recommend amalgam UV so far! Will be interesting to see how it fares long term.


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  21. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Steve1984's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BrucePondsteen View Post
    Thought I would update this thread.

    I started this year off with the same evo 55 UV on the skimmer line. Quickly started having clarity issues again once the weather warmed up this month. So I purchased one of these from Cotswold koi.

    https://www.cotswoldkoi.co.uk/produc...le-uv-40-watt/

    I sat it within my ultrasieve 3 and the change has been incredible. Took the pond from greenish to crystal in 5 days. It’s so good in fact I’ve only had it on every few days overnight to keep 4500 gallons crystal. So obvious electricity savings vs running 55 watts constantly and much much better clarity.

    Highly recommend amalgam UV so far! Will be interesting to see how it fares long term.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Thats interesting to hear, I'm also having issues with water clarity and am running a 55w evolution as well. I was toying with adding another 55w as was coming on to ask how was best to mount it. This might be another option though to look at. How does it fit into the sieve?

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  23. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve1984 View Post
    Thats interesting to hear, I'm also having issues with water clarity and am running a 55w evolution as well. I was toying with adding another 55w as was coming on to ask how was best to mount it. This might be another option though to look at. How does it fit into the sieve?

    Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk
    It’s made a big difference to my pond already. I tried different flow rates through the evo 55, but couldn’t get it to keep the pond clear. This particular amalgam UV is submersible, so I’ve just got the unit sat on the dirty side of the sieve as the water passes around it. No need to fit bulk heads. Comes with a 5m cable before the ballast, which sits on wall plugged in.




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  25. #20
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Steve1984's Avatar
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    Thanks, I'll take a look this could be an option rather than another UV. Are you still running the evo UV as well?

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