Hi all...Just joined the site today .....looks very interesting.
Need a bit of advice please...I have a 9ft x 8ft pond which is just over 2ft deep at centre. I have recently renewed the liner and filled with tap water. Then used dechlorinator and put my fish in ( a mix of goldfish / rudd / tench / a couple of fairly large Koi). In no time at all the water turned pea soup green and I couldn't see the fish at all. I have used 'extract of barley straw' and 'green away' but not really any better. Can anyone suggest the type of floating plant that would be ideal for helping to clear the water please?

Hi there

I'm no expert but 2ft deep is not particularly deep, so watch what fish you put in it.

With regards to your water, its not had any time to mature if you have just done a 100% water change.
You can put in many plants n stuff but ultimately until your water has cycled, that is to say that the useful bacteria in your filter has caught up with the water change, you may experience problems such as Algae etc.

Watch out for Amonnia, Nitrates etc.

Do a water test!

Did you clean out your filter as well?

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3ft X 2ft Tank & 2 Small Quarantene Tanks

1 pearl Gourami 1 Sword tail
4 Upside down Catfish 2 Flying Foxes
1 Angel 4 Corys
1 Horse Faced Loach 1 Rainbow Fish
2 Congo Tetra's 3 Dwarf Suckerfish
3 Lemon tetra's 3 Red Phantom Tetra's
I Bristlenose 4 BN Fry
Plants

3 Lilly's 3 Onion bulbs
3 various other plants

hello and welcome to the forum

from a google search came this
http://www.colowatergardensociety.or...reenwater.html

your right that plants can provide the surface shade needed! im not sure what plants to advise you to get however i would strongly advise you not to get any form of Duck weed! its a sod to get rid of and will also be a pain later!

as the equalizer said if its a new pond set up keep a eye on the tests.if you kept your old filter then this will have helped loads

Robert.

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Hi Kayell

Ok lets start from scratch , tell me a little about your pond

Do you have a filter / UV ( ultraviolet ) an air pump / or any sort of pump to move the water around ?

With any new pond , the dreaded green water always follows A UV is the best way to clear it on any new pond. I have used Barley straw before with good effect but not on a new pond. Floating plants would need a long time to get established before you saw any difference in the green water.

A filter conected to a pump will not only get rid of the the bad stuff in a pond E.G fish poo, but it also generates some nice bacteria that will help your fish .

There is more info I can give you, but will wait for your answer to the above .

As to your fish, the pond is a good size , but my recomendation to you is to remove the koi, as a koi keeper , I know how big these guys can grow and a 2 foot deep pond would soon be too small for them.

Goldies , shubunkins and possibly golden orfe would be well suited to your pond, and a lot less hard work. ( and believe me I know what I am talking about as regards to koi) .

Merlin

Watercress (from a clean source) is very good, it grows fast and consumes a lot of nutrients so it cleans the water fast. It can grow happily either rooted in shallow water or just floating around with the roots hanging in the water. Floating is better because the roots are absorbing nutrients from the water. The only problem is that the fish may eat it. My goldfish eat it all overnight, so I have put it in a floating basket.

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Lucia

Thanks to all for your help. I have a pump which serves a small waterfall and large frog spout. The pump has a foam filter cube attached and goes via a filter box and a UV light. There is also an air pump and stone which gives off a lot of bubbles. There are two small water lillies with a few leaves but not much surface cover. I am putting some Azolla and a few Water Soldiers in next week and hope the Koi leave them alone.
I have just given the pond a double strength dose of 'Green Away' and within minutes a layer of sludgy mess appeared on the surface. After scooping this off the water looks a bit clearer but is now more brown than green.
I am not sure whether I should continue to double dose the pond with Interpet Green Away as this seems to work if extra strong but I am not sure what damage it may do.
again....thanks for all guidance.....

I don't think you should use more than the recommended amount of Green Away, as it may harm the fish. Maybe better to do a partial water change to get rid of some of it, as you have already used a double dose. Definitely don't add any more for the time it says on the packet.

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Lucia