Hi everyone. I am having some issues with my new pond and Im hoping that you guys can help me out. Im not new to the aquarium scene and I figured that it was finally time to upgrade to a pond. I decided to go at it myself since I pretty much had to learn everything about aquarium fish myself and picked it up as i went along. (Now I guess that was mistake No. 1).
So let me start at the beginning. My pond is about 850 gallons. My pond is about 5 feet deep and my filtration is set higher. The filtration "box" is at the same level as the top of the pond and is about 2 feet deep. There are two ways for the water from the pond to enter the filter box. 1. is thru a hole in side of the filter (its meant to act as a top skimmer). 2. Theres a pipe from the bottom of the pond that leads into the filter box. Due to water pressure the water level of the pond and the filter remains the same unless the water level dips below the lip of the pipes in the filter.
My filter "box" was created by the previous owners of my house (actually the whole pond was built by them). Its side profile looks something like this :-
[ ] ] <- water level
[ A ] B C ]
[ ] ] ]
[ ] ] ]
[ [D ] ] ] ]
[ [ ] ] ]
[ [ ] ] ]
A is the point where the water enters from the pond. D signifies the pipes coming from the bottom of the pond. Compartments A and B are connected via 2 pipes at the bottom of the "box". Compartment C is where I have placed my pump. The water from compartment B spills over and fills up C as the pump pumps water back into my pond via a waterfall and a fountain.
As for the filter material. Compartment A contains sponges of various density. Compartment B contains various types of bio-rings, bio-balls, activated charcoal and limestones (at least i think they are limestones).
So now I present to you my problems and questions. If these have been answered before please point me in the right direction.
1. I am using a UV light to get rid of algae growth. However it does not seem to be working. My water is still as green as ever. The pump for the UV light is a different pump and the turnover is no where near what I am using for my filtration. The pump used for the UV light probably recycles the water about once every 2-3 hours. My question is how can I get the water to remain crystal clear. I dont care if it is a process that will take some time or money but as long as the end result is that I get a clear pond.
2. I had hired some folks to watch over my pond when I went outstation last week. I told them to change about 20% of the water in my pond. However they did a full water change without telling me and failed to add any anti-chlorine. I only found out about it when I got back home about 6 hours after the deed was done at which point I added the anti-chlorine. My fishes (2 knife fish, 2 gars and 2 bichirs) seemed fine until today morning when I found one of my fishes dead in filter box. It seems the "help" had changed my layout for my filter box as well. So my question is what could have caused the death of my bichir? PH is ok ... except for the fact that my water is green there doesnt seem to be anything wrong. Could it be the temperature? Or could it be the fact that it has been raining alot here in Malaysia lately.
3. Is my filter box setup ok? My water supply to the fountain and waterfall is limited via switches. If i switch both on to full the water level in compartment C drops VERY low. Not enough water coming in while pump is pumping too much water out.
Those are all the questions I have for now. I hope to get a quick reply as i am quite desperate and dont want to see the rest of my fishes die. The loss of one of my 2 year old bichirs is bad enough. I dont think I could stand to see the rest die as well. Thank you very much in advance.
So let me start at the beginning. My pond is about 850 gallons. My pond is about 5 feet deep and my filtration is set higher. The filtration "box" is at the same level as the top of the pond and is about 2 feet deep. There are two ways for the water from the pond to enter the filter box. 1. is thru a hole in side of the filter (its meant to act as a top skimmer). 2. Theres a pipe from the bottom of the pond that leads into the filter box. Due to water pressure the water level of the pond and the filter remains the same unless the water level dips below the lip of the pipes in the filter.
My filter "box" was created by the previous owners of my house (actually the whole pond was built by them). Its side profile looks something like this :-
[ ] ] <- water level
[ A ] B C ]
[ ] ] ]
[ ] ] ]
[ [D ] ] ] ]
[ [ ] ] ]
[ [ ] ] ]
A is the point where the water enters from the pond. D signifies the pipes coming from the bottom of the pond. Compartments A and B are connected via 2 pipes at the bottom of the "box". Compartment C is where I have placed my pump. The water from compartment B spills over and fills up C as the pump pumps water back into my pond via a waterfall and a fountain.
As for the filter material. Compartment A contains sponges of various density. Compartment B contains various types of bio-rings, bio-balls, activated charcoal and limestones (at least i think they are limestones).
So now I present to you my problems and questions. If these have been answered before please point me in the right direction.
1. I am using a UV light to get rid of algae growth. However it does not seem to be working. My water is still as green as ever. The pump for the UV light is a different pump and the turnover is no where near what I am using for my filtration. The pump used for the UV light probably recycles the water about once every 2-3 hours. My question is how can I get the water to remain crystal clear. I dont care if it is a process that will take some time or money but as long as the end result is that I get a clear pond.
2. I had hired some folks to watch over my pond when I went outstation last week. I told them to change about 20% of the water in my pond. However they did a full water change without telling me and failed to add any anti-chlorine. I only found out about it when I got back home about 6 hours after the deed was done at which point I added the anti-chlorine. My fishes (2 knife fish, 2 gars and 2 bichirs) seemed fine until today morning when I found one of my fishes dead in filter box. It seems the "help" had changed my layout for my filter box as well. So my question is what could have caused the death of my bichir? PH is ok ... except for the fact that my water is green there doesnt seem to be anything wrong. Could it be the temperature? Or could it be the fact that it has been raining alot here in Malaysia lately.
3. Is my filter box setup ok? My water supply to the fountain and waterfall is limited via switches. If i switch both on to full the water level in compartment C drops VERY low. Not enough water coming in while pump is pumping too much water out.
Those are all the questions I have for now. I hope to get a quick reply as i am quite desperate and dont want to see the rest of my fishes die. The loss of one of my 2 year old bichirs is bad enough. I dont think I could stand to see the rest die as well. Thank you very much in advance.
I use them in my fry tanks.