green water in winter please help

thereds · 06-02-2012, 03:49 PM

Hi Guys,

I am having a problem with the clarity of my pond water, two weeks ago my pond was crystal clear. My water parameters have not changed ie ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0, kh 106ppm ph 8. This week my pond water looks very green, can just about see the fish. I did turn off my uv's back in november and have been cleaning my bio filters out once per month as usual (can see nothing different it terms of build up), and changing out water. I did purchase some extreme winter bacteria made by hydra and have added this to my filters last weekend. I have turned my uv lamps back on again today thinking this may clear up the water?. Does any one else have or had this problem in winter?, would appreciate any help or advice you can give me. All the fish seem healthy enough when I can see them

Thanks,
Andy

markf1fan · 06-02-2012, 04:57 PM

hiya
i would put this down to your uv being turned off. im very surprised its gone green in the winter even with the uv being turned off. give it a week with the uv on and im sure it willclear again, have you checked that the uv is working and how old is the uv lamp as they need changing every season. mark

thereds · 06-02-2012, 05:14 PM

hi mark,

the uv's are around 6months old but only been in use about 3 months. my friend who also has a pond said to turn them off for the winter as you do not need them, but then other people say leave them on all year round and like you say change every season, although its not been warm in my area the sun has been shining most days so i suppose its getting some sort of uv?. The wonders of water keeping !!. Thanks for the quick reply hopefully it will go back to normal clarity soon(they say when you stop learning you die!!)
Andy

Doghouse Riley · 06-02-2012, 07:00 PM

I've noticed with my new UV it does get a bit green in the summer too and needed a clean when I turned it off, it'll probably need a clean again when I turn it on in the spring. it's "in line" from the pool to the filter, I could remove it but I don't fancy the hassle.
My old one which was 25 years old I made myself, the quartz tube I specially ordered was of a far better quality than that of the one in the new UV and it never went green and I never cleaned it. It did struggle a bit in very sunny weather as it was only 15watt

pmplumber · 06-02-2012, 07:44 PM

bang a new 55 watter in pal and let it run all year, id change ya bulb every 6 months at least too! alge should be struggling like mad to grow at this time of year???? is your pond heated? i used to have a pond as a kid which was green all summer but come the winter time it was gin clear.

miles41 · 06-02-2012, 07:48 PM

I must admit to being of the school; that runs the UV 24/7 all year and never turn it off. I change the bulb at the start of the season, usually in April and on my old pond, I never had any problems with green water.
I would suggest switch it back on and leave it on and see how you get on. Get a new bulb in the spring though.
Good luck

thereds · 06-02-2012, 10:27 PM

hi,
am i right in thinking the quartz tube can be cleaned in white vinegar and then a good rinse in a bucket of pond water before refitting?, my total wattage is 32watts uv inline for my 1000gallon pond, was ok in summer time(bit of blanket weed but could always see to the bottom). Been out there tonight(brrrr) and its definitely on so time will tell i suppose.

Doghouse Riley · 06-02-2012, 10:42 PM

Modern UV quartz tubes are particularly delicate. They can be hard to clean.
The biggest problem is the "O" rings, you need to carefully follow the instructions to ensure they go back where they should, when you reassemble the unit and you ain't lost any when you took it apart.

thereds · 09-02-2012, 08:46 PM

Hi All,
Just to report that uv's been on for 3 days now and water starting to clear now :-) . On the down side (you know there's always one!). I have today fitted my winter cover which is made from triple wall polycarbonate sheet and covers 3/4 of my pond screwed down to the frame work of my 1000g raised pond. temp at 5c at present and i have a small 150w de icer floating about beneath that sheet. hopefully the sheet will hold in a bit of the heat?, filters are all bagged up using water tank jackets and 25mts of bubble foil has been wrapped round and round the outside of the frame(foil side in). Think this water keeping game is driving me mad!!, but I love koi and believe watching them gracefully gliding around on a summers evening is good for the soul :-)

pmplumber · 10-02-2012, 11:40 PM

too true thereds! crack on!