Thank you Kev! I really needed a scientific breakdown of how the water flows through a filter, and through which pipes. Your diagrams were awesome. I feel like I could go out right now and build a filter from memory of this video alone. You're a great teacher!
You've done a great job here mate and its really helped me. I like that it's just informative with no gimmicks, and it has good links for further learning. Keep up the good work
Another great video Kev . I have a more tricky situation as I am off grid (big pumps are huge electrical loads) and the pond is pretty big. Moreover its inhabited by lots of tilapia,, some smaller fish, and turtles moved in from the surrounding area. Even circulating the water once a day is not likely to happen let alone once an hour. I have put in a filter similar to what you describe (inspired by your previous videos) with about 20 feet of pebbles 18" inches deep and Im pumping the water up through that channel . But its not such high volume maybe 400gph. The pond meanwhile is around 100 feet in diameter and goes from 3-6 feet depth. Around the edges there is natural plant growth. Theres not much rocks in the pond other than in the channel I mentioned. The pond had a good foot depth of "muck" at the bottom which is not pleasant for swimming. My thoughts were to have the muck excavated and maybe add some rocks and harvest many fish. Otherwise Im out of ideas. Anything I can do that you can recommend? I dream big- Id really love to have a clear swimming pond that I can also fish for dinner as desired:). Maybe its unrealistic, but I really hope it isn't.
I can't imagine being able to sustain large fish populations and maintaining clear water with no pump. My only idea would be to load the pond with big powerful plants like willow, that might help keep the water more naturalized. If you were to clear the muck and take out most of the fish, it would definitely help in the short term but I would think the fish would just repopulate the pond within a couple years. If your pond is big enough, maybe add some predators to keep the tilapia population down?
@@Gongall Well there is birds in the area that get their share. ANd I do have 2 pumps. One used for aeration the other is doing about 400 gph. Yeah Im thinking to try to introduce some more boggy plants. But how do I do that exactly? Clearing the muck and many of the fish is in the cards but they have a tendency to reproduce rapidly. Another idea I had is to put a wall and effectively separate the swimming from the fish sections. But its not all too clear how to do that either. Plus then I guess Id need another pump for filtration ....
@@jasondoe6079 Do u have some kind of liner in the pond? The muck layer could serve as a substrate for the plants. Depending on how clear you want the water, you might be better off removing the tilapia totally. They are a pretty messy and prolific fish from what I've heard. I guess if you wanted to eat them, you could catch one every couple days for a while or something along those lines, and directly control their population.
@@Gongall No liner the soil here is very clay rich it seals easily. Tilapia are not easy to remove they are way smarter than the other fish. THey get about 2 pounds. FIsh trap yielded zero tilapia .Catching them one at a time is not likely to reduce population much as I stocked 500 babies. Even draining the pond would be very wasteful as theres way .more food swimming in there than I can eat or store. Quite the conundrum !
This was such an excellent video because you covered it from so many different angles. Sometimes people will tell you to just do something without clearly explaining the reasoning behind it. You explain things very clearly, and I am hopeful that the methods I am applying, which you have taught, yield a clearer pond. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video and your other videos.
@@Ozponds Hello again, I wanted to tell you what we did to our pond. The pond is about 20,000 liters. We sectioned off the shallow end which is about 25% of the total. We call this “the bog”. We did this with large rocks that make a wall. I am using a 17k l/h pump about 5 m away whereby the output hose runs into the bog. About 4 meters of the tube has small holes drilled in it. We then buried the hose with loads of rocks, pebbles of various sizes. Essentially, the pond water about 5 m away pumps into the bog and seeps through about 2 m of all that rock back through the wall. We also have loads of plants in to bog and we will plant about 60 more plants soon. We also put a mesh plastic container in the bog. It is my access point for pumping out the bog occasionally. It is covered with a piece of slate and has a bird bath on it. So, now we wait and see if the water clears up.
Kev Hi I've added mid last year two 205lt gravel filter 5 barrels in total. The gravel drums operate independently to stop the algae during our Hot NSW summers and to supplement my mechanical and Bio filters to not work as hard , water hasn't been so clear and stays clear. I think slowing down the water flow as you suggested in your other video's is the secret. I'm hoping I can just run the 2 gravel filters during winter My pond outside is above ground concrete and glass only 750mm deep with a bottom suction and skimmer and just 8500 litres. Thanks PS: LOVE THE UNI SEALS TOO
I miss my two ponds I had in South Florida. I kept guppies, mollies, Red Tailed Sharks, koi, and tons of plants! I also had a resident Brown Basilisk Lizard who visited both ponds and partook of some of my guppies! He was more than welcome!!! I used to feed him crickets and mealworms I bought at the pet shop.
I have just a big plastic bin and the water pumps into the top of it, sprayed over the top of foam. The water flows DOWN with gravity through layers of foam and then lava rocks, then out the bottom on the bin through a pipe and falls back into the pond. I find this is very easy to clean and maintain as the bin it high up so I don't have to kneel down.
@@Ozponds this is the only 'pond' I have right now, but it has the elements of a bigger pond. It is its own little ecosystem. It does have a heat pad and aeration to keep temp and water movement to support gas exchange. 🤗 ruclips.net/user/shorts8rzXA27V5Kc?feature=share
I love your videos and appreciate the clear way you explain the sometimes mysterious physiology that once understood helps maintain a pond (or several ponds)
Greetings, I loved how you made everything clear within just ten minutes. It really was very informative and helpful. I do have a query however, and that is if I can apply this to a lake + what can be done to naturally make the water blue (with no harm or the usage of harsh chemicals). Thank you!
Good idea to suggest related videos (and products) in a more structured order. One question for this video: what is the definition of healthy pond water? Useful and informative videos as always. Keep it up :)
I love seeing your ponds throughout the different seasons!!! It really makes me think about being sure to incorporate things for each season. 🤔 Also, great advice on over-filtering, instead of under-filtering. I like that idea. Get some rest sir, and see you on the next video!!
Yet another fine video from you, my guru Pondanda. I'm still working on my first pond, but to be ready when the time comes: Will you please help me figure which video deals with your "struggles with stringy algae"?
Great video. Question on bogfilter: isn't it a good idea to have (pea)gravel all the way up, with no open water? We have a lot of algae in our upflow bogfilter / wetland. When the water level would sit just under the gravel, I guess you still keep the biological filtration with biofilm, but with less algae. Plants still have their roots in water.
I like to do that on my small bogs. The larger bogs I’ll have water over the top. That’s because I like them as sort of a grow out pond for the baby fish.
I've no intention of doing anything else with my small pond but still like to watch your vids. When you say just plants will do for a small no fish pond, how small did you mean? My 2k litre just had to be drained to start again after 7 years. Plants weren't enough. With no movement it's my understanding you'll need to refresh the whole thing every 5 years or so. I'm trying again with a filter. Cheers.
@@Ozponds I was maintaining it but maybe sometimes inconsistent. Netting the leaves from lots of trees. It's done very well with wildlife, frogs, toads, newts, dragonfly and waterboatmen. I decided to start again mostly because it began to smell, things like hornwort died after usually being v healthy and it was completely covered in duckweed which is, even after a full drain and clean impossible to get rid of entirely. Had lots of good years, just felt like it went past the point of return. I remember reading when I first started that small ponds need a complete overhaul drain every 5 years. This one lasted 7 before I felt like it had just lost it. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the reset and maybe get better at tidying it up! After watching your vids I have a pump and filter. No fish though. The sound of the trickle of water is great.
I also love the sound of water. No filter, just plants are definitely harder to maintain. It’s hard to remove sludge buildup when you are worried about all the little critters living in it.
How do you find the white clouds going mate? I'm down in Gippsland and have just slapped together a roughly 12k litre pond and want to put a pair of turtles in come summer and have been wondering what fish species to use. Already got my hands on some pygmy perch and tandanus
Kevin! We are getting ready to lay the liner down for a 30’ x 40’ pond/natural swimming pool. The big question we have currently is can we have natural water flow in the pool from a stream or should we divert the water in hopes to keep out algae. If we allow the water in how essential is the filter that we choose to go with? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!
Joel Ashton from "Wild your garden" says you will have less string algae if you use rainwater in your pond. City water has a higher pH and more nutrients in it that grows string algae. I think that is why I have never had much of a problem. When I checked years ago, my rainwater pH was 7.0 and my city water pH was 9.0. I have 1250 gallons (4700 liters) worth of rainwater storage so I can use rainwater most of the year. I like using the pond for my garden. I use the rainwater in the pond and the pond water in the greenhouse because salts will not build up like they will if I use city water in the greenhouse (because it don't rain in the greenhouse to wash it away). So I can do a bit of a water exchange as I water the greenhouse. The other thing is particle buildup in the pond water. As you probably know, only pure water is evaporated and particles in city water build up in the pond over time which is a reason to do water exchanges. This does not happen if you use rainwater in the pond.
You saw what happened in my ponds this summer when I was topping up with mains. Algae. Mains water can also contains phosphate. So I agree rain water is the best water to add to your pond.
I expect that you are using a DC pump. I’ve been looking at the DC pumps you have been recommending. How do you prevent the controller and the power supply from getting moisture inside and shorting out the electronics? Greatly enjoy your videos. My pond in western Canada is a solid block of ice, waiting for spring.
I have same pumps and did basically what kev did. Extend then power lead from the pumps using decent cable there just a 3 wire and run the cable to an under cover area to keep the controller and any connections basically in a dry area they should be right.
Yes. Keep the controller and transformer indoors or undercover and extend the low volt power cable that goes to the pump. I’ve shown it in a video as part of the dream pond build 👍
I like this video. I thought that your graphics were very useful in helping one to understand the cycle in a pond. So it is true then that there are some bacteria that will breakdown nitrate to a gas ?
I am a bit confused about planting . I know that I have to keep nutrients to a minimum in a pond. However what do I do with my plants. I have a couple of water lilies and some marginal plants. But they are all planted in soil. Should I wash the soil off their roots and just plant them bare rooted into the substrate ? ( pebbles ,gravel ) can you offer me some advice please Kev ? 😮
Water Lilies are very heavy feeders. So if you want them to flower nicely and have vigorous growth best to keep them in soil. Marginals can be planted straight into the pebble/ gravel.
Sorry for the (probably) stupid question. Would it make any sense to add spin down (self cleaning) filters as part of the filtration system for the POND?
I finished my duck pond after rebuilding it 5 times due to varying rookie mistakes (I should have paid more attention to your videos😇). I have 2 bog filters and a skimmer. Due to the ducks being a muddy mess (and no doubt pooping in the water), I am having trouble keeping the pond water clear. It gets muddy after about 6 hours and stays that way. I have a solids handling pump and the bog filters are capturing many muddy particles but it doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. It's a new pond so I suspect adding plants to the bog filters will help. Minimizing the dirt around the pond should help keep the ducks from dragging dirt into the pond. I'm thinking of adding a 3rd bog filter and adding some sponges to the filters. I think that will help some. It seems I have a long way to go before I figure this out. Thanks for all your videos!!! p.s. Floculent really didn't help...because ducks. lol.
@@Ozponds I just need the sponges I can cut myself. I can make the filter. You're a boss. Thanks. I'll send pictures when the pond is all finished and doesn't look like a drunk homeless guy put it together.
Well get plecos if you want to get rid of algae growing on stones. I had an aquarium, and I only changed water once a year. It remained crystal clear all year round. I only took some stones and shells from sea to get that bacteria and some fresh water from a already established pond.
The main issue I grapple with is that you have virtually zero load on your filters as you have a handful of tiny fish with little mass. Try adding 30 or 40 adult koi to your pond ( I know you can't as you're in Australia - they "know best apparently" ) which would duplicate a real world scenario the rest of us have to deal with. It's a different game entirely. Having said that, from experience I can attest that bog filters - when properly dimensioned and built with some basic knowledge of the fundamentals - clears the water like no K1 media could ever do. Add to that a really massive amount of aquatic plants then you're in the Zone. For my application to support 40 koi, I have a mix of modern tech - a drum filter, 2 Nexus 320's that feed to 3 separate bog filters that each are 30% of the pond surface area. The bog filters in turn feed 3 large veggie filters populated with water cress ( champion nitrate eaters that they are ) The bog filters then feed 3 anoxic filters similarly dimensioned as the veggie/bog filters and final return to the main pond. Total surface area of filtration is >100% of the pond surface area. The result is water that is not only crystal clear but difficult to move from baseline readings regardless of how much the koi are fed ( I feed them between 7 to 10 times a day - on automatic timer ). I know Dr Novak recommends anoxic only and supposedly "not compatible" with conventional filtration but the data and results I get beg to differ. The filtration job isn't done until nitrates read zero as well.
That isn’t my idea of pond keeping. I just share my ponds and what I do. I’m a low tech, low maintenance, cheap DIY kind of guy. I always say if what I do doesn’t resonate with your idea of pond keeping find someone who does. There’s plenty of choice.
Awesome work - thanks! But are you certain it’s not too much nitrate that will cause algae instead of ammonia? My experience from fish tanks is that getting ammonia down is a must, but also pretty easy once the bacteria has established. Getting nitrate and thereby algae down is more difficult and requires a lot of plants and/or de-nitrifying bacteria. I’m pretty sure what’s giving you that amazing crystal clear water is that you have plenty of plants and have created the optimal conditions for de-nitrifying bacteria.
Nitrates aren't really as much of an issue as we've been told... But, even IF the nitrates cause algae, that's just another food source for the fish and it filters the water as well. Eventually, a tank/pond will balance itself out and algae will be almost non existent.
It’s estimated that there’s anywhere from 30k- 1 million species of algae. I’m sure some prefer nitrate, some ammonia, some phosphate, some nitrite, ect, ect. In my experience inadequate filtration leads to single celled algae, which turns the water green. My hypothesis is that it is feeding on the ammonia, due to the lack of bacteria. Anytime I test my ponds nitrate is almost non-existent. Almost all my ponds use bog filters, rock/ pebble and have plants. I believe that promotes a habitat for aerobic bacterias, anoxic bacterias and even anaerobic bacterias. Never have green water, but from time to time string algae can be an issue. But still no nitrates. That’s more a phosphate thing. At least that’s been my experience. That’s not to say it will be everyone’s experience.
Thank you Kev! I really needed a scientific breakdown of how the water flows through a filter, and through which pipes. Your diagrams were awesome. I feel like I could go out right now and build a filter from memory of this video alone. You're a great teacher!
Great to hear. Filtering water is pretty easy once you understand the basics 👍
Your videos are SO helpful and informative, I appreciate the no BS and detailed instructions for the DIYer. 💕
Glad you like them 🍻👍
You've done a great job here mate and its really helped me. I like that it's just informative with no gimmicks, and it has good links for further learning. Keep up the good work
I am not going to lie. I am jealous of your pond.
The idea is that by making the videos anyone can have something similar 👍
@Ozponds Well, maybe half as nice.
Great video. I love the clarity of your pond. 👌👏👏👏
Glad you liked it 👍
Wow! This is the cleanest clearest explanation I have ever seen. Cheers mate you are awesome
Thanks Scott 👍
Thanks. Every information counts.
Another great video Kev . I have a more tricky situation as I am off grid (big pumps are huge electrical loads) and the pond is pretty big. Moreover its inhabited by lots of tilapia,, some smaller fish, and turtles moved in from the surrounding area. Even circulating the water once a day is not likely to happen let alone once an hour. I have put in a filter similar to what you describe (inspired by your previous videos) with about 20 feet of pebbles 18" inches deep and Im pumping the water up through that channel . But its not such high volume maybe 400gph. The pond meanwhile is around 100 feet in diameter and goes from 3-6 feet depth. Around the edges there is natural plant growth. Theres not much rocks in the pond other than in the channel I mentioned. The pond had a good foot depth of "muck" at the bottom which is not pleasant for swimming. My thoughts were to have the muck excavated and maybe add some rocks and harvest many fish. Otherwise Im out of ideas. Anything I can do that you can recommend? I dream big- Id really love to have a clear swimming pond that I can also fish for dinner as desired:). Maybe its unrealistic, but I really hope it isn't.
I can't imagine being able to sustain large fish populations and maintaining clear water with no pump. My only idea would be to load the pond with big powerful plants like willow, that might help keep the water more naturalized. If you were to clear the muck and take out most of the fish, it would definitely help in the short term but I would think the fish would just repopulate the pond within a couple years. If your pond is big enough, maybe add some predators to keep the tilapia population down?
@@Gongall Well there is birds in the area that get their share. ANd I do have 2 pumps. One used for aeration the other is doing about 400 gph. Yeah Im thinking to try to introduce some more boggy plants. But how do I do that exactly? Clearing the muck and many of the fish is in the cards but they have a tendency to reproduce rapidly. Another idea I had is to put a wall and effectively separate the swimming from the fish sections. But its not all too clear how to do that either. Plus then I guess Id need another pump for filtration ....
@@jasondoe6079 Do u have some kind of liner in the pond? The muck layer could serve as a substrate for the plants. Depending on how clear you want the water, you might be better off removing the tilapia totally. They are a pretty messy and prolific fish from what I've heard. I guess if you wanted to eat them, you could catch one every couple days for a while or something along those lines, and directly control their population.
@@Gongall No liner the soil here is very clay rich it seals easily. Tilapia are not easy to remove they are way smarter than the other fish. THey get about 2 pounds. FIsh trap yielded zero tilapia .Catching them one at a time is not likely to reduce population much as I stocked 500 babies. Even draining the pond would be very wasteful as theres way .more food swimming in there than I can eat or store. Quite the conundrum !
Very difficult to attain crystal clear water in a clay lined pond.
This was such an excellent video because you covered it from so many different angles. Sometimes people will tell you to just do something without clearly explaining the reasoning behind it. You explain things very clearly, and I am hopeful that the methods I am applying, which you have taught, yield a clearer pond. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video and your other videos.
I wish you success 👍
@@Ozponds Hello again,
I wanted to tell you what we did to our pond.
The pond is about 20,000 liters. We sectioned off the shallow end which is about 25% of the total. We call this “the bog”. We did this with large rocks that make a wall. I am using a 17k l/h pump about 5 m away whereby the output hose runs into the bog. About 4 meters of the tube has small holes drilled in it. We then buried the hose with loads of rocks, pebbles of various sizes. Essentially, the pond water about 5 m away pumps into the bog and seeps through about 2 m of all that rock back through the wall.
We also have loads of plants in to bog and we will plant about 60 more plants soon.
We also put a mesh plastic container in the bog. It is my access point for pumping out the bog occasionally. It is covered with a piece of slate and has a bird bath on it.
So, now we wait and see if the water clears up.
Sounds pretty good. 👍
Kev Hi
I've added mid last year two 205lt gravel filter 5 barrels in total.
The gravel drums operate independently to stop the algae during our Hot NSW summers and to supplement my mechanical and Bio filters to not work as hard , water hasn't been so clear and stays clear.
I think slowing down the water flow as you suggested in your other video's is the secret.
I'm hoping I can just run the 2 gravel filters during winter
My pond outside is above ground concrete and glass only 750mm deep with a bottom suction and skimmer and just 8500 litres.
Thanks
PS: LOVE THE UNI SEALS TOO
Nice one 👍
Nice one. Thanks mate.
You are the man Rob 👍
I miss my two ponds I had in South Florida. I kept guppies, mollies, Red Tailed Sharks, koi, and tons of plants! I also had a resident Brown Basilisk Lizard who visited both ponds and partook of some of my guppies! He was more than welcome!!!
I used to feed him crickets and mealworms I bought at the pet shop.
Sounds wonderful
Dang dude! That pond is clearer than the glass of water I just drank 🥃😯
😂 yucky!
You have some problems where you live 😂
I have just a big plastic bin and the water pumps into the top of it, sprayed over the top of foam. The water flows DOWN with gravity through layers of foam and then lava rocks, then out the bottom on the bin through a pipe and falls back into the pond. I find this is very easy to clean and maintain as the bin it high up so I don't have to kneel down.
Awesome 👍
I like the airstone design
Does using all three simultaneously work even better?
Yes
Would putting duckweed in a barrel bio filter with fresh water mussels and clams be good too?
@@SherrickDuncan all good additions but the actual bio filter is still the most important.
@@Ozponds of course. 😊
Of all the pond videos I watched, built by pros or DYI, I find that I enjoy your ponds the most. If I ever build one, it will mimic your technique!
You’re very kind.
@@Ozponds this is the only 'pond' I have right now, but it has the elements of a bigger pond. It is its own little ecosystem. It does have a heat pad and aeration to keep temp and water movement to support gas exchange. 🤗 ruclips.net/user/shorts8rzXA27V5Kc?feature=share
Very cool Ken 👍
Nice and straight forward. Thanks
{edit} I can't find the string algae video?
Should be in the description. Algae treatments, my thoughts… something like that. 👍
Great information thanks for sharing ✌️👍💗💯
I love your videos and appreciate the clear way you explain the sometimes mysterious physiology that once understood helps maintain a pond (or several ponds)
Thanks Loni.
Greetings, I loved how you made everything clear within just ten minutes. It really was very informative and helpful. I do have a query however, and that is if I can apply this to a lake + what can be done to naturally make the water blue (with no harm or the usage of harsh chemicals). Thank you!
You could, in theory. Would just be expensive as you need to size the filtration in relation to the size of the lake.
@@Ozponds Thank you. Would you recommend the usage of Rock flour, or glacial flour to make the water appear blue/turquoise?
Not something I’ve tried so can’t really say.
Good idea to suggest related videos (and products) in a more structured order. One question for this video: what is the definition of healthy pond water? Useful and informative videos as always. Keep it up :)
For me healthy water is stable and able to support a wide variety of life.
Very helpful info thanks
I’m glad you got something out of it 👍
I love seeing your ponds throughout the different seasons!!! It really makes me think about being sure to incorporate things for each season. 🤔 Also, great advice on over-filtering, instead of under-filtering. I like that idea. Get some rest sir, and see you on the next video!!
See you then 😉👍
Yet another fine video from you, my guru Pondanda. I'm still working on my first pond, but to be ready when the time comes: Will you please help me figure which video deals with your "struggles with stringy algae"?
Pond algae | Prevention & treatment | My thoughts
ruclips.net/video/-hlWXtEk_wI/видео.html
Great video. Question on bogfilter: isn't it a good idea to have (pea)gravel all the way up, with no open water? We have a lot of algae in our upflow bogfilter / wetland. When the water level would sit just under the gravel, I guess you still keep the biological filtration with biofilm, but with less algae. Plants still have their roots in water.
I like to do that on my small bogs. The larger bogs I’ll have water over the top. That’s because I like them as sort of a grow out pond for the baby fish.
@@OzpondsTo have an area for the baby fish surely makes sense :)
Love your videos
I've no intention of doing anything else with my small pond but still like to watch your vids. When you say just plants will do for a small no fish pond, how small did you mean? My 2k litre just had to be drained to start again after 7 years. Plants weren't enough. With no movement it's my understanding you'll need to refresh the whole thing every 5 years or so. I'm trying again with a filter. Cheers.
Were you maintaining the pond? Removing plants? Netting out debris? What was the thing that made you start again?
@@Ozponds I was maintaining it but maybe sometimes inconsistent. Netting the leaves from lots of trees. It's done very well with wildlife, frogs, toads, newts, dragonfly and waterboatmen. I decided to start again mostly because it began to smell, things like hornwort died after usually being v healthy and it was completely covered in duckweed which is, even after a full drain and clean impossible to get rid of entirely. Had lots of good years, just felt like it went past the point of return. I remember reading when I first started that small ponds need a complete overhaul drain every 5 years. This one lasted 7 before I felt like it had just lost it. I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the reset and maybe get better at tidying it up! After watching your vids I have a pump and filter. No fish though. The sound of the trickle of water is great.
I also love the sound of water. No filter, just plants are definitely harder to maintain. It’s hard to remove sludge buildup when you are worried about all the little critters living in it.
@@Ozponds Yeah and cleaning every individual pebble gets old quick ;-) Learning lots though. Thanks.
Nicely done 👍🏼
Thank you! 👍
Thanks for this I Will check out your stuff!
I hope you find it helpful.
Kev my water is crystal clear thanks to you, and I have referred other people on RUclips to come to your channel to see how a bog filter is done!
Thanks Jerry! You’ve been a wonderful supporter of my channel. I appreciate you. 😊
How do you find the white clouds going mate? I'm down in Gippsland and have just slapped together a roughly 12k litre pond and want to put a pair of turtles in come summer and have been wondering what fish species to use. Already got my hands on some pygmy perch and tandanus
White clouds do fine outdoors in Gippsland. They breed easily, just make sure they can’t escape the pond.
What a wonderful video......your ponds are beautiful........do you operate your business in Australia?.........🥰🥰🥰
Thank you. Yes I’m based in Australia.
@@Ozponds thank you for your reply........ I may have need of your services in the not too distant future. 🥰🥰🥰
Which video deals with the string algae? Btw... this video has been the most educational for me yet... thank you
There’s quite a few if you just scroll through my previous vids 👍
wow this is great
👍
Kevin! We are getting ready to lay the liner down for a 30’ x 40’ pond/natural swimming pool. The big question we have currently is can we have natural water flow in the pool from a stream or should we divert the water in hopes to keep out algae. If we allow the water in how essential is the filter that we choose to go with? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!
We will chat soon. 👍
Joel Ashton from "Wild your garden" says you will have less string algae if you use rainwater in your pond. City water has a higher pH and more nutrients in it that grows string algae. I think that is why I have never had much of a problem. When I checked years ago, my rainwater pH was 7.0 and my city water pH was 9.0. I have 1250 gallons (4700 liters) worth of rainwater storage so I can use rainwater most of the year. I like using the pond for my garden. I use the rainwater in the pond and the pond water in the greenhouse because salts will not build up like they will if I use city water in the greenhouse (because it don't rain in the greenhouse to wash it away). So I can do a bit of a water exchange as I water the greenhouse.
The other thing is particle buildup in the pond water. As you probably know, only pure water is evaporated and particles in city water build up in the pond over time which is a reason to do water exchanges. This does not happen if you use rainwater in the pond.
You saw what happened in my ponds this summer when I was topping up with mains. Algae. Mains water can also contains phosphate. So I agree rain water is the best water to add to your pond.
Great video
Awesome. Do you ever swim in your dream pond?
I do.
@@Ozponds nice
I expect that you are using a DC pump. I’ve been looking at the DC pumps you have been recommending. How do you prevent the controller and the power supply from getting moisture inside and shorting out the electronics? Greatly enjoy your videos. My pond in western Canada is a solid block of ice, waiting for spring.
I have same pumps and did basically what kev did. Extend then power lead from the pumps using decent cable there just a 3 wire and run the cable to an under cover area to keep the controller and any connections basically in a dry area they should be right.
Yes. Keep the controller and transformer indoors or undercover and extend the low volt power cable that goes to the pump. I’ve shown it in a video as part of the dream pond build 👍
@@Ozponds Thanks, will be looking into adding additional wiring to the pump. Great information, thanks
@@curse6of6me6 Thanks for your assistance. Did you use a water proof cable?
I like this video. I thought that your graphics were very useful in helping one to understand the cycle in a pond. So it is true then that there are some bacteria that will breakdown nitrate to a gas ?
Correct 👍
@@Ozponds I didn't know that. Thank you. 😊☀️🐟🐡🌾🌿☘🌸🥀🌻
I am a bit confused about planting . I know that I have to keep nutrients to a minimum in a pond. However what do I do with my plants. I have a couple of water lilies and some marginal plants. But they are all planted in soil. Should I wash the soil off their roots and just plant them bare rooted into the substrate ? ( pebbles ,gravel ) can you offer me some advice please Kev ? 😮
Water Lilies are very heavy feeders. So if you want them to flower nicely and have vigorous growth best to keep them in soil. Marginals can be planted straight into the pebble/ gravel.
Sorry for the (probably) stupid question. Would it make any sense to add spin down (self cleaning) filters as part of the filtration system for the POND?
I’ve never tried it. But would be an interesting experiment.
I finished my duck pond after rebuilding it 5 times due to varying rookie mistakes (I should have paid more attention to your videos😇). I have 2 bog filters and a skimmer. Due to the ducks being a muddy mess (and no doubt pooping in the water), I am having trouble keeping the pond water clear. It gets muddy after about 6 hours and stays that way. I have a solids handling pump and the bog filters are capturing many muddy particles but it doesn't seem to make a lot of difference. It's a new pond so I suspect adding plants to the bog filters will help. Minimizing the dirt around the pond should help keep the ducks from dragging dirt into the pond. I'm thinking of adding a 3rd bog filter and adding some sponges to the filters. I think that will help some. It seems I have a long way to go before I figure this out. Thanks for all your videos!!!
p.s. Floculent really didn't help...because ducks. lol.
I’d try adding a high flow filter with lots of sponges. That will hopefully trap the mud. Would need regular flushing though.
@@Ozponds Do you have an Amazon link so you can get paid?😁
There’s a link to a high flow Amazon filter in the description. Cheaper to build your own if you can.
@@Ozponds I just need the sponges I can cut myself. I can make the filter. You're a boss. Thanks. I'll send pictures when the pond is all finished and doesn't look like a drunk homeless guy put it together.
😂 sounds good 👍
Your Amazing!
I don’t know about that. But thank you.
@@Ozponds Your videos have really helped me and my family pond. Keep up the great work
That makes me smile 😊👍
Thank you! Excellent video, very helpful!
Glad it was helpful! 👍
Is there an online pond plant supply shop that anyone recommends? There's nothing locally available. Thanks!
All you really need are canna plants will do the trick though I have elephant ears and bacopa, canna lilies in a bog filter are adequate
How come you don't use freshwater mussels in all your ponds for extra filtration?
Don’t need them. They are really good at dithering dirty water. I have them in some ponds.
Well get plecos if you want to get rid of algae growing on stones. I had an aquarium, and I only changed water once a year. It remained crystal clear all year round. I only took some stones and shells from sea to get that bacteria and some fresh water from a already established pond.
Cool 👍. Plecos are great if your pond stays warm enough.
The main issue I grapple with is that you have virtually zero load on your filters as you have a handful of tiny fish with little mass. Try adding 30 or 40 adult koi to your pond ( I know you can't as you're in Australia - they "know best apparently" ) which would duplicate a real world scenario the rest of us have to deal with. It's a different game entirely. Having said that, from experience I can attest that bog filters - when properly dimensioned and built with some basic knowledge of the fundamentals - clears the water like no K1 media could ever do. Add to that a really massive amount of aquatic plants then you're in the Zone. For my application to support 40 koi, I have a mix of modern tech - a drum filter, 2 Nexus 320's that feed to 3 separate bog filters that each are 30% of the pond surface area. The bog filters in turn feed 3 large veggie filters populated with water cress ( champion nitrate eaters that they are ) The bog filters then feed 3 anoxic filters similarly dimensioned as the veggie/bog filters and final return to the main pond. Total surface area of filtration is >100% of the pond surface area. The result is water that is not only crystal clear but difficult to move from baseline readings regardless of how much the koi are fed ( I feed them between 7 to 10 times a day - on automatic timer ). I know Dr Novak recommends anoxic only and supposedly "not compatible" with conventional filtration but the data and results I get beg to differ. The filtration job isn't done until nitrates read zero as well.
That isn’t my idea of pond keeping. I just share my ponds and what I do. I’m a low tech, low maintenance, cheap DIY kind of guy. I always say if what I do doesn’t resonate with your idea of pond keeping find someone who does. There’s plenty of choice.
Amazing design
What type of bush is next to the pond?
😂 I don’t know which bush and which pond you are referring to.
@@Ozponds how can I send you a screenshot of the bush I'm talking about?
You can send an email to kev@ozponds.com
Is stringy algae bad for pond?
No not really. Having said that there’s tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of types of algae. Some are good, some are not.
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😊👍
My Koi have eaten every plant I’ve ever placed in my pond. What can I do? Cheers!
I’m not sure. Probably just can’t have plants. It’s not the end of the world.
Awesome work - thanks! But are you certain it’s not too much nitrate that will cause algae instead of ammonia? My experience from fish tanks is that getting ammonia down is a must, but also pretty easy once the bacteria has established. Getting nitrate and thereby algae down is more difficult and requires a lot of plants and/or de-nitrifying bacteria. I’m pretty sure what’s giving you that amazing crystal clear water is that you have plenty of plants and have created the optimal conditions for de-nitrifying bacteria.
Nitrates aren't really as much of an issue as we've been told... But, even IF the nitrates cause algae, that's just another food source for the fish and it filters the water as well. Eventually, a tank/pond will balance itself out and algae will be almost non existent.
It’s estimated that there’s anywhere from 30k- 1 million species of algae. I’m sure some prefer nitrate, some ammonia, some phosphate, some nitrite, ect, ect. In my experience inadequate filtration leads to single celled algae, which turns the water green. My hypothesis is that it is feeding on the ammonia, due to the lack of bacteria. Anytime I test my ponds nitrate is almost non-existent. Almost all my ponds use bog filters, rock/ pebble and have plants. I believe that promotes a habitat for aerobic bacterias, anoxic bacterias and even anaerobic bacterias. Never have green water, but from time to time string algae can be an issue. But still no nitrates. That’s more a phosphate thing. At least that’s been my experience. That’s not to say it will be everyone’s experience.
Great vid but in my experience it's a UV light that completely clears green water. I didn't know that more bacteria alone would do it.
A UV light will absolutely clear green water. I’ve never used one. No need if you have enough bacteria/ filtration.
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Water is clear but on the floor see the dust.....
Organic material and fish poo will accumulate. Can manually remove or increase flow to get it into your filters.
Dont feed the fish if the plant balance is Ok
3 Reasons why I hardly ever feed my pond fish
ruclips.net/video/g2A3cOYgcU8/видео.html
Yes but ! You couldn't drink pond water!🤮
You mean shouldn’t 😉