Pea Soup anyone?

Every spring it comes. And every spring we come up with more tools to fight it. That green, algae filled water that restricts us from seeing the beautiful fish we pamper so much.

I have a nice UV light that will sterilize the water and keep the single cell algae in check very well. The UV light is positioned in the pond in between the in pool filter and the large exterior filter. The UV light is positioned so that only half of the water going to the filter goes through the UV filter, the rest goes directly to the exterior filter. This setup guarantees that the UV light will not sterilize all the water and kill all the bacteria in the water and the filters.

I do not have the filter on all year. I leave the UV light off for the winter and the beginning of the spring. I didn’t want to do anything to reduce the amount of beneficial bacteria in the water until the bacteria filters are up and running. I don’t mind green water for the beginning of the warmer season.

Green water in itself is not an indication of a problem. It could just be that your biological filter is not functioning yet. It is however, very important that you check the water often. You should check for Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites. It is also important to check the water PH level; it should be between 7 and 8. Also make sure that the Oxygen levels of the water are high. If you have lowered your waterfalls for the winter, it is time to increase the flow and oxygenation. I think that you should also turn on any Venturi tubes you may have in your pond to get the frothy Oxygen flows.

If any of the measurements are too high, you should remove 1/4 or 1/3 of the water and replace it with new water. Please note that if you do use salt, check and adjust your salt amount after you make any additions of new water.