Need Help with Constant Murky Water in Koi Pond

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   PatDaz in Atlantaposted 13 years ago

   Hi!!  I have had Koi and Gold Fish for about 8 years.  First I purchased the cascading black plastic molded ponds the first 4 years, putting 2 little Koi in the upper pond and 5 little goldfish in the lower pond.  I landscaped a small part of my very large backyard into a 'Secret Japanese Garden' complete with a bench, huge wooden chimes on a Shepherd's pole, a old, tall, wire birdcage with multiple ornamental vines growing from it, Asian walking stones, Pagodas and Asian figurines with various Asian plants and flowers throughout ... and of course, the sights and sounds of my mini waterfall Koi pond.  It was a such a wonderful place to relax, read and enjoy nature for many years.
   
   However, as the Koi and the Goldfish grew very large, they never had any babies, which I finally concluded was due to the confined space (now that they were fairly large).  So 4 years ago, my husband dug a huge oval-shaped hole with a small tractor in a large area near our pool and I hired a man to build an 8400 gallon inground Koi Pond, complete with large waterfall and plant shelves within the pond ... and I kept the Goldfish in the smaller two ponds in the Japanese Garden.
   
   It took only a few summer months for the eco system to establish itself and it has been a beautiful pond, with plants growing in abundance and the original 5 Koi, now long gone of course, produced over 45 offspring in 4 years, so the pond is now well stocked!!
   
   But last year we noticed we could not keep the pond's water crystal clear.  Not wanting to use chemicals if possible, the multitude of plants should have kept it filtered.  We had a rainy summer, so the water clouded a lot after each rain.
   
   Things seemed to be OK during the winter, but since warm weather here a few months ago, not very much rain, the water has remained very cloudy and murky looking.
   
   Do any of you Koi pond owners and experts know what I can do as naturally as possible to clear and keep the water clear?  We only feed them every other day (they nibble on the floating plant roots in between), but there seems to also be a gray, thin, kind of loke moss, but isn't moss, that clings to the side rocks and throughout the water.  I clean both filters daily, sometimes twice daily, but the filtering system just does not seem to be able to keep up.  Both filters, upper and lower, are large enough to accommodate the whole pond obviously.
   
   So we are just at a loss and would like advice.

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      psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Silt does tend to build up in ponds with a lot of fish.  have you tried dredging out some of the silt?

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   IzzyMposted 13 years ago

   Have you tried googling this problem? There are bound to be others out there who've had this problem, and someone may have an answer. I know nothing about fish I'm afraid, but I'd be tempted to look at the plants you have in the water. Some at better at keeping water clear than others.

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   Linda Myshrallposted 13 years ago

   What comes to mind is algae.  You mentioned having alot of plants, but are they the 'cover kind,' ie:  water lilies and other floating plants?  The floating variety is particularly helpful in preventing algal attacks.
   
   Good luck with your problem.  I would love to know what you finally figure out and how you fixed it!
   
   Oh, and welcome to Hubpages!

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   wychicposted 13 years ago

   There are a couple of things that come to mind here. How deep is the pond and what is the average temperature it stays at? What kind of food are you feeding? Some pellet-type foods can leave residue that normally the fish will clean up, especially that many, but one never knows for sure . Also, have you had the water tested? The reason I ask this last one is that you mentioned the original five were "long gone" after only a few years...if predators didn't get them that certainly seems to warrant a little further investigation into the water itself, as koi can live up to 50 years and generally don't even mature until 2-3 years, so yours were still quite young.

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   caninecrtiticsposted 13 years ago

   Over feeding is usually the number one culprit in murky water reember to keep that under control.

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   richierich999posted 13 years ago

   sounded like the rain was the culprit.
   
   They could be in breeding mode too, murky waters from optimal breeding conditions,
   
   overfeeding also very common.
   
   live plants not doing very well, rotting in water.
   perhaps add (if there is no salt in the pond) live plants.
   
   or run carbon through the water ,with another water container and a pump. the carbon will remove 100% of the color, and go crystal clear but muahhha, just a matter of setting it up.

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      rafibarlevposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I'm with IzzyM on this one - I really don't know much about fish

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   psycheskinnerposted 13 years ago

   Ponds without flowing outlets build up sludge, you feed the fish, the uneaten food and fish poop accumulate.  Most still or self-circulating ponds need some muck raked out periodically.

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