Any sure fire remedies for clear pond water please?

We have quite a big pond and lots of fish in it. At this time of year our pond is green as well, but we don't mind as we get herons flying over and if the pond was clear we would loose all our fish. As the water warms up, the plants start to grow and spread. Especially the water lily leaves. As soon as the surface is half covered by any plants the pond clears. Its the sunlight on the water making it go green. We have a pump and filter going which is never turned off, and the water goes down a water fall. It happens every year, as the surface is taken over, the water clears. So just get plenty of plants, and wait.

Have you got plenty of shade over the surface, lily pads or other surface plants. Ideally half your pond should be shaded from the sun. Not necessarily by overhanging trees as the leaves in Autumn will cause more problems rotting in the water. Get plenty of oxygenating weed, ordinary Canadian pond weed is fine. Maybe you are doing too much to it? Why have you got the ultraviolet filter? Perhaps just let it "rest" for a few weeks and see what happens? I have a 30ft x 15ft stream fed natural pond, not lined, and it goes a little "blanket weedy" in spring when the algae bloom starts but soon this clears with no intervention once the oxygenating weed kicks in. Much of the surface is covered with broad leaved pond weed and later in the summer lilies.

Crystal clear water is the result of having low levels of nutrients in the water, or toxic water, as that reduces the amount of algae that can grow in it.

On it's own killing the algae is no good, as you're not removing the nutrients.If you keep filtering (dead) algae from the water, and cleaning the filter out, you should eventually remove the soluble nutrients.

Most (wanted) pond plants get their nutrients from nutrients locked into soil. Some soil nutrients are soluble and it's this which the algae can get it's hands on, and grow .

There are water plants which can feed on soluble nutrients, and lock them up in their stucture. Wouldn't be surprised if blanket weed does this, and that would be easier (than filtering algae) to mechanically remove large chunks of blanket weed from the water. Other less invasive/more decorative plants will do the same, but they might take longer to clear the water.

It might take a few days to clear. Mines quite a big pond and I only have a little pump with a fountain that runs 24/7. It does keep it clear. I also have a few plants in it and some barley straw to keep down the blanket weed. Jan

I've got barley flakes for my pond which help get rid of algae, I think the pot I have lasts a year or more and was very cheap.

Otherwise, you could try a pond vac that vacuums the dirt and silt out of the pond - that should help it become cleaner.

I got the barley flakes at this site, though they have other products that might be useful for you:

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/pond-cleaners-c-1...

Clear pond water is easy to achieve. Here's an article I wrote on how to get and keep it:

http://www.pondlady.com/Articles/pondalgae.html

htg