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Green water, pond... UV use 6/17/08
Hello again, I have another concern. The water on our pond is greenish in
color, we tested the water and everything seem to be fine. It is a fairly new
pond, and we have been running it for about 2 weeks now. Do you think we'll be
able to see the bottom even if it is 4 feet deep? Our filter is an Ultima model
(bead filter) which I am sure is sufficient for my set up. I am wondering if
maybe it is the UV that needs to be replaced/addressed?
<Green water is often a good sign that the UV tube in a UV steriliser needs
replacing. Do bear in mind the tubes in these devices lasts around 12 months
depending on the model (check the instruction manual that came with yours for
the precise details). UV tubes aren't expensive, and changing them is usually a
10 minute job, if that. Cheers, Neale.>
UV filtration needed (for large natural pond)? 7/16/05
Hi there. We just dug a pond, approx. 35 X 60 feet, 8 feet deep max,
with one corner to be a wetland. We are beginning to plant it with
local vegetation today. The pond is not lined, but has had rubble (3 to
4 inch diameter) added inside to stabilize the banks.
<... and percolation? Oh, see you've addressed this below>
There is a small
sandy beach. Dug the test hole last year and it holds water. The pond
is actually dug along the path of a natural drainage channel, at the
base of a 20 ft rock wall. (pics to follow) Anyway, we have raised the
natural water level about 2 feet. Approx 50% Clay soils, so retention
will be OK. However, the source of the added water is a stream. I know
coliform and other critters are naturally occurring in any surface water
system.
<Yes>
The stream is thick with aquatic vegetation, a sure sign of
nutrients I would imagine. We are drawing water from further upstream
to get the cleanest water possible. But once it hits the pond, it's
wide open, sunny, and I would imagine bacterial growth will take off.
A few questions:
1) Should we use UV filtering. Won't this kill all bacteria including
beneficials?
<Mmm, I would not use ultraviolet here... but would definitely look into
ozonation directly>
2) How much area should be wetland or vegetation?
<At least ten percent>
3) How do I stabilize the sandy beach which right now is like
quicksand?
<Mmm, depends on composition... would have a soils engineer, firm... depending
on the make-up, you may be able to just add a bit of silicate, carbonaceous
material to make this area more "solid"... at the very worst, a berm might need
to be emplaced and the area back-filled with a suitable substrate>
We will be running two waterfalls, one a height of 20 ft.
<Wowzah! Do be careful re pump selection, operational cost here>
and the other
just a 2 foot rise over 6 inch slabs (kind of like steps) with gravel
and sand. Pump rated for 5000 gph, but will probably get about 3000
after friction loss/head. We were also thinking about making a type of
sand filter out of a couple of apple juice barrels!
<... likely not worth doing... will clog very quickly... and w/o a very easy
backwashing mechanism will be ignored, abandoned in short order>
I have to say I am excited about discovering this site. So far, my
biggest problem seems to be the lack of consistent info. Example, the
pump manufacturers said I need 10 pumps running in tandem!!!
<Heeee! Geez!>
(I think
not) It's hard to know what to do. Any help would be appreciated.
Noreen
<Glad to share. Please make it known if this/these communication/s aren't clear.
Bob Fenner>
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