cold water and clarity

[milliemax]

  I'm new to ponding and have noticed that my pond was really nasty during Aug and Sept during the hot months.
  Now that it is cooling down (Oct) We have noticed that the pond seems to be clearing up!
  Is this how it works?
  Any other help with water quality would be helpful!
    TIA  Nancy

[Jerry]

You can't have too much filter material!

[PondmaninAL]

Nancy, how old is your pond? What fish do you have in it and how many? What kind and how many plants do you have in it? What kind of filter are you running and what size pump? Can run-off water get into the pond? I know this is a lot of questions but is neccessary to give you my opinion.

Scott

[milliemax]

Nancy, how old is your pond? What fish do you have in it and how many? What kind and how many plants do you have in it? What kind of filter are you running and what size pump? Can run-off water get into the pond? I know this is a lot of questions but is neccessary to give you my opinion.

  Sorry it took so long to respond. Haven't been to the board for awhile.
  We just got the pond in July. Right now I have 5 or 6 comets (too murkey to see them all the time). Right now I have a unicorn grass and a cat tail that has died back due to cold. I have water hyacinths and umbrella palm in the greenhouse til spring cause they were dying from the cold. The filter and pump are just a little cheapo from Wal Mart with the foam filter. We keep a small fountain running. No run off that I can see.
  Right now I have tons of leaves in the pond. Now that the leaves are mostly gone from the tree, I'm going out on a nice day this week and use my portable hose/vac to suck up the leaves.
  We've been looking at the ultra violet filters. All the fish places around here recomend them, but I won't buy from them as I have found the same things for half the price on-line.
  We also are thinking of creating more of a trickling waterfall type thing rather than the fountain. I don't know if that would put less oxogen into the pond or not.
  We are definately newbies at this ponding life, but are loving learning about it!   Nancy

[Timgod]

My ponds always look a little clearer during the winter as well even though mine is never cloudy. I think it is due to the water seeming heavier. The fish are not nearly as active so any debris in the water, even the miniscule stuff seems to settle to the bottom. You need to get some oxygenator plants in the pond if possible. Not only is it great for the fish, they eat it, breathe from it and can spawn in it but it acts as a natural filter in the water. You can actually pick up anacharis or hornwort from your pond and rinse out the dirt it has trapped in itself occassionally. Depending on if your pond is in the ground or a preformed you could look at adding a gravel bog as a filter. It clears your water up in a day or two after installing and keeps it that way. If yours is in the ground you would just dig out a new mini pond next to yours or in either type of pond you could use a premade gravel bog with a pump in the pond. This is the kind of thing I am talking about...

Once it is filled with a fine gravel it continually and naturally filters sediment and crud from your water. In a big custom built bog you can have a stage where the water goes from the gravel through the oxygenators before returning to the pond for the best possible clarity.
Tim