# Deep ponds



## Sonny's Mum (May 10, 2010)

Hi all,

We have a deep pond which is 2m x 2m x 1.6m. The fish all seem very happy and all is well, however after investing a huge amount of money in the best possible pump, filters, lights etc it is still quite hard to see the fish when they are near the bottom.

Can anyone advise of what I could do? Should I be looking at other lights or is there some kind of treatment or plant that would make it crystal clear? It is just a little brown to look into yet samples are clear?!

Any advice appreciated x


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## Guest (May 13, 2010)

How many fish are in the pond and how heavily are you feeding? Is the pond exposed to direct sunlight on a regular basis?

You have a few options for improving water clarity, as I shall explain below..


The first option is to use a UV clarifier. These are not to be confused with UV sterilisers, which are far more powerul. The UV (Ultra-violet) output from the unit's tube will kill off most free-floating algal cells in water passing through the unit from the pond. Their peak effectiveness fluctuates as the tube's output decreases within the first few months of installation.

The second option is to consider Ozone (O3) injection. This was first used by marine fishkeepers before the benefits were discovered by the Koi and pond keeping world. The Ozone gas is produced by a special generator which passes a high-voltage electrical discharge into the air being sucked into the unit. Ozone gas will kill off any algal cells, pathogens, viruses and parasites that come into contact with the stream of gas-laden water. Ozone gas also increases the water's REDOX potential (the capability of the water to oxidise pathogens), reduces the total biological oxygen demand (BOD) and aids biological filtration in the breakdown of nitrogenous waste substances (namely ammonia, NH3 and nitrite, NO2).

The main drawback to using Ozone is the initial cost. The gas can't simply be fed into the pond, it has to injected via a freshwater protein skimmer (very expensive!) or a separate reaction chamber which is fitted inline with the filter outlet pipe. Ozone gas itself is very dangerous when used incorrectly and the generators themselves can cost anything between £400 and £3000 to buy, with the cost increasing with unit capacity.

The last option is to use Barley straw. This does work to a certain degree however it's effectiveness is somewhat limited. It's worth a shot however...


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## Sonny's Mum (May 10, 2010)

Thank you for your reply. We have already got a UV working which did help a little. There are about 50 fish in there with the biggest being about 4-5inches long but many are little. They are a mix of koi and goldfish. We have a sturgeon in there also.

I shall definately look into your other suggestions and see what we can do.

Many thanks


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## Guest (May 14, 2010)

To be honest, I would look into cutting down the bioload in the near future. Sturgeon and Koi can grow very big and while the pond is big enough for Koi, I wouldn't really want 50 fish in a pond holding only 6400 litres. In an ideal world, you should be looking at either 40 goldfish or 6-7 Koi. 

As for the Sturgeon, I wouldn't really be keeping those at all...


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