Aquatic & Aquarium Tips
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Q: I have a cement-lined stone pond about 10 feet long by 5 feet wide by 3 feet deep. I am using rain water with a pH of about 7.

My pond has a 6 foot high waterfall that is driven by a submersible pump. The pond contains six Koi fishes about 2 ft in length. My problem is that the water becomes murky and overloaded with algae.

I drain the pond and scrub out the algae, but in almost no time it becomes murky again. How can I control the algae?
 

There are many options for installing a  bio-filter, but an easy solution is to buy one of those over-head pump that comes together with a submergible round washable plastic mesh from any local Koi shop.

It will remove suspended debris from the water and become a biological filter with a couple of weeks and all you need to do is to take it out and rinse out any waste sludge every 2 or 3 weeks--or less often by observing the quantity of out-flowing water from the pump.

Alternatively, if your pond receives six or more hours of sunlight daily you could grow water lilies or your can try to cover about 70 percent of your pond's surface with any thing that can provide shade.

Q: There is lot of algae build-up in my pond that lasts about six weeks. Would snails help to eliminate this problem? If so, can I use normal wild snails found in most outdoor lakes, pond, etc.

Most ponds do "green up" - Your pond is having a dense bloom of planktonic algae? Frequently, the bloom is so thick that the water looks like pea soup and the fish become totally invisible.

For natural control of planktonic algae blooms you have to look for plants that required vital nutrients in the water and nitrifying bacteria. The two nutrients that are highly correlated with algal blooms are nitrogen and phosphorus.

The problem of controlling suspended algae in a Koi ponds is probably the most common question raised and a comprehensive answer would be pages long, therefore, it's best to provide you with a short straight forward solutions... Algae are plants, and they require three things to grow: water, light and nutrients (phosphorus, in particular).

Your water evidently has a high nutrient content.
The best way to starve out the suspended algae is to put
other plants in the water that will compete for the nutrients. Local tropical water hyacinth found growing wild abundantly in many pond or any submerged oxygenating plants are all good choices.

Most importantly, stop scrubbing down the pond walls. The algae growing on the sides is not the same algae that is making the water murky. If you let the algae on the walls grow, it will in fact help starve out the suspended algae. It is also a good food source for your Koi fish.

Biozyme-Matrix to clarify the water by enhancing the mechanical and biological filtration system thereby increasing the biological surface area by forming surface matrixes to perform its optimum functions that maintain water quality having high organic build-up such as: Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, Phosphates, Sludge, etc. in ponds and aquariums.