Just helped my old man drain and clean his pond. He had not cleaned it for 15 years, it had 2ft of black rotten putrid sludge at the bottom full of vegetation, effluent, silt and all kinds of stuff (I found a pond net buried under the gunk, a kitchen knife, stone statues, rocks, bricks, roof tiles, Lilly roots about 20mm in diameter, toys, a wire rack, I found a cooking pot lol, I could go on and on). Anyway it took three of of us 9 hours to clean this beast (3000 litres pond), it’s still filling back up now, we have reclaimed at 50% - 60% the cubic area back. Who knew it was tannin, of course there’s trees everywhere here, main ones are sycamore trees and evergreen down the garden. I will definitely buy him some carbon sticks and put them in the water fall area. Wish I saw this video sooner, old man is delighted and so are his fish I am sure.
Thank you for your information Mark. We have a five acre pond with a brook and ground springs keeping the flow. The water is Tea color. Thinking making settling areas on the main brook. Filtering the water before it reaches the pond. Probably a dream, as the pond is surrounded by trees including lots of Pine trees. Why it is called Pine Pond!
I’ve got a brown and now a black pond. Thanks for the tips! I had dredged and cleaned some of the filters but do not have a carbon feature to my filtration. I have a carbon sleeve, which I can put to use now. Thanks. Dana
At savenache the pond there has black sediment as well as it is for the the neighbouring ponds and streams in Bracknell and you can see that the black sediment on the birds tummies and their feathers are falling out
@@ThePondAdvisor No the thanks are to you the water was extremely black and the sand filter was blocked within hours. Put the charcoal on top of the sand filter in mesh about 3 inches deep. Temperatures here in Thailand 40c + somedays so ideal environment for algea growth. Again thanks for imparting your knowledge to us amateurs.
This was a brilliant video. Thanks so much. As discussed, I have a brown pond caused by introducing freshly potted lilies in aqua compost. The compost turned the water brown. I am adding carbon pellets to the filtration system and also I have put activated carbon pads (bought for the lids of my cat litter boxes!) at the exit of the waterfall! So the water runs over the carbon pads back into the pond. It may help a bit 🤷🏼♀️ xxx
Ok I came up with a better short-term plan… I put a large glass panel under the water fall and spread a double thickness of wadding from hello fresh box, 18” square on top of the glass. The water runs off the waterfall, through the wadding and back into the pond. Omg you should see how much brown muck (ie aquatic compost!) has been filtered in the last ten minutes!!!
Hi, found your video very informative. Thanks. Yes, I do have a black pond. I've used the pond hoover, though not much waste came through. But on cleaning the pump and filter they were full of sludge. Then put in Aquaplankton to eat up any sludge left. Water turned milky green for at least a week, but has remained dark with 6-9" visibility into the pond. Aquaplankton has always cleared the water before, so what would you suggest next? Carbon? If so, how much would you recommend for a 500 gallon pond,? Look forward to your advice. Thanks, Gary.
Great question, one bag of aquascapes activated pond carbon will treat 3000 litres so this will be enough for you 500gal pond waterfeature.shop/products/aquascape-activated-pond-carbon
Hi Mark, not sure if you can help, we have a black pond! but we know its from manure juice leaching into it, how would you best suggest we clean the water? would a bale of Barley straw do it? it's not for fish, just for wildlife, it's like we have accidentally made a huge pond of compost tea!!!! any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you
Thank you!! I have an old Victorian concrete pond with a tree above it, it was FULL of leaves. I've removed as many as possible but have no filters/pumps. How would you recommend I put the carbon in? I'm a complete newbie!
daniel mcguffie I would recommend a surface skimmer and wetland filter if you have the room. If your tight for space when buy the biggest on you can fit in, so you don’t have to clean it out every two minutes unless you a very hands on type of person. As you can tell it’s a big subject and that’s probably why you are torn. It’s not a straight forward answer with the little information I have about your situation so which one to purchase is a hard answer. I have a number of ponds from small 500gal pond all the way up to the same as yours. If I was building your pond from scratch I would recommend a surface skimmer and wetland filter.
I've just moved into a new house which has a pond already there it's a big deep pond the water is brown and it doesn't have any filtration, I have just bought a filter system if I run that will it clear it or should I drain it and completely clear the bottom? It has lots of frogs and the owner left two turtles in there which I have seen and are well. Any advice would be appreciated
Yes I am in Hampshire the pond is roughly around 12000 litres and at its deepest 4ft I have cleared a lot of debris out from the bottom but the water is a brown tea colour
Mark, quick question, my five acre pond is 90% covered by Pond lilies. Will cutting off the flowers and Lilly pads help get them under control? The roots will remain.
Sometimes, think off the tannins like tea, if you drink the tea then top up with water it’s weaker. If more tea (leaves) goes into the water the water becomes stronger (causing more colouration)
Active Carbon is the key, we are getting it in next week to sell so reach out if you need some mark@anypond.com send me a picture as well if you want of your pond.
We have "black water" in our fish pond. However, we believe it is due to carbon black that leached out of recently-spread black mulch after yesterday's heavy rain. Short of draining the pond, is there a way to remove the carbon black? PS - so far, the pump system seems to be keeping the pond oxygenated & the fish (3 Goldfish & 2 Koi) appear okay.
Carbon black is probably the name of the dye colour. So it may take a few weeks for the dye to clear! This will not be absorbed by active carbon. A small water change will help but don't fully drain and clean the pond out unless its an ecosystem pond
@@ThePondAdvisor Our pond is is just a small (500 gal) recirculating system, not too deep. Several (dry) days have now passed & the water appears to be clearing up via the filtration pump system. We will be exchanging some of the water, though, as we prepare it for the upcoming spring/summer season. Thank you for your suggestion!
it looks like the strips "seaweed" that died and it is sort of pulp but loose, in green more brown color. i hope it helps, i do know for sure, that last year i put too much of powder that kills the "seaweed threads" i am sorry dont know the name of it in English. (is it clear to understand? i hope so:) )
Becky Ezra it sounds like a strain of filamentous algae (blanket weed). The algae will be collecting waste like a comb making it look like a brown pulp. Removing nutrients will help no end. I have a good amount of algae videos.
Hi mark. Good video. I have a brown pond, tried using pond clear flocculant which works for a day but it just starts gradually going brown again. I have sludge at the bottom of the pond, tried to get as much out as I could with a. Pond vac but there is still some there. Will activated carbon work if I pop into filter or do I need to do drain down? Reluctant to do this as I have a few goldfish. Cheers max
I just make a pond in my backyard. The water is so muddy clay. I will try to put more filters layers and carbon in . Also I will buy aerator. Let see what happens!
@@ThePondAdvisor nah ! But gasses deposited in the mud spils the plsnktoni need of o2 and thus renders the pond clear and black water could also be for dark bottom base and definitely for emulsified unplesently gasses in water that leaches from the bottom mud and dead plankton's bodily releases
@@ThePondAdvisor i think zoo planktons surface over algae makes the sunlight not reflects plack from green algie surface and thus the water looks darker , chances are there that the light doesnt even penetrate inside the pool so the water looks darker cause devoid of light through it unprnrtrated so
Great info mark 👍
Benno Ben thanks it means a lot
Just helped my old man drain and clean his pond. He had not cleaned it for 15 years, it had 2ft of black rotten putrid sludge at the bottom full of vegetation, effluent, silt and all kinds of stuff (I found a pond net buried under the gunk, a kitchen knife, stone statues, rocks, bricks, roof tiles, Lilly roots about 20mm in diameter, toys, a wire rack, I found a cooking pot lol, I could go on and on). Anyway it took three of of us 9 hours to clean this beast (3000 litres pond), it’s still filling back up now, we have reclaimed at 50% - 60% the cubic area back. Who knew it was tannin, of course there’s trees everywhere here, main ones are sycamore trees and evergreen down the garden. I will definitely buy him some carbon sticks and put them in the water fall area. Wish I saw this video sooner, old man is delighted and so are his fish I am sure.
Look at better filtration
Thank you for your information Mark.
We have a five acre pond with a brook and ground springs keeping the flow. The water is Tea color. Thinking making settling areas on the main brook. Filtering the water before it reaches the pond. Probably a dream, as the pond is surrounded by trees including lots of Pine trees. Why it is called Pine Pond!
Netting the pond in the cooler month is ok, but in the warmer months then avoid at all costs un less you have lots of aeration!
I’ve got a brown and now a black pond. Thanks for the tips! I had dredged and cleaned some of the filters but do not have a carbon feature to my filtration. I have a carbon sleeve, which I can put to use now. Thanks. Dana
Yes we do waterfeature.shop/products/aquascape-activated-pond-carbon
Our pond plants are covered in black debris, so your advice for a pond skimmer is very useful, thanks.
Chris Hancock thank you
Some great ideas regarding black pond water
I am going to make a fine mesh cover for the pond before autumn to catch all the leaves!
Sound 👍🏻 good
Did you get a chance to try the mesh?
At savenache the pond there has black sediment as well as it is for the the neighbouring ponds and streams in Bracknell and you can see that the black sediment on the birds tummies and their feathers are falling out
Sorry to hear about your findings. Are these ponds in private gardens
Thank you kindly, very informative. Now I will take action to clear my ponds.
Thank you for watching
Thanks for the explanation Mark!!!
Excellent; frank and precise! Best advice on youtube! Thanks
Thank you 🙏
In just two days water crystal clear, thanks Mark.
Thank you 🙏
@@ThePondAdvisor No the thanks are to you the water was extremely black and the sand filter was blocked within hours. Put the charcoal on top of the sand filter in mesh about 3 inches deep. Temperatures here in Thailand 40c + somedays so ideal environment for algea growth. Again thanks for imparting your knowledge to us amateurs.
@@alanpattinson6211 my pleasure
This was a brilliant video. Thanks so much. As discussed, I have a brown pond caused by introducing freshly potted lilies in aqua compost. The compost turned the water brown. I am adding carbon pellets to the filtration system and also I have put activated carbon pads (bought for the lids of my cat litter boxes!) at the exit of the waterfall! So the water runs over the carbon pads back into the pond. It may help a bit 🤷🏼♀️ xxx
👌 Perfect
Hope the carbon pads don't have anything else in there mind. Make sure they are aquatic safe
Ok I came up with a better short-term plan… I put a large glass panel under the water fall and spread a double thickness of wadding from hello fresh box, 18” square on top of the glass. The water runs off the waterfall, through the wadding and back into the pond. Omg you should see how much brown muck (ie aquatic compost!) has been filtered in the last ten minutes!!!
I wish there was an option to send photos on here!!!
@@EmmaMorgan09 send them to mark@anypond.com or reach out on Facebook
Hi, found your video very informative. Thanks. Yes, I do have a black pond. I've used the pond hoover, though not much waste came through. But on cleaning the pump and filter they were full of sludge. Then put in Aquaplankton to eat up any sludge left. Water turned milky green for at least a week, but has remained dark with 6-9" visibility into the pond.
Aquaplankton has always cleared the water before, so what would you suggest next? Carbon? If so, how much would you recommend for a 500 gallon pond,?
Look forward to your advice. Thanks, Gary.
Great question, one bag of aquascapes activated pond carbon will treat 3000 litres so this will be enough for you 500gal pond
waterfeature.shop/products/aquascape-activated-pond-carbon
Hi Mark, not sure if you can help, we have a black pond! but we know its from manure juice leaching into it, how would you best suggest we clean the water? would a bale of Barley straw do it? it's not for fish, just for wildlife, it's like we have accidentally made a huge pond of compost tea!!!! any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you
Carbon, is the only way to remove tannins
The Pond Advisor ok 👍🏻 we will give it a go, thanks!
@@BentonendflowerfarmIt has been four years, how are you doing with your delicious tea water?
Hi Mark my pond water went black after I netted out leaves, netted the sludge down the bottom and changed a bit of the pond water
I would try the active carbon and may be a flocculant.
Perfect explanation
Paul Atreide thanks it means a lot
Thank you!! I have an old Victorian concrete pond with a tree above it, it was FULL of leaves. I've removed as many as possible but have no filters/pumps. How would you recommend I put the carbon in? I'm a complete newbie!
You can add carbon to the base if it’s a still body of water
Love the info!!!
Aup ive just built a 6800 gallon pond what would you suggest pump and filter wise
daniel mcguffie what do you what to keep? Fish, wildlife, both
Hi ive around 30 koi that have out grown there pond there around 16 to 18 inch at the min
daniel mcguffie I would recommend a surface skimmer and wetland filter if you have the room. If your tight for space when buy the biggest on you can fit in, so you don’t have to clean it out every two minutes unless you a very hands on type of person. As you can tell it’s a big subject and that’s probably why you are torn. It’s not a straight forward answer with the little information I have about your situation so which one to purchase is a hard answer. I have a number of ponds from small 500gal pond all the way up to the same as yours. If I was building your pond from scratch I would recommend a surface skimmer and wetland filter.
Thanks and ya got plenty room just in case I need to East end my pond planned ahead to expand if needed
Excellent video! Thank you!!
Thank you
Hi I have a brown pond ,that has only occurred since I put a 10lb sturgeon in , I’m guessing that’s the cause as they are bottom feeders.
Yes it will be the fish swimming around, the filtration system (if you have one) should pick up the waste over 10-14 days
@@ThePondAdvisor thanks it’s starting to clear now through my filter system ,thanks again .
@@barrypriestley perfect 👍🏻
I've just moved into a new house which has a pond already there it's a big deep pond the water is brown and it doesn't have any filtration, I have just bought a filter system if I run that will it clear it or should I drain it and completely clear the bottom? It has lots of frogs and the owner left two turtles in there which I have seen and are well. Any advice would be appreciated
Really depends on a number of things are you in the UK
Yes I am in Hampshire the pond is roughly around 12000 litres and at its deepest 4ft I have cleared a lot of debris out from the bottom but the water is a brown tea colour
@@FishermanGeorge123 waterfeature.shop/products/aquascape-activated-pond-carbon
Mark, quick question, my five acre pond is 90% covered by Pond lilies. Will cutting off the flowers and Lilly pads help get them under control? The roots will remain.
It will slow the growth yes, but not massively
will adding a higher percent water change help?
Sometimes, think off the tannins like tea, if you drink the tea then top up with water it’s weaker.
If more tea (leaves) goes into the water the water becomes stronger (causing more colouration)
great advice hope it works its doing my head in
Active Carbon is the key, we are getting it in next week to sell so reach out if you need some mark@anypond.com send me a picture as well if you want of your pond.
We have "black water" in our fish pond. However, we believe it is due to carbon black that leached out of recently-spread black mulch after yesterday's heavy rain. Short of draining the pond, is there a way to remove the carbon black? PS - so far, the pump system seems to be keeping the pond oxygenated & the fish (3 Goldfish & 2 Koi) appear okay.
Carbon black is probably the name of the dye colour. So it may take a few weeks for the dye to clear! This will not be absorbed by active carbon. A small water change will help but don't fully drain and clean the pond out unless its an ecosystem pond
@@ThePondAdvisor Our pond is is just a small (500 gal) recirculating system, not too deep. Several (dry) days have now passed & the water appears to be clearing up via the filtration pump system. We will be exchanging some of the water, though, as we prepare it for the upcoming spring/summer season. Thank you for your suggestion!
Jean W. Uptmor UV in the sunshine will help bleach out the dye also
Thank you, my small pond is murky and there is sort of green/brown pulp in the water, how can I rid of it, please. thank you.
Becky Ezra what does the pulp look like. Can you explain to me a little bit more?
it looks like the strips "seaweed" that died and it is sort of pulp but loose, in green more brown color. i hope it helps, i do know for sure, that last year i put too much of powder that kills the "seaweed threads" i am sorry dont know the name of it in English. (is it clear to understand? i hope so:) )
Becky Ezra it sounds like a strain of filamentous algae (blanket weed). The algae will be collecting waste like a comb making it look like a brown pulp. Removing nutrients will help no end. I have a good amount of algae videos.
can you recommend on one or more of your videos please. thanks. enjoy the beautiful spring weather!!
Becky Ezra here is the algae video playlist ua-cam.com/play/PLrpGy-kXKkiWH_i_fYgm3XVEcjOsdbywq.html
Great info
Stavros Papadopoulos thanks for your comments it means the world to me. Thanks
Hi mark. Good video. I have a brown pond, tried using pond clear flocculant which works for a day but it just starts gradually going brown again. I have sludge at the bottom of the pond, tried to get as much out as I could with a. Pond vac but there is still some there. Will activated carbon work if I pop into filter or do I need to do drain down? Reluctant to do this as I have a few goldfish. Cheers max
Yes waterfeature.shop/products/aquascape-activated-pond-carbon will work adding into the flow or by the pond pump. Your doing the right thing.
Or black water is from the colour of the dark rotten base that is reflective through clear water.
Dwaipayan Datta Roy totally but then the water is clear not black
I have a 15.000 gal pond that is tea colored what is the best way to clear it. I don't want to drain it.
Carbon
waterfeature.shop/products/aquascape-activated-pond-carbon
My black mulch just bled into my pond water and I don't have a clue how to clear it up
Dye will filter out over time, carbon will help. About 4-6 weeks and the water should be clear again. You can carry out a water change
Don’t change any more than 50% at any one time
Brilliant thank you
My pleasure
I just make a pond in my backyard. The water is so muddy clay. I will try to put more filters layers and carbon in . Also I will buy aerator. Let see what happens!
Yes adding filtration is a good thing!
i have a very small pond but it has gone black what can i use please
Yes
If the black is from leaves tannins
I think apart from barring sunlight and limiting o2, one can use increase hydrogen content in the water to kill algal bloom
Dwaipayan Datta Roy black water is not algae!
I thought lack of phyto
Dwaipayan Datta Roy tannins just like tea, often low pH to
Or some gas dissolved in water that from nitrogenous and sulphurous origin
Dwaipayan Datta Roy yes this is produced in the silt but gas does not produce black water.
@@ThePondAdvisor nah ! But gasses deposited in the mud spils the plsnktoni need of o2 and thus renders the pond clear and black water could also be for dark bottom base and definitely for emulsified unplesently gasses in water that leaches from the bottom mud and dead plankton's bodily releases
This video is about black water, not clear water that you can see the colour of the base.
@@ThePondAdvisor i think zoo planktons surface over algae makes the sunlight not reflects plack from green algie surface and thus the water looks darker , chances are there that the light doesnt even penetrate inside the pool so the water looks darker cause devoid of light through it unprnrtrated so
100% tannins
But zooplankton
Dwaipayan Datta Roy zooplankton?
Racist