So My Pond Is Finally In...

[fishwatcher]

I got a 125 gal plus 35 gal spillway/waterfall thing for my birthday from my hubby. We got it in this weekend, I added the plants, water, filter, fish... all that jazz. I know we had gotten a little bit of dirt in it, but the water is so murky you can hardly see to the bottom of it. I expected it to be that way for the first few hours when we added the water, but it still hasn't cleared up. I've rinsed the filter 2 times, but it doesn't seem to be helping. The pump came with the pond in a kit, but I added an extra filter bag over the small filter pad to help it out.
What should I do? I think a full water change would probably stress the fish, but I'm at a loss as to what to do next. So far the fish are great, though they still won't come to the surface yet with me around... shy little buggers.

 

[GoldLenny]

Since you have over 1,400 posts, I'll presume you know about the nitrogen cycle. Did you have cycled filter media that you added to the pond filters? Did you use Bio-Spira? Or what did you do to cycle the pond... or were you planning on cycling with the fish? If so, what are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, KH and temp readings?

 

[fishwatcher]

Oh, sorry! I cloned the filter, the same as I do for my inside tanks. I used start right (ran out of Prime) when I filled it up, thenI put the old and new media in it and ran the pump for a couple of hours while I floated the fish. I haven't checked all the levels yet, but I'll do that when this storm passes that we're having.
When I've rinsed the filters I left the old media in the pond and just rinsed the new ones. The water from them has been so murky looking, but no solid stuff is in it.
I'm just not sure what I need to do... I hate the idea of draining it all and re-filling it, esp since we're on water restrictions around here already.
Thanks!

 

[Scrofula]

I normally give it a week to settle. Keep an eye on the pump as it'll get clogged up fairly quickly. Same goes for the filter foam. It'll be fine in a few days.

Scrof.

 

[GoldLenny]

If it's a white cloudiness, it's probably just some of the bacteria blooming. If it's green, it's an algae bloom. There are hundreds, if not thousands of different bacteria that grow in a pond so until they balance out the ecology of the pond and find a surface area home, they will bloom in the water column. You could do 10% PWC's daily to add fresh water/trace elements to the pond as these bacteria blooms utililize many of the trace elements and KH. You should still be testing for the six things I mentioned earlier and keep your KH over 4 dH and between 7-10 would be much better.

 

[fishwatcher]

The water is still yucky... not white, not muddy. It's actually clear water, but it looks like a pot of strong tea, so you can't see the bottom of it or even more than a few inches down unless the sun is directly on it.
I'm thinking of running the pump so the water goes out on the ground while running the hose slowly to refill it and see if that helps it. I'll add the water conditioner to the pond a little at a time as it refills. If I do it all slowly the temp change shouldn't be too much (it's already 84 here today, getting up to about 95) too fast.
What do you think?

ETA: Do you have any idea what would cause this? I've never had this happen to my other pond before. Thanks, again, for all your help!

 

[GoldLenny]

OK. The tea color is most often associated with tannins release from driftwood, peat, rotting leaves, etc. What kind of substrate was in the plants? What does the water smell like? Does it smell earthy and clean or rotten/sour?

Give us some numbers as far as ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, KH, GH and temp. Measure temp and pH first thing in the morning and last thing as night.

 

[fishwatcher]

Well, I did it, and I must say it looks MUCH better! I can actually see the little guys now!
The plants are potted in top soil mixed with peat moss, and there was some pieces of bark mixed in the soil as well, now that I think about it. DUH! I don't know why I didn't think of that! The water smells nice and clean, and now it looks nice and clean too.
Just so you'll know, though - ammo 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5 (I have lots of plants to thank for that!). I don't have a thermometer out there, and my kH test is empty (been a while since I've used it, so I don't know if it was just empty and I didn't realize it or if it leaked out).
Thanks for all the help, GoldLenny! I appreciate it!