Susan I think chemicals are bad for your pond and I have been ponding for many years. I don't know what Microbe Life or GreenClean contain so I am not sure if they are harmful. But the best way to keep a pond healthy and happy is to keep if free from debris that settles on the bottom, filter the water and make sure it has lots of oxygen. If you don't want to add filtration the concentrate on debris removal and water changes. There are so many ways to filter your pond. Many people vacuum the pond bottom, some use retro-fit bottom drains to keep the bottom clean and those who are newly installing a pond will include a bottom drain to their ponds. Filtering the pond is important to keep maintenance at a minimun. You need to remove as much debris as possible with a good filter and make sure you have biological filtration as well. For example I have two circuits of filtration. My skimmer has a 57 watt UV light and all the water that is drawn from the surface goes to a big DIY filter that uses foam, plants and Savio springflow to help with the mechanical filtation and the biofiltration. My bottom drain goes to a settling pond in which the debris settles to the another small pond and it is cleaned out a few times a year. Since your pond is concrete then a retro-fit bottom drain could help. But vacuuming would work as well. When I first started out ponding I would vacuum my pond with a pump that I held with a small rope. I used that and a net to get out debis. Very low tech but worked well. I would then add fresh water to replace what I had taken out. Years go by and I have experimented with underground filters, Bead filters and DIY filters. When I rebuilt the pond (a few times I admit) the bottom drain attached to a seperate pond made maintenance much easier. So you just need to find the type of filtration that suits your needs. At the very least keep the bottom clean and do some water changes during the season. This is a very simple way to keep your pond healthy. Also the catfish will not hurt your fish. When I had my catfish he co-exsisted very well with the Koi. RIP Wayne. Lisa

LOL! Going to the bottom is normal behavior for fish that are in a panic. Sometimes they disappear for weeks. They may even temporarily lose all their colors. The dark color of the water is probably tannins but it is also possible there is debris in the water. To figure out which, scoop some water into a glass jar and let it sit undisturbed for a couple of hours. Any debris or free floating algae will settle out or float to the top. Tea colored water shows there are tannins or other organic compounds present. Some of the organic compounds are harmful to the fish. Tannins come from rotting leaves, peat moss in potting soil and any thing else organic that is rotting. It often has an odor like sewage that is unpleasant. Adequate filtration will eventually remove debris and some of the algae. To get rid of the rest of the algae you can use chemicals or a UV light. I like the UV since there has less chance to harm the fish and it doesn't bother the algae that grows on the sides of the pond. That is considered beneficial and the fish will graze on it. The UV can also kill some free floating parasites that show up every so often. I have never had the problem of green water. For tannins (tea colored water or tannic acid) you need Activated Carbon also known as Activated charcoal placed in a permeable bag in a place where there is an active water flow. The tannin molecules react and combine with the carbon molecules on the surface of the chunks. Odors in the water are also removed with AC. Zeolite will handle most other organic compounds. There are chemicals available for this but there is a chance they won't work as well. Try the Zeolite. You should test the water for nitrates and nitrites (organic compounds)regularly. The black liner is the best color to have. The colors of the fish pop out when you see them, so long as the water is clear. You will be able to see all the way to the bottom. Has anyone suggested you get a Pond Test Kit? It is an important thing to have. Did you remeasure the dimensions of the pond to get the volume of water? I used two sites to get the 588 gallon measurement. I can't hear the pond inside of the house. I have been looking for an inside-outside intercom to take care of that problem. The sound is one of the best things about the pond. I guess I must be a geek too.

Maxio, I hope you're getting your questions answered for you. I think Nance has done an excellent job of pulling together some background information to consider regarding your problem with what to do with the Koi pond water. Also, Gary and NancyM's suggestions are very helpful as well. Cityworm, rather than hijack this thread further away from it's original posting why don't you open a thread and present your case about what you view is the correct way to buffer the water and how you operate your Koi pond. I for one like to learn new things. I would be very interested in your point of view, the logic for your stance as well as whatever scientific basis you have for your practices. The beauty of this website is that folks share information. We may not always agree but hopefully we are able to educate and learn in the process. ---David

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