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  Colin Hunt July 3, 2011 at 9:34am

  From your description, you have a large surface area of shallow water that may be getting warmed during the day, accelerating the algae growth.  A balance of plants and pond life will usually keep a pond clear, but in this case a UV filter may be needed.
  
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  Gary Hedges July 3, 2011 at 10:16am

  
  
  Colin Hunt said:

  From your description, you have a large surface area of shallow water that may be getting warmed during the day, accelerating the algae growth.  A balance of plants and pond life will usually keep a pond clear, but in this case a UV filter may be needed.
  

  I agree, also don't keep changing the water, give it time to balance itself out.
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  Chris @ Tidy Garden Company July 3, 2011 at 10:50am

  Can anyone recommend any plants 

   

  as i currently only have one a water hyacinth, as for pond life I just have frogs and newts should i add fish?

   

  cheers

  chris
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  David Bloomer July 3, 2011 at 1:17pm

  let it settle (takes some time) and it will eventually clear you will need a mix of water loving plants that suit your tastes in the bottom pond they will feed on the nitrates in the water denying them to the algea so it can't flourish, the planting scheme will depend on the rest of your garden but, irisis and reeds in the margins (there are dwarf variaties available if required) maybe a water lilly if the bottom pool is large enough to allow it thrive (doesn't like getting its leaves splashed)

   

  changing the water frequently is the worse thing you can do as tap water has a lot of undesirable chemicals in it!!!
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  CJ July 3, 2011 at 3:03pm

  An inline UV clarifier will help on the pipe going to the header pool

  and some water cress planted on the waterfall in around the pools will help - watercress like shallow flowing water and should use up some the nitrates and its cheap and pretty hardy.
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  Anthony Toop July 3, 2011 at 11:30pm

  This product from Interpet, Pond Balance, is advertised for clearing blanket weed but ive found it just as effective for green water as it gradually changes the chemistry of the water which neither algae like. It can take a while to show decent results but generally it works well and this is in a pond with fish.

  I wouldnt add any fish unless your prepared to add a decent filter also, not just a UV clarifier. Apart from adding untreated tap water, the fish and their food will by far, add a lot more nutrient waste in to the system making the algae problem harder to control.
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  Chris @ Tidy Garden Company July 10, 2011 at 10:15am

  A little update, ive ordered a UV filter for the pump so hopefully that will help

   

  Im struggling to let the water "balance out" as its shallow water it often evaporates in the sun so I need to keep topping it up, and the water is now bright green (it almost glows)

   

   
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  David Channon July 10, 2011 at 8:25pm

  Your problem is related to the amount of nutrient in the water and the relationship between surface area, depth and volume.

  The solution is to use the weed growth as a means to removing the nutrient. So every time you skim out some blanket weed you are removing nutrient.

  If you need to top up, rainwater is better than tap or borehole water and will stimulate less growth.

  If you introduce small insects like daphnia, they will help to consume some of the green boom as well as filtering the water.

  The best natural filters are Freshwater Mussels but you will need to make sure the pond bed is suitable for them.

  In effect, like it or not, you are setting up a new ecosystem so a lot of your effort will go on tweaking the system.