Pond water is foamy and tinted brown. Any ideas?

Question

I have a 1200 gal pond with 11- 5 inch koi in it. I have a filter system that processes 3000 gph with waterfall with 5 layers of media (sq ft I would guess 20 sq ft) and a 360gph fountain with filter(1/2 sq ft) that runs 10 hours a day. You can see bacteria living on everything. I have stones but only on one side down to the shelf (24 inch from water surface). Nothing on any of the bottems. I have 20% plant coverage and a very small amount of underwater plants. I feed the fish 2x a day 2 tablespoons of koi food which they gobble up in 2 mins flat. I have the start of string algae which I know a small amount is good. The liner is almost completely covered with natural formation. I have bio bacteria in it that is 3 weeks old. I have done a 60% water change already because of foam and that worked for 2 days only. There is no oil slicks and my water is a slightly cloudy tea color. There is no run off from landscaping (had that problem this spring and fixed it). The watere has never remained clear for long even prior to the fish. We have well water. We live in the country on a hill with wind and 2-3 times a day I skim the pond with a net. My plants have clay dirt in them with coffee filters agains all holes so it does not run out. the pond has lots of frogs that visit or camp out. There isn't any trees around. Closes one is 25 feet away. Nitrate is "0". Nitrite is "0". Hardness is "very soft". Alkalinity is "high". pH is"alkaline". Short of adding a skimmer I'm not sure what else to try to remove the foam and the color. Any advise from pond owners would be welcomed. I adore my fish and want to keep them safe so please HELP!

Answer 1

My boss had the same problem and killed his take with a 1/4 tsp of chemicals. I'd contact your local Wildlife and Fisheries department at the closest university. What they told him was that he could have solved his problem with a few grass carp.

Answer 2

You did not mentioned any water changes I think that is your problem don't depend on the plants alone to cycle the water even with filter you still need to do water changes weekly would be nice.

kOi keeper & goldfish keeper

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/world...

http://www.geocities.com/koiphilippines/...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArAlwupRy...