How to Clean Murky Pond Water without Chemicals | Full Version

Is your small garden pond looking like pea soup? I came up with this simple way to clean the water in my pond which visibly clears the gunk within just a few hours. Please read the details to make sure you do it safely and properly. UPDATE: I've answered lots of questions I've received since originally posting this video here:
➜empressofdirt.net/clean-murky...
Since I first shared this, thousands of people have tried it, and everyone gets good results if they have a good recirculating pump and DO NOT GIVE UP. The bigger and murkier the pond, the longer it will take. Just keep changing the batting as needed. Eventually, you will have run all the pond water through batting (which removes the gunk and algae) and your water will be clear.
This method helps filter out any large particle algae. It does not grab fine sand or dirt.
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Melissa Will is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
BATTING
➜This is the type of quilt batting I use (Amazon.com): amzn.to/3SxbkSW It must be polyester, not cotton, and be certain there is not any fire retardant or other harmful additives in it.
PUMP EXAMPLE
➜Example of a pond pump: amzn.to/3xUXz8M
You have to get one that is the right strength for your size of pond, by water volume and how far the water has to be carried (to a waterfall or whatever).
Years ago my mom was struggling to get her pond water clear. After trying a traditional biofilter, which was too slow for the volume of gunk in the water, I came up with this idea for pre-filtering the water quickly before it goes through the submersible pump.
If you try this, it is at your own risk as I have no way of knowing your particular conditions or set up.
I have tried this on about a dozen ponds now (all under 1000 gallons), and the water was clear each time within hours. Often you can see the change withing about 30 minutes if your submersible pump is working properly and the right size for the volume of water in your pond.
See the blog post for more details and please feel free to ask questions and let me know if you try this in your pond.
➜empressofdirt.net/clean-murky...
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Wishing you nice, clear pond water!
Melissa
Empress of Dirt ♛

[@debbiemcdonald4448]

Used this method over the weekend and I am pleasantly surprised how well it worked!! Thank you for sharing!!

[@groovyrebornartdolls2073]

Thank you for this video.. our pond was green as pea soup.. a few hours later, crystal clear!! I am amazed and very grateful that we came across this video!

[@chrisavila6331]

Thank you so much! I tried this method and my pond cleared overnight! I keep a whole bag of quilt batting in my bio filter now. 👌🏽👌🏽

[@cherylsmith5182]

I have searched for years and given up that during the summer I would never see the fish much less the bottom of the pond. I have researched online and I have tried all the chemicals without success. I tried this method. Only out $5 for the batting. This worked great! I did not know we could not put a pond out in the middle of an open field. By next day it was crystal clear. I have an in ground pond estimate water to be less than 600 gallons. Now my house is sold!

[@victorkuhn7974]

Great idea. You inspired me to build my own micro filter using a tiny waterpump inside a vase stuffed with filter medium. Now i have a tiny pond spring that filters the water and no pipes or hoses visible. Thank you!

[@1habicher]

Lady this is so good and simple and I can now hardly wait to try it on all my ponds. I have 3 and have had this hobby for years but am in Australia and it is only just getting warm down my way. Spring is here and temperatures will rise quickly. I have watched many now but You are the best! Richard

[@davidschmidt270]

Now see....that was one of the best pond vids I've seen so far, I'm new to this and trying to figure it all out without having to pay a professional

[@henribg1]

me too

[@nicolep.3900]

Thank you so much!! This was a factory what I was looking for because I’m going for a self-sustaining little eco friendly pond and did not want to use chemicals☺️ My pond is only 35 gallons with a small circulating pump for a waterfall feature, it did take a about 3 days for mine to clear but it’s CLEAR!!!!! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!! I wish I could share the before and after pics!

[@richardlim1475]

It works! From zero visibility water to 90% clear in just 7 hours. Thank you for sharing this tip!

[@denisecameron7058]

Thank you for sharing this idea! I have been struggling this entire summer with clear water. Within 2 hours the water was completely clear!

[@roop5318]

This turned my green pond into a very healthy looking pond! I can't believe the solution was as simple as this, using a couple free items I had already to expand the surface area of the filter. An expensive UV light didn't work. Expensive bacteria colonies didn't work. Complex filtering options didn't work either, but this simple idea keeps my pond nice and clear. It's over the 1000g size but works. Also I found a way to make this easier: I only wrap 4 sides of the crate which is easier to do. While not all the water goes through the filter before going into the pump, it still works well and the filter media becomes dark green. I also place this in a shallow part of my pond, allowing the top to work as a surface skimmer for leaves.

[@ritwikachatterjee5792]

Can you please give me some details. I have similar problem with my pond. Where did you buy them from. The type of pump etc. Thanks

[@candimccain]

Completely works! Our pond was Swamp like and now it's crystal clear! Thanks.

[@coertbonthius1451]

After two days the water is much much clearer. Very happy with the results. Thank you.

[@susannarowlett3170]

Ok this works like a dream! I put the batting into my existing box filter, instead of the crap filters that came with the unit. Crystal clear!!

[@karencleary3240]

This worked amazingly well, my pond was like pea soup, a week later its crystal clear, I can actually see my fish! Thank you!

[@empressofdirt]

Great to hear! And hello to your fish. :)

[@susanshockley9973]

The batting really works! I have a waterfall and I put batting inside the waterfall! It’s easy to remove and apply clean!

[@JanLois1955]

We have a fairly large pond so it has taken a week or two, but my pond is clearing quickly now. I can see the bottom of the pond. As well as using the batting, I put pebbles and stones in the bottom of the pond and bought a few more plants. I'm delighted to be able to see my fish again. Thank you Melissa.

[@empressofdirt]

Glad it's helping. Always nice when the fish are visible again!

[@jamiewilding6979]

This really, really works. My husband and I bought a house that has a fish pond in front. About 600 gallons. Previous owner could not tell me much about it. It had a submersion pump to a waterfall. There was no type of filtration system. Water was brownish green and murky. There are about 6 goldfish in the pond and some frogs and lily pads. I bought a filter waterfall, suppose to clear pond in a few days, but didn't. Bought a UV filter to clear up algae, helped but pond still murky. I bought a plastic milk carton box for $4 and already had some poly batting. Less than 24 hr water clear and can see bottom of pond. Thank you so, so much for a very cheap solution instead of completely draining pond.

[@empressofdirt]

Great to hear! It's simple but when it works it's so satisfying. I hope the fish enjoy their new view. :)

[@omamashaikh5421]

Hey Jamie, we just got a house with a pond with some fishes and tadpoles in it too. Could you please explain again how you cleaned the water? Sorry, I am completely new to this, so I wanted to the know a proper method to take care of the pond with 🐟

[@robinrank6811]

You are a Golden Girl. So smart of an idea. Just wow

[@benchau3864]

@@empressofdirt hi does this also remove nitrates?

[@empressofdirt]

@@benchau3864 Hi Ben, this method doesn't "remove" anything. The batting just acts as a filter to catch large algae particles.

[@caths3855]

This totally works! Thank you so much! My pond has looked like pea soup for months and used your advice this morning and my pond is looking great.

[@empressofdirt]

Yay! Great to hear. It's so satisfying when it clears as hoped. Thanks for letting us know.

[@chaythompson6183]

Hi I have had a murky pond for years and I took your advice and after about 4 changes of the padding a miracle happened and i can see the fish!!! Yippee. Thank you very much. Surrey. England

[@AnnetteBestwick]

Followed your instructions and from a luminous pea green to a much healthier looking color in 11 hours.

[@AnnetteBestwick]

Size of pond is 21 foot by 10 foot depth 4 foot /pump is a pondXpert pondpush 8000 I run the pump through a filter system too.

[@PhatGirlzRule]

I've been working on my pond for a month now every day it's getting better but I want it way better I'm so excited to try this out thanks so much

[@jdunn060601]

I have a 1500 gallon pond and I just set this up today and put some in my water fall too hopefully it works thanks for the help 👌

[@davidcouch7906]

Really works!! 1400 gallon pond. Could not see the pump covered in batting. Within 20 mnutes noticable. 1 hour clear. Amazing!

[@empressofdirt]

Excellent!

[@jolea-hair9112]

I lined a small wire basket with the quilt batting and placed it underneath my waterfall so all the water ran through it. It was easier to replace the batting this way as to start with I was changing it every 2-3 hours because of all the gunk it collected. My pond water looked a soupy green, brown colour to start with but after 10 days it is crystal clear and I can now see the bottom. I can't believe the transformation. I felt I had to post as this was so easy and cheap and I am thrilled with the results.Anyone trying this please persevere as I only have a small pond (6ft x 3ft Aprox) but it did take 10 days to finally clear. Great to see my fish again (not just when they were right at the top) and all this without any nasty chemicals. Thanks for the super idea!

[@enzed1190]

Hey Melissa.. what a great idea!! I'll be putting this to work first thing next week.

[@bonniegrandstaff5500]

If you put bio balls in it helps with plants and keeps it clean because the good bacteria that grows on the bioballs 😊😊

[@Rupsha666]

I’m definitely going to try this ! Thank you for a to the point no non sense video

[@gabrielcarrillo5020]

just wanted to update. it worked!! i actually just wrapped the batting around my pump in my skimmer, left it alone, woke up this morning to a crystal clear pond. i was able to see everything as if it was a fish tank in my living room. i had an algae problem. i would clean everything and it would grow back in 2 days. murky/dirty green water. i did your method and wow. Enough said. p.s 1500 gallon pond. Thanks Melissa J. Will

[@KingAlpha82]

This works I’ve tried it 👍🏾... Thanks for your video.

[@bronsonstillwell7400]

THANK YOU VERY CLEAR & CONCISE INSTRUCTIONS I WILL GIVE THIS A TRY.REGARDS B.

[@JeffSylvan]

I can't believe this worked. Your video + 20 minutes of my time and less than $20 of tools saved me from paying thousands in contractor costs. Thank you so much.

[@empressofdirt]

Great to hear! Thanks.

[@theheaven3516]

Thanks Melissa for sharing such wonderful method. I was thinking how to make the water clear in my small pond. Thank you again, from Sri Lanka,

[@sihina4169]

Hi um also from sri lanka did u try this out?

[@theheaven3516]

@@sihina4169 not yet. But I will do this

[@rolandhall5856]

Found you on the net. having recently had my 1500 gallon pond relined and a new Eazypod filter system installed I was disappointed to not be able to see my expensive koi because of green water. Pond experts said that it could be the weather, too many fish, poor water quality or bad filtration. Made up a unit using an inexpensive pump and within two days I was seeing some change in the water colour. After 3 days I decided to lift the unit and change the material around the crate. The amount of green algae collected on the outside of the unit was amazing. I'm thinking that within the next week I'll be able to see the bottom of my pond and all the fish therein. Thank you Melissa

[@sheilaread7724]

I can't believe it thank you so much I tried so many things. We have a huge half wine barrel as fish pond couldn't get it clean no matter what we tried. We tried so many things but this worked so well. It took a few day but we can now enjoy watching our fish thank you xx

[@saltlifegull4091]

OMG, Totally ROCKS! So fed up with trying to strain, re-do water, etc.-- Going to get started now. Thanks so much for a simple way to fix this stinking pond!

[@beemanrunning977]

Great idea. I got to try this on my water features.

[@patriciahasen340]

Thank you! Can you show us where you put the milk crate and how you got it to blend in with the pond? I love your garden!

[@lynnmcaleese6595]

Thanks for the quick reply. Our pond is 1000 gallons and the pump is 1000 GPH. I’ll leave it over night & check it tomorrow. Lynn Mc

[@emerald7738]

Amazing...I tried this yesterday and it cleared my pond up.. I am so surprised...thank you so much!

[@empressofdirt]

Nice to hear, thanks!

[@MsIzzwizz]

I tried this today on my pond 6500 L and I'm thrilled with the result!

[@ted301163]

Thanks for sharing this video, tried this on my pond, and after about 2weeks and 3changes of badding it's crystal clear for the first time ,

[@Sunshine-lg8su]

I am so happy I found this video. I will definitely try this. My pond is pea soup and we had to turn off the waterfall because of leaking. The filtering waterfall did an amazing job but the water loss was not worth it in the long run. We unfortunately inherited this problem when we bought the house. It’s so well established that a complete remake is not an interest or worth it. I’ve tried to find ways to bypass the waterfall and recreate a smaller one….. still researching at this point. I do like this method I’ve not seen it before. My pond is 2500 gallons and needs help. I do have a bog filtering system which is helping… 🙌 thank you for the amazing tip!

[@TheMATTHEWTROTTER]

This worked my pond Is so much cleaner... I can’t add photos but I used an old pump and a hamster cage to build an independent unit that I can use anytime separate from my pond pump.

[@bhaswatibasu8073]

Can you send few more videos ... my wapp no [phone]

[@saloshnireddy7242]

I use this the quilt for my koi pond and it works beautifully. I replaced the sponge in the filter with the quilt and wash out or replace every 2 weeks when I do a water change.Keeps the pond clear.

[@lovecreatesfreedom]

So did you put the wadding inside the filter where the sponge is?

[@ely6986]

THANK U......MY POND LOOKS PERFECT....FINALLY CLEAN!!!

[@jimwhysall8773]

Thank you, it really works, I have tried many things without success but this is simple and has cleared by pond unbelievably

[@empressofdirt]

Fantastic. Thanks for letting us know. And enjoy your pond!

[@phyllisdallabetta3877]

THE BEST! For a couple of years now I have tried unsuccessfully to clean up the cloudy water in my tiny pond. I have tried just about EVERYTHING natural and chemical -(LOL) without success. I wrapped my pump cage in a bit of polyester and voila! within four hours my water was pleasantly clear. Amazing! Thank you, thank you - the cloudy water has bothered me for a long time.

[@empressofdirt]

Yay!!!!!! Very happy for you and your pond. Thanks for letting us know. :)

[@victoriaparkflyer848]

I followed the concept and modified to fit my 3600 gallon koi pond which has two skimmers. I went to Michael's and bought some thicker rectangular polyester batting for cushions and cut them to fit into my skimmer netting. Had to clean the polyester pads multiple times, but the pond is getting cleaner. The picture of the dirty batting is from running about 12 hours. Thank you for sharing your video!

[@benchau3864]

Hi are you in Perth?

[@champ5316]

Worked Great thanks. I also had a problem with small fish getting caught in the pump. no more.

[@punisherelcastigador6600]

Excellent illustrated video !! Saludos desde Cuzco 🇵🇪

[@stinkycatz]

Thank you so much for uploading .

[@JesseRaylabrancaro]

My (new) pond is much bigger than 1000 gallons (it was our old pool), and this method still worked REALLY well! Thank you for sharing this trick!!!

[@empressofdirt]

Great to hear! I hesitate to recommend it for larger ponds simply because, if they are really green, it may take a very long time and whole lotta quilt batting to clear it. . Congrats on your clear pond water.

[@JesseRaylabrancaro]

@@empressofdirt Yeah, I totally understand that. Ours was just murky from putting in new plantings, and we have a really good size pump, so this trick worked under those circumstances.

[@jeanettemorgan5362]

Thanks for sharing! This worked very quickly and I can now see my Fish!

[@empressofdirt]

Great to hear!

[@aearnshaw9800]

I have my pump in a cage made of chicken wire, wrapped in polyester fiberfill. When it gets covered in gunk, I take the cage out of the water, hose the gunk off with the jet spray, and put it back in. No need for new fiberfill each time.

[@psychojiro3439]

It works with mine. Had a terrible pea soup colored pond water few weeks ago that I can no longer ser my kois.and then I tried doing this process. After overnight of circulating, my pond water became clear and can now see my koi. 😊

[@shirleychatagnier4920]

Iam Shirley Chatagnier from St.Martinville La.This really works.My pond is crystal clear.

[@joebloggs7098]

Amazing after 2 days crystal clear pond thank you.

[@bobwiest2134]

I have a 1000+ gallons with a waterfall and this method worked perfectly in 2 days.... thank you so much was so frustrated 🥴 now I am happy 😁 and so are fish....

[@chrisbazley2122]

Great I put a pond planter basket in the top of the waterfall directly under the hose. Had to change it a lot at first but after three days you can now see the bottom of the pond.

[@kaopointmanneil5862]

Wow great idea. Heading to the store now to grab supplies. We are trying something a little different. We're hoping your great idea helps keep our ducks bath clean! Can't see why not! Thanks.....

[@JosephSmith-yq5ge]

Hello thanks for the info. I did as you instructed and the pond is crystal clear!!! Thanks for the amazing video!

[@empressofdirt]

Great! Very nice to hear. Thanks!

[@thebadger8285]

Interesting idea. Thank you.

[@ngoctu2603]

The opposite way compare to most other videos trying to show people how to.... thanks lady youre the best

[@deven-zs2kw]

Amazing. It worked like a charm.

[@JimKF]

Thank you for the idea. I have a 5 by 12 goldfish pond. I couldn't see a single rock on the bottom two days ago. Now I can. I used a mini crate for my pump. It fit perfectly and was easier to handle. And it worked. Only now I have new problem. This morning my goldfish decided that the polyester material is a good place to lay eggs.

[@mariademelo1820]

For my pond not work I still have green water

[@larrymountain5517]

I've been trying to get my pond clear for years. I tried this method and my pond was crystal clear after 3 days. The difference is amazing without chemicals of any kind. Wish that I could add pictures.

[@dianablanke2543]

Thank you I will do this as soon as I can.

[@lyndabendelow4851]

Thank you - the pond cleared within 4 hours!!

[@empressofdirt]

Great to hear!

[@soozespace6436]

this is a great idea, thankyou

[@judirose9674]

I was spending approximately 3 hours every weekend trying to get my pond back to looking beautiful. I would empty 90% of existing (murky) water, topped up the balance of the 10% water, diluting with tap water as it was being topped up. Next weekend - rinse and repeat ... I tried this method and was totally blown away. My pond went from very murky and I could not see the bottom on the pond to crystal clear within days. Absolutely amazing. I tried this as a last resort but this is absolutely brilliant and works incredibly well.

[@empressofdirt]

Excellent! Great to hear.

[@perfoperfo9910]

Hello Mellisa , thanks for taking the time to show this simple yet effective solution. Once the pond is clear it would be great to connect this up to some sort of murky water switch (maybe optical) and then it'll come on and clear the pond automatically if it starts to murk up again. I have a couple of questions that you may know the answer to. I've been told that keeping a good sized colony of Daphnia in the pond will keep it healthy and will help keep the algae growth down. Have you tired this ? does it work and if you do have Daphnia does this type of filtration also filter out the Daphnia? Thanks

[@michaelellison9062]

Thanks tried this method and the pond as never been so clear thank you

[@empressofdirt]

Great to hear!

[@MichaelSaunier]

We have used batting in our pond skimmer to clear up the water but I like this idea better

[@sissymurphy9620]

I have been telling people this since 2004 .I put the crate up in my waterfall filter and let the water run into it and this way you don't have this heavy crate to pull out .My pond is over 5000 gallon pond .The weight of pulling a crate out of even 100 gallons is a lot and it could clog up the pump inlet .I clean my quilt batting with a hose and water goes in my garden and then dip the quilt batting in peroxide and water and reuse and that water goes in my garden also

[@typhoontom1]

hi, I am going to try your idea which seems very sensible to me. What weight if quilt do you use

[@TruthIsNot4Sale]

Im making a pond soon and want to use this idea I think is a good idea to put near the top of fountain for easy access

[@allanshaw7175]

I also found that its an unwieldy way of cleaning ,so I put my filetr also on the discharge side of the pump,and cleaned with my power jet Allan

[@psychedeli3696]

Can you please post up a video of your setup my man?

[@ISpeakHTML]

@@TruthIsNot4Sale how did it go

[@nicola3540]

Great idea, thanks for sharing it

[@KingAlpha82]

I tried this today... I can’t wait for the results 😊 Thanks

[@FBI-sb9cs]

Were the results good ?

[@KingAlpha82]

FB I yes it’s a good solution for pea soup water without adding chemicals it also helps out the Uv if you have one.

[@sewob147]

I tried this in my pond: milk crate and batting as you describe. Left it running for 24hrs and it had absolutely no effect. On a plus note, I have spoken to a number of people who swear by the batting as a suitable replacement for their pump filters.

[@travish4276]

This method is incomplete. You have to cut batting to fit inside, then a layer of lava rock then pump sits on lava rock. Then fill will lava rock and put batting over the top of the assembly. I place 2 large flat stones on top so the top piece doesn't come off. Sure fire way to clean it,. But it mucks up quick if you have a 2000 gallon per hour waterfall pump like me. I also have a 250gph fountain pump with box filter from pond master. I clean both of these a couple times a week. I have furnace filter material rather than quilt batting. Quilt batting seems to fall apart fairly fast and get sucked into the pump, even polyester quilt batting.

[@galeforce69]

Cleared overnight, thankyou . Simply ran the pond water through the batting which was squashed into a pond planter basket , which i sat on a bbq grill so the clean water can run back into the pond.

[@galeforce69]

Great idea , thankyou.

[@johnnywhite1681]

Great idea and video!

[@cec.l.5899]

Ok so I was super skeptical. I have a 10x10'pond that has never been cleaned. I never hoped i could see the bottom. 10h. Thats what it took. I cant believe it. This is amazing. THANK YOU

[@kourtneysaylor6984]

What pump did you use

[@kourtneysaylor6984]

Thank you...I'll be heading to a store tomorrow to get this set up

[@elihuthompson626]

Very cool idea ,thanks

[@nasip3176]

Thank you for this video, very informative

[@kimuseni]

Thanks for the tips

[@everyday234]

I'm gonna give it a try..thanks

[@briantheophiwilliams]

Loved the video,, great idea.

[@brianwalsh1280]

Work great after 4 weeks pond was clear

[@jamessang5027]

Excellent idea!

[@andrewrees8749]

I tried using that stuff stuck on outlet pipes of my filter , but it didnt work too well, I'll try this next,

[@tsherron2258]

I use quilt batting in my biofilter/pump when I want to clear up fine dirt or algae out of my small 200 gallon pond

[@coertbonthius1451]

I used your method over night on our 600 gallon pond. This morning it seems there is really no difference, though the batting is clearly catching the gunk. So, removed the contraptionI and rinsed the batting clean. I am going to put it back together today and keep running if for the next couple days, changing the batting as needed. I love the set up, and see exactly why it should work. I am concerned that since i (stupidly) put sand in the bottom of my 600 gallon pond that the sand is producing dust that will not clear up. I’m wondering if the sand is my problem and wondering if I should remove it and replace with stones?

[@hippa2dahoppa2]

will this help pull grains of sand out of the water, i have some of that that fell in when i was putting it around my preform and i also have been getting some droppings from different faraway trees. does the bigger stuff clump and stick to the filter?

[@ravibaragadi5690]

very helpful thank you....

[@glenngoldsmith5645]

Brilliant idea thanks for that

[@melissamclaughlin3240]

I have a submercible pump that connects to filter box . Box has charcoal filter 12 x 12 and poly fill coarser for top. 2 layers. The fountain attachment comes out of small pump with waterfall attachment. pond is 4 x 6 by 18 deep. 2 goldfish 1 frog. Had it for years no chemicals use 10 % drain weekly method. Everything fine crystal clear for month or so then over nite it starts to change within couple days completely cloudy. What makes it change so suddenly. Too much rain? Too hot too humid? It is in full sun til about 5pm. I pull box and pump out wkly and clean when i do water 10 % change. I have always done it this way.

[@jeanchittum1677]

Wow, thank you so much, my husband , and I were trying to come up with a good , safe, for the fish , way to filter the pond...I am a quilter, so I had a whole container of left over quilt batting...some , polyester...what a great idea...smart girl...

[@CocoandtheMuse]

great video!!! I'm going to figure this out on my fountains.. xo

[@steveb9121]

Hi great video, i have tried this Method i used a cloths plastic basket to put the pump in and wrapped the batting round as you did, it has been in my pond about 20 hours now and i see no difference i took it out and it does have some dirt on it but doesn't seem to be clearing the pond its only about 350 gallons am i doing anything wrong.thanks steve.

[@earljoshvonfabian5868]

Prefilter Intake a super jumbo prefilter very nice

[@shellsies]

brilliant! thank you for your work

[@TheNick5301]

i just did it ,let see what happen thank you