water garden

Question
I recently  (5 days ago) put in a small plastic water garden app. 3 feet by  5 feet approximitly 3 or so feet deep. the kit came with a pump and filter which I am running 24/7. the problem is that the water is not clear. It's not green just apears dirty. should I clean and refill it. the pump is sitting on a brick as I was instructed. I have cleaned the filer and there doesn't appear to be any improvement. I don't have any rocks on the bottom but would like to put some but it's useless because you couldn't see them any way. any suggestions would be helpful.  

Answer
That's actually a pretty good sized pond, about 300 gallons I'm guessing.  It's normal for ponds to turn green but they should not be dirty.  Did dirt run into the pond when it rained?  Is there dirt in plant pots getting out?  Some algae may appear more brown than green.  If the pond still has few or no animals, then I would change the water out.  If it's already populated, then it may be easier to deal with the situation.  Was the filter pad or whatever dirty?  What color exactly is the water?  Brown, whitish, white brown, green brown?  What is in the pond aside from the filter?  Could anything cause the problem that's in the pond?  If not and dirt's not getting into the pond, it could be a bacterial bloom or a brown-type algae bloom.  See these sections on my site:

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/algae.htm - under cloudy water; while this pertains to aquariums, it can happen to ponds

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/algae2.htm - pond algae page

You may try the following:
1.  Add a bigger filter.
2.  Add good bacteria.
3.  Add a polymer coagulant like AccuClear by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals.  This will clump dirt and algae into larger particles that will sink or be filtered out.  It won't get rid of the problem but will aid with clarity in the short term to get you over that hump.

If it is algae, it will take time, and the pond may not be clear this summer until it's established.

Good luck!