Enlarged pond and 4 fish died :( Please help!

[sissy]

zeolite is a natural ammonia reducer and i keep a bag in each filter ..Just in case

 

[Kathy G]

Excellent explanations!

@Kathy G Two things to add: 1). The liquid test kits tend to be more reliable than the test strips, and 2) Whatever you do, don't add any more fish for the time being! I know it's tempting, but you need to get this under control first. Also, where do you live?
And welcome to our group, just sorry that it's under these circumstances.

thank you, I live in NY. I will not be adding any new fish till I get the under control. BigBoy, the Koi, seems to be a bit more active today. I got the ammonia test kit and it is testing 0. I will give it at least another week.

 

[Kathy G]

Hi Kathy and welcome! It looks like Mitch has given you some excellent advice. If you ever change anything in your pond again the best thing is to keep your biofilter working even if it's just for the kiddie pool. Turning it off even for a few hours will kill all the bb in it let alone taking it apart and cleaning it. I built a new pond last year for my new home got it ready by letting a new filter run for two weeks in my old pond. I quickly ran it to my new pond when it was set up and moved about 50 fish a few days after that and they were all fine.

I'm glad it worked out well for you. Wish I had found this prior. But honestly I had no idea he was going to do it, it was a surprise. He meant well and did it all when I was at work. Lesson learned for all. But now I am wondering when I can clean this filter? I'm afraid to disrupt anything at this point since it seems to be testing fine?

 

[CometKeith]

If you ever have to clean a filter the best was is to use declorinated water since chlorine will kill the bb. I prefer filters that let you backwash them and use handles that work scrubbers inside them. This way you can clean them without opening them up. I only open and clean my filter at the end of the season when I am removing it from the pond.

 

[Kathy G]

zeolite is a natural ammonia reducer and i keep a bag in each filter ..Just in case

Thank you, I will look for that.

 

[Kathy G]

If you ever have to clean a filter the best was is to use declorinated water since chlorine will kill the bb. I prefer filters that let you backwash them and use handles that work scrubbers inside them. This way you can clean them without opening them up. I only open and clean my filter at the end of the season when I am removing it from the pond.

Thanks for the tip. I will buy distilled water to clean the filter. I checked with the manufacturer of my filter and they suggested monthly cleaning for a pond my size with this particular filter. I am still going to wait a little bit longer since things seem to be getting better in the pond. Another day of 0 ammonia, yay

 

[mrsclem]

You can just use some of your pond water in a bucket to clean your filter. No need to buy water!

 

[Kathy G]

thanks, I didn't realize that. Will do, appreciate the tip!!