Filter?

[Headhunter]

I apologise if I this has been addressed in the past or if it's really obvious but I would love your input. I did a quick check of past posts but couldn't find anything that specifically answered the question. I have a single fish and some plants (I had 2 fish but one fell victim to a fox or cat) in a 90 litre tub surrounded by plants in pots at the side return of my house. I've got a solar powered aeration device which seems to work most of the time, at least during the day.

At the moment the fish seems a bit lethargic and is hanging around near the bottom of the tub. I am trying to work out if I can get away without a filter, plugging in a filtration device will be difficult - when I was a kid my grandparents and father had ponds with no filter or aeration devices of any sort. I read an article on this site about beneficial bacteria which seems to indicate that these are pointless but are there any other supplements that could help reduce ammonia etc in the water? Are there any particular plants I could introduce? Is it worth changing a quarter or a third of the water every now and then to help quality? Can I use some kind of "pond vacuum cleaner" to clear waste from the bottom of the tub? If I should get a filter, is there anything that would work for a small 90 litre tub?

Any thoughts you have are very welcome

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

That is a small amount of water, even for a single fish (well, that depends on what kind of fish?). Most will at least recommend some type of water movement, either through a pump and filter, or with an air stone. Plants are the best way to go if you don’t have a filter.

What is the temperature of the water?

 

[poconojoe]

Hello and welcome!

That is a small amount of water, even for a single fish (well, that depends on what kind of fish?). Most will at least recommend some type of water movement, either through a pump and filter, or with an air stone. Plants are the best way to go if you don’t have a filter.

What is the temperature of the water?

Agree with all the points from @Mmathis.

It may be getting too hot since there isn't a whole lot of water there.

There may also be other water quality issues we cannot guess about without test results.
Have you tested the water with a quality liquid reagent test kit?

Plants are usually very helpful.
What plants do you currently have? Some work better than others.
Plus keeping them in pots restricts their ability to help with water quality. Bare roots is best, but you could also keep them in mesh bags where the water can better flow through to the roots.

Aeration is very helpful too, but without knowing what the problem is, we're just guessing.

 

[poconojoe]

I just realized 90 liters is only 23.7 U.S. gallons.

 

[j.w]

@Headhunter

 

[Headhunter]

Hi both and thanks for your responses, the "pond" is in the UK so I shouldn't think the water is hot enough to kill a fish. I've got a couple of pond plants in the water but I haven't tested the quality. The fish is a goldfish...

 

[Headhunter]

I should add that I have got a solar powered aerator device which was working well, however as soon as the clouds come over, it stops dead which is not helpful. The plants are not in pots - they're just floating around in the water at the moment

 

[WaterGardener]

A sponge filter would work well. They are powered by an air pump so they also aerate the water.

Filters need to run 24/7. Fish produce toxins day and night and those need to be constantly filtered.

 

[Headhunter]

Thanks - can you give me an example of a "sponge filter"? I googled but just got blocks of sponge for sale!

 

[JRS]

Something like this has a weighted base, airline runs down the center of the large tube.

ATI Hydro Sponge Filter #5 Boxed

The ATI sponge filters are excellent biological as well mechanical filters that only need a source of air to operate. They are excellent for fry tanks because they won't suck up your babies! For aquariums up to 125 gallons. Sponge size 4 x 5.75 Inches Boxed Hydro Sponge Filters come in the full...

kensfish.com

 

[WaterGardener]

This is what they look like:

Sorry, that imagine is a bit large to say the least.

I suggest getting one as large as you can. You can never have too much filtration. Amazon US has one for 80 gallons that would work well.

Just Google aquarium sponge filter.

Meant to post this early but neglected to hit the button!

 

[Bruce]

A sponge filter would work well. They are powered by an air pump so they also aerate the water.

Filters need to run 24/7. Fish produce toxins day and night and those need to be constantly filtered.

I have a filter that’s also a fountain. Do i still need an air pump for oxygen or the fountain will suffice? I plan to put maybe 6 kois.

 

[WaterGardener]

If you really have only 90 liters of water, you don't have enough room for 1 goldfish, much less koi. Koi get to almost 3 feet long and you would need a whole lot more than a sponge filter for filtration.

 

[Bruce]

Can you suggest the type of fish that can help getting rid of insects/mosquitoes in the water? At the same time live in the small pond. Thanks for your feedback

 

[WaterGardener]

I would think that any small fish would eat mosquitoes and insects. I'm not well versed on small pond fish, but I'm sure others here are.

You might find something by searching the site or googling it.

Best of luck with your pond and fish.