Fishless pond

[marsha]

Hi, I have had my pond about 8 years now and have always had fish. 5 days ago fish died then another, I won't go into detail about syntoms that's another section. My question is how do I keep the bacteria Dr o m totally dying with no fish in there to keep it going or does it matter. At this point I might need to keep fish in over winter if they recover and its starts getting cold.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Kh 8 drops
Ph. Don't test it a lot but always around 8 or 9

 

[Jhn]

Wouldn’t worry about it until you are ready to put fish back in. You just need an ammonia source , be it store bought pure ammonia, piece of decaying meaty matter (like say table shrimp), to kickstart the cycle. There is always bacteria populations on every wet surface in your pond, whether you have fish in it or not, it will grow based on its food source(ammonia) and available SSA(specific surface area).

 

[marsha]

So if my pond stays empty till spring there should still be good bacteria, it wins be like starting a brand new one?

 

[Jhn]

So if my pond stays empty till spring there should still be good bacteria, it wins be like starting a brand new one?

No because the biofilm is intact and there is still life in the pond….may just be micro fauna that is not really visible or macrofauna like frogs, tadpoles, insect larvae that have an aquatic stage, all create waste in the pond so there will always be some bacteria.

Depending on the size of the pond and number of fish and size you can add them back slowly over a couple weeks. Or depending on the filter in their winter home add that filter media to the pond to lessen the severity of any cycle that does occur.

 

[marsha]

Great thank you! Do you know a lot about illness"s could sure use some more help over in illness section!