Hello everyone. Any advise would be greatly appreciated

Joined
Apr 26, 2019
Messages
2
Reaction score
2
Country
United States
My husband made a cement pond in our front yd. He mixed some concrete bonding primer then put protective & marine coating on top of that. Now our fish are dying. How do i fix this?
 
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
6,273
Reaction score
5,059
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Hardiness Zone
6 A
Country
United States
Welcome to the forum, but sorry you're losing fish. Can you tell us more about the pond and it's filtration?
 

j.w

I Love my Goldies
Joined
Feb 1, 2010
Messages
33,809
Reaction score
20,807
Location
Arlington, Washington
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
USDA 8a
Country
United States
120255
@Sonyalee Hmmmmmmmm, wonder if something bad was in the concrete mixture or if you waited long enough before you added the fish. Water takes awhile to get the good bacteria going in it too so fish will survive and if you add too many fish that can be not so good also. We need more info on what exactly you did step by step.
 
Joined
May 10, 2018
Messages
378
Reaction score
350
Location
Ely Mn
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
3b
Country
United States
If you could tell us the steps you took to introduce fish to the pond, we can help you. Some info we need is pond size (gallons), which product you used on the concrete and filtration system. Welcome to the forum.
 
Joined
May 5, 2013
Messages
1,142
Reaction score
530
Location
Le Roy, New York
My husband made a cement pond in our front yd. He mixed some concrete bonding primer then put protective & marine coating on top of that. Now our fish are dying. How do i fix this?
It could be the coating is leaching something toxic or the concrete is leaching. Concrete can take years to cure. I would drain the pond, scrub it down and really clean it out. Fill it, let it sit for a few days and add more fish. If they die then you can be pretty well assured that the water is getting contaminated. If that's the case then you'll need to line the pond with some epdm
 
Joined
Jul 29, 2018
Messages
208
Reaction score
277
Location
Exact center of Canada
Hardiness Zone
3?
Country
Canada
My husband made a cement pond in our front yd. He mixed some concrete bonding primer then put protective & marine coating on top of that. Now our fish are dying. How do i fix this?
Did you allow the water to properly cycle before putting fish into the pond ? look into nitrogen cycle as I believe the ammonia is killing them not the leaching of contaminants but, depends if you allowed time to cycle and tested water.
 
Joined
Jun 7, 2014
Messages
117
Reaction score
86
Location
Beebe, Arkansas
My guess is there are toxins being released into the water from the concrete and/or the coating that was applied. If this is this case the toxins will probably diminish over time. How much time I don't know. I would remove the water and replace it. Then I'd just let it sit for a while and see if you get any algae growth on the sides. If not change the water again to remove any toxins accumulated in the water. Rinse and repeat as many times as it takes. I wouldn't put any fish in unless you see algae growth occurring. When you're ready to reintroduce fish, just put in a few cheap feeder goldfish and see if they live. It's a long drawn out process to be sure, but you're pretty much stuck with what you've got, since the pond is already built. Hope this helps.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
44,900
Reaction score
29,884
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
Welcome to our forum!

Like said above more information would help. How big a pond, how many fish did you add, how long had the water been in the pond, what kind of filtration?

Post some pictures if you can.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2009
Messages
3,990
Reaction score
2,696
Location
Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania
Hardiness Zone
6a
We need more information on that marine coating. Marine doesn't necessarily mean it's safe for fish. Probably just means that it's waterproof. I hope I'm wrong and you have confirmed that it's safe. Otherwise you may have to find out how long it takes to fully cure and not leach out any toxins. Or recoat it with another product that is fish safe.
Others here have good points too. Your water needs to cycle for a while before adding a major fish load. The suggestion of adding cheap feeder goldfish is a good one. That's what I did. I bought 10 cent feeder goldfish when I set my pond up 10 years ago. Believe it or not, most of them are still in there!
And as someone suggested...you can always just add an EPDM liner over the concrete.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads


Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
31,488
Messages
517,713
Members
13,688
Latest member
Dana D

Latest Threads

Top