Help please, ammonia 8ppm!

[JamieB]

Thank you. It's 3.5 foot deep but a lot is shalloer

Thank you. The advice is so confusing, some sites say 20 gallons per inch of fish, others more...

The x gallons per inch is only really good for things that aren’t high waste or thick fish. Think about the difference between a goldfish and a guppy. A one inch goldfish is more massive than a guppy, based on mass/ girth, etc. where the guppy will not get beyond 1/4 inch thick unless it’s a big breeder female, that goldfish is probably a half inch wide, and will get much bigger. And then there’s how much waste they produce. I have an unknown number of guppies in my 100 gallon mini pond, but couldn’t keep two adult goldfish in that pond. Last time I tried to count, I lost my count at around 50, and have had several batches of babies, but even at 50, each an inch long, they produce less waste than 24 inches of goldfish. The type of fish plays a big roll, as well as their mass.

 

[gimpy]

Picture of your setup would be nice. Are the fish looking stressed or appear to be having problems? Especially compared to before.

 

[brokensword]

something to note; you don't need to add bacteria--unless you just filled up a new pond, you already have what you need. Even a newly filled pond will grow the bacteria you need; the question is how quickly. It's the bacteria you want to break down the ammonia into nitrite. Then, a different bacteria breaks nitrite down into nitrate. THAT'S when the plants come in. If you're going to go LPS (larger pond syndrome), save the current liner and anything submerged in the pond. If you keep these items wet, the bacteria and biofilm ON the liner and submerged items, you have the start you need. Also, keep the filter material moist as there too, you have bacteria. Buying bacteria is only a waste of your money.

You may be able to keep your goldfish but you're going to have to increase your filtration to keep up with them. Consider making yourself a bog (upflow wetland) filter. There are many threads here to inform you; just do a search. Going larger, if you can, will help immensely because the larger the body of water, the harder it is to throw the water parameters out of whack. Yours is indeed small so 7 larger fish are going to make it difficult. You've got basically 20 gallons per fish and as stated above, one inch of fish is relative. Goldfish and Koi tend to be heavy on the bioload, so your filter needs to keep up.

And as Lisa stated; stop putting all the chems in. Most of the time, that's when we hear the horror stories. In the 10 years I've had my pond, I've never put anything in the pond, chemical-wise. I have a well and don't even need any dechlor. Plants, lots of them, aeration (bubbler or waterfall or pump), and not overfeeding, are your friends.

And if you're getting a new test kit, as noted above, make sure it's not the strips, which have been proven to more often provide false readings. API makes a kit we all tend to promote. That said, I've never done any tests, either. I've kept tropical fish my whole life and I usually just watch the behavior of the fish to decide if there's problems. Of course, as you'll find out, ponds and aquariums are not the same.

Hope this helps.

 

[poconojoe]

I also suspect those readings may be off. I'm hoping a new test kit will give better results.

Also, keep in mind, with a pond that small, the parameters can swing back and forth much easier than a larger pond. An imbalance can occur much quicker due to such a low volume of water.

Increased ammonia can occur from too large a fish load. Your fish keep growing and it might have reached a tipping point.

Better filtration and lots of plants should help. A bog filter should help. It definitely helped my pond.
My fish keep growing and multiplying which affected my water quality.
My water was solid green, even with two pressure filters and a UV light. With the bog added on, my water is now crystal clear. I sold the filters and UV light and I'm filtering exclusively with the bog.

 

[Katemort]

Thanks all ,for clarity - there are 4 fish they're about 6-7 in long .
The fish seem ok, certainly not distressed.
It's partially above ground, will look into big filter
I thought pond would allow grow room!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

You are getting a lot of good info above^^^

 

[Katemort]

Thank you. Also to add: pump/filter are supposedly able to handle 3000l pond...

 

[Lisak1]

Any filter can be overcome by too much bioload. Bigger filters CAN allow for more fish, but there's always that point at which it's just too much. I'm still not convinced that's what you have going on though, but it is worth thinking about expanding the pond in the near future. Four goldfish will soon become 40!

@poconojoe makes a great point - these small ponds are much more finicky when it comes to water quality and eco-balance. A small change can throw everything out of whack. People often think "I'll start small - that will be easier!" and then give up when they have constant water issues. Bigger volumes of water are far more stable and therefore require less tinkering once they get established.

Good luck on your quest to solve the mystery - the good news is your fish seem fine so that's reassuring!

 

[jmajid]

Since you are in the UK (my mom lives in northern UK and we talk daily about her weather) I know you have had a couple of "warm'" spells recently with temps going up and down.
How often do you feed the fish and how much and how often?
When was the last time you tested the water? What was that previously good result?
Did you stop your filter running anytime over the winter (i know winter lasts longer in the UK )
Waaay back in my early days as a pond owner, the previous owner had left ammo lock for us and i continued to use it until I came onto this site and read that while it binds the ammonia, your test results will still show the ammonia - it's just that ammonia you now have is a "safer" type - i say that with quotes around and all that, as there is no safe ammonia... eventually it still has to be converted to something...
As others have said, you need to stop the ammonia at the source and that's normally fish or sometimes your water source.
Perhaps consider how much you are feeding.
Think back as to when you last tested (before you got your 4 or 8ppm readings) and what the readings were then and what has changed in either the environment of the pond or your interactions with it.
Photos of your setup and pond are always appreciated on here.

 

[Katemort]

Hi, I put in an earlier post it had previously been pretty constant ph 8, amm .25-.50, ni 0 na 5. Stopped feeding over winter, get ammo lock converts but worried so high/unstable. Thanks!

 

[Ray G]

Thanks all ,for clarity - there are 4 fish they're about 6-7 in long .
The fish seem ok, certainly not distressed.
It's partially above ground, will look into big filter
I thought pond would allow grow room!

Most people seem to underestimate how much water fish need to thrive!! However taking into account everything everyone has said here the fact your fish are happy and going well is really all that matters. New test kit will help. Raising pond higher will help (the glue to glue additional liner is special glue). Plants will help but basically you are going fine as the fish are happy.
Ray

 

[GBBUDD]

If you shut down your pumps at any time for the winter the water in them has organics in them and they will rot and when that happens in a pipe or a filter you get the smell of rotten eggs. That is usually hydrogen sulfide very toxic to both man and beast. Did you shut down at any time and let the water sit stagnant for a while ? When you turn your pumps back on discharge to first few gallons outside of the pond.

Have you searched high and low turning over anything that may hide someone who died in the pond? I know I found over 30 Dead year old frogs in my shallows as my pond had over a foot of ice at one point.

I myself would do water changes water changes and more water changes but test that water before it goes in if your on a well it may not be a deep well and that could be a possibility too

 

[Katemort]

thanks all - no, pump and filter run all year round. Short of entirely draining the pond, I have scooped along the bottom with a net as best I can to find any corpses. I have a pond net over it. Thanks for suggestion, liner has multiple folds in it so gluing a new one might be tricky?

 

[Ray G]

Thanks all ,for clarity - there are 4 fish they're about 6-7 in long .
The fish seem ok, certainly not distressed.
It's partially above ground, will look into big filter
I thought pond would allow grow room!

What were the test results with the new test kit? I assume they were ok?

 

[Katemort]

Hi, I've added loads of plants, and will add another pump, can't get anyone to wire it in till mid April. I have continued with water changes and ammo lck to at least keep t safe till pump goes in. Ammonia 4ppm, no sign of fish being il