Help please, ammonia 8ppm!

[Laaf]

Katemort,

What are the dimensions of your pond?

I agree with the comments that a depth of 3.5 feet suggests a larger volume than 600 liters unless it is shaped like a barrel, which it may be.
Here is a calculation for pond volume in liters, is it what you used?

For Pond Water Volume in Litres
Measure the Length, Width and Depth of your pond in metres. If your pond is not a straight forward shape you will need to measure the average of all 3 sizes. Once you have these sizes use the calculation method below to measure your pond water volume.

Length(M) x Width(M) x Depth(M) x 1000



I am surprised if it is 600 liters/158 gallons and not very turbulent with pumps of the sizes you described. The dimensions will help confirm the volume. ( I may have misundertood/misread that you corrected the size to 3000 liters in one of your posts)

I read your post that your pond was a year old in March so it is now over 15 months old, and you did keep the pumps running all winter, and the water chemistry was good until this spring, and the fish have not seemed to be in any distress even with the elevated chemistries. Please correct me if I misread this.

The man who told me not to keep testing is the longtime co-owner of a pond plant and supply store, not just an employee.

I have found multiple online sources saying goldfish can do well with 20 gallons per fish. I do not agree that if your pond is 158 gallons that it is too small for 4 growing goldfish. Especially with plants and filters and the bog filter you will add.

 

[WaterGardener]

I was mistaken about the pond being shut down for winter so that is not relevant. Sorry.

The 3000l mentioned was the rating of the pump and filter, not gallons in the pond. I stated before that I thought it should be enough, but something is definitely off.

It's very confusing to try to figure out exactly what is going on and we have only the OP's information to go on.

She said the pond was 3.5 feet deep at the deepest, but most of it was more shallow than that and has shelves in it. She insists the pond is 660l and she has calculated that several times. I have no reason to doubt what she is saying.

I do wonder if the tests are correct or if they are being done correctly. But if they are correct, everything that should correct the problem seems to be being done.

Maybe she will come back soon with an update and more information to give us all a better picture of the situation.