Overfilled 250 gallon koi pond with tap water and koi in distress

[brokensword]

Ya, I broke my leg scooping the fish out of the pond last fall lol… usually in the summer it’s fine. Not too much stuff falling in but it’s the fall that kills me. All those leaves and I just can’t seem to stay on top of it. I’m thinking a big piece of netting to string up in the trees above the pond to catch the majority of the falling leaves. And maybe next week I try and vacuum the crud off the bottom and see if I can manage to leave the same water in the pond next year! thanks

I usually get foam after the fish have spawned, so...

 

[Lisak1]

I usually get foam after the fish have spawned, so...

That's another possibility. Although there's usually a distinctive activity noted before that happens...

@Pond skipper - people do use nets to keep the leaves out of the pond in fall, especially when they have lots of big trees. Lots of different solutions for that problem if you poke around the forum.

 

[poconojoe]

Adding algaecide can cause foaming. I hope you didn't add that. Algaecide can kill fish.

I have a little foam and a little amount of bubbles in my pond for a few days now.
I never add any chemicals, so maybe it's the spawning, as mentioned.

As also mentioned, you shouldn't be emptying your pond unless there was a major contamination.
Your killing off all the Beneficial biofilm on your liner.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I also get a bit of foaming when I have frog spawning action. (fish spawning made the pond look like a Starbuck's Latte, ie - unmistakable - frog spawn is a little less dramatic, but still yields noticeable consequences)

@Pond skipper - If you find that you *need* to drain & clean the bottom crud in the future (Spring?), then I'd suggest that you invest in a temporary pool (we have an Intek that holds about 2500 gallons or so) & pump off the main portion of water into that, then when you get to the really cruddy layer, you pump to remove that. Then you have saved the majority of your 'good bacteria water' to put the fish right back in to after you've done the clean out.

Just one more idea/suggestion.

 

[Pond skipper]

That raises another question I’ve wondered about. When I do my clean out it’s in the spring, as soon as I can after the ice comes off it. Do you think there is any “good bacteria” in there at that point or will it have died of over the winter when everything froze up anyway? I’m guessing there’s still some kicking around though. I am going to try wet vacuuming the pond bottom next week to see if I can get it acceptably clean without losing much of the water. I don’t know what is causing so much sediment this year. This stuff almost looks like as if I’d added soil to the water. It is actually causing my skimmer pump to chock out. Every 4 or 5 days I’ll look it at the waterfall and realize there isn’t the right amount of water “falling” so I go out and have to shut the pump off and clean it all up and clean out the skimmer to get it back up to snuff. It’s quite perplexing.

 

[mrsclem]

Your pond looks small enough to build a pvc hoop frame over it. You put your leaf netting over it and no more leaves in the pond.

 

[brokensword]

That raises another question I’ve wondered about. When I do my clean out it’s in the spring, as soon as I can after the ice comes off it. Do you think there is any “good bacteria” in there at that point or will it have died of over the winter when everything froze up anyway? I’m guessing there’s still some kicking around though. I am going to try wet vacuuming the pond bottom next week to see if I can get it acceptably clean without losing much of the water. I don’t know what is causing so much sediment this year. This stuff almost looks like as if I’d added soil to the water. It is actually causing my skimmer pump to chock out. Every 4 or 5 days I’ll look it at the waterfall and realize there isn’t the right amount of water “falling” so I go out and have to shut the pump off and clean it all up and clean out the skimmer to get it back up to snuff. It’s quite perplexing.

the bacteria you want is NOT in the water, so doesn't matter. IF you clean your walls, rocks, etc, then yeah, you're hurting the system.
Vac the bottom once, get it clean, then keep debris from accumulating unnecessarily in the future.

I think these are the major points concerning me;
1. fish are MOST vulnerable in the spring, coming out of winter, and you're creating stress on top of this with any cleanout.
2. the water does NOT need to be changed, ever, imo, if you keep good husbandry.
3. not changing water, not cleaning the pond, INSURES you have good bacteria already.
4. bacteria WILL die at low temps, just not all of it. There's a small colony left but it takes time to replicate and help the water. The cycling process ALWAYS lags fish transition from dormancy to normalcy. Hence, don't feed much (if at all) initially; let the fish feed off the natural algae that SHOULD be coating surfaces of you pond.
5. Finally, almost all the issues here can be solved by NOT letting the leaves fill your pond, no matter how many trees you like/surround the pond. Find a way to stop this. Others have suggested ideas. Otherwise, daily dredging of the leaves in the fall is the only way to keep your issues from happening.

 

[Pond skipper]

Hey thanks for the idea, I was planning on just stringing some netting up between the trees but I couldn’t figure out how I was going to get it empty of whatever it caught without it collapsing into the pond. This just might work. Pond is 20’ x 8’ so I should be able to rig something like that up

 

[Presco5]

View attachment 130811@AllyZee
Stress coat will help but just hope the damage to the fish has not gotten too bad.

We know someone who filled their pond with water from the hose and the fish died. He figured it was the water being chlorinated Is he right

 

[Presco5]

P

Hey thanks for the idea, I was planning on just stringing some netting up between the trees but I couldn’t figure out how I was going to get it empty of whatever it caught without it collapsing into the pond. This just might work. Pond is 20’ x 8’ so I should be able to rig something like that up

Hey thanks for the idea, I was planning on just stringing some netting up between the trees but I couldn’t figure out how I was going to get it empty of whatever it caught without it collapsing into the pond. This just might work. Pond is 20’ x 8’ so I should be able to rig something like that up

We bought screen netting from Lowes to cover the pond which keeps out debris and makes clean up as easy as just picking the debris off the netting and you are through. The netting came with stakes to anchor it all around the edges. Its a gift and a timesaver

 

[Mmathis]

We know someone who filled their pond with water from the hose and the fish died. He figured it was the water being chlorinated Is he right

If his water was chlorinated (or contained chloramines) and he didn’t add a dechlorinator, then yes, that is a possibility. But not knowing anything about this person’s pond, it’s impossible to know what what killed the fish.

Hello and welcome! Please go over to our “introductions” topic and tell us about yourself and your pond.