Pond Maintenance

[Culchie]

Even though I haven't been able to start construction yet on my pond project, I do have all the equipment I need. Now I just need to know what things I need to make sure my pond is healthy. Like chemicals or tools to check levels, take readings etc... Thanks



Wayne

 

[addy1]

A good liquid test kit. I don't use any chemicals, but we have well water not city water so no chlorine.

 

[fishin4cars]

Decide ahead of time the type fish and study them. IF you are considering Koi invest in a good net or two. I prefer one very large net 24" across or larger, and a smaller sock net more moving fish. Neither is cheap, but well worth the investment. If just goldfish a 12"-18" net will be fine, long handles are a plus!Liquid drop test kit, Which needs to include, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, PH, KH and GH at the least along with a thermometer. A couple of NEW clean 5 gallon buckets and a tub or cooler for transporting and acclimating new fish and rinsing plants, decorations, etc. mark them as POND USE ONLY. no chemicals, or fertilizers, or other foreign matter to go in these. You will make use of them many times.!!! Also invest in good water dechlorinator/water conditioner. be sure and check with your local water company and see if they use Chlorine or Chloramine to sterilize the water and buy accordingly. Have enough on hand at all times to treat the whole pond in case you leave the water on and over fill the pond or have a emergency late at night and need to do a large water change.

 

[sissy]

No chemicals you want a healthy pond not a unhealthy fake one .I use crushed oyster shells and lots of activated carbon though .

 

[Culchie]

In what instances will I have to move fish ?? Because I wasn't planning on taking them out once in the pond. I will mainly have goldfish, with a couple koi probably. What are the crushed oyster shells for ??

 

[fishin4cars]

Fish need to be moved from time to time, healing a sick fish, removing unwanted babies, pond maintenance. A good net is a very valuable tool. helps remove leaves and debris that end up in the pond, Plus when releasing new fish you don't want to add water from other sources, So the fish needs to be netted or hand caught and released in the pond. I use a large cooler, place 2-3 gallons of pond water in the cooler and let the bag float, then add small amounts of pond water to the bag until the water is doubled. I the dump the whole bag in the cooler. Now I can photograph if desired, get a good look over the fish, then net (I use a sock net so the fish stays wet) the fish and place it in the QT tank. Or pond.
Oyster shell is used to help buffer the water to keep PH stable. Oyster shell breaks down slowly and releases some constant alkalinity in the pond. Baking soda does the same thing but works faster and is used faster. So Baking soda would be used for needed adjustments in KH, oyster shells are more for maintaining KH or buffering capacity.

 

[addy1]

I use the oyster shells because our well water is very soft and acidic. The oyster shells, like fishin says, break down slow and add hardness to our pond water, which in turn helps keep the pond ph at a good level. I add around 100 lbs every spring to my bog, that keeps our pond water hardness around the 100 range.

You need to determine what the ph and hardness of your source water is (city or well), to see if you need oyster shells or other steps to raise your ph and hardness.

My pond in phoenix it was totally opposite, there the water is very hard.

 

[Culchie]

Thanks for the explainations. :beerchug: I have hard water here in town.

 

[addy1]

I killed off a bunch of feeders when we first set up the pond, The water had sat for two months, figured time to add some fish, they all died within hours and overnight. I was so sad for them. Then light bulb went on and tested the water, all was fine except the ph of the pond was 5.7 I put the poor things into a acid bath. Long story short, test your water before you add fish! I figured well water what could be wrong , boy was I wrong!

Spent the rest of the summer trying to get the ph up, the hardness up, stabilized before adding more fish. Somehow 4 fish lived, I was shocked to see them the next spring.

Via the forum learned about oyster shells, they brought up the hardness, and helped stabilize the ph. Now my pond sits around 7.5 in ph and hardness around 100 or so. But I have to add oyster shells every spring to keep it there. Works and cheap.

 

[Mmathis]

What is a "sock net," and how is it different from other nets?

 

[Culchie]

Do you know of a Test Kit that tests all of those things ? Or do I have to purchase some of the tests separate ?? I've looked around. Seems like one or two tests aren't included in the kits. :sad:

 

[addy1]

Do you know of a Test Kit that tests all of those things ? Or do I have to purchase some of the tests separate ?? I've looked around. Seems like one or two tests aren't included in the kits. :sad:

This does everything normally needed, except hardness

http://www.drsfoster...454&pcatid=4454

hardness

http://www.drsfoster...21&pcatid=13521

 

[crsublette]

Do you know of a Test Kit that tests all of those things ? Or do I have to purchase some of the tests separate ?? I've looked around. Seems like one or two tests aren't included in the kits. :sad:

API Freshwater Aquarium Liquid test kit is a common one found in all of the big retail pet chain stores in my area. I had to order the KH / GH liquid test kit through Amazon and is the same that Addy hyperlinked.

Yeah, make sure the acidity is correct. For instructions on how to properly dose with Baking Soda, you can read "Of course, we must talk about Hardness" if you can bare through all of the technicalities. Heh, in aquaponic systems where some keep there water in the 6.5~6.8 range, the fish are seens darting around all over the place like they're on meth or speed or something. Personally, I would try to keep the pH at or above 7.5; if you can afford to continue dose the water with Baking Soda to go higher to around 8.4pH, then the better. Rain and your pond will naturally cause the water to become more acidic; I think crushed oyster shells are good for maintaining so to offest some rain and the natural tendencies of the pond water. I don't know what a good dosing regiment would be with crushed oyster shells. Also, fish need minerals, tested as GH, to help with their osmosis regulatory system; so be sure your GH is at least above 100. If your GH is too low, then you can feed your fish with heavier mineralized food; there is actually a clay product you can rub the fish food in to add more minerals. It would be best thought to find out a way to increase your GH if it is too low.

 

[fishin4cars]

What is a "sock net," and how is it different from other nets?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Loki-Koi-Po...927?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c56151f87

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DreamPond-K...900?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a658d10f4

There are two kinds, one holds water one does not. I prefer the one that holds water. Works super great when moving fish under 20". Larger fish may be to heavy to lift along with the water if your a petite person. 30# plus for fish and water. The neat thing about a sock net is control of the fish while your moving it . It swims in the loop end and out the other head first, less stress and less chance get injured. Another hint on nets, For those in the US. Academy Sports sells a soft coating 24" opening telescoping handle net for about $40. Works great for netting a fish to prepare to move or one you just need to observe. Those two nets for about $80 is a pretty good deal Considering, When I looked for my sock net the only place I could find one was through a Koi dealer. @ the sweet price of $199.00. A really nice Koi net can run $500+!! That was back in March this year when I went to move all my fish here. Before then I was using a bait net and a trout net. they worked but not well. LOL

 

[shanezam203]

I have city water, so when I filled my 8000 gallons I needed clorine reducer + fish friendly chemicals before I could put in Fish.

they are good now. other than that, I clean the Filter media as often as I can, not much besides that and clean the Leaves if I can reach them.