Renovating an old dirty pond

[SusanAudrey]

I bought a house 6 months ago and have inherited a pond with it. It is raised,set into ugly concrete , is under a wooden awning that leaks rain water and the far side is almost unreachable as it is against the wall. There were 5 goldfish and one koi, but there are now only four goldfish gasping at the surface every day. I bought an aerator but it only seems to raise a worse smell from the water than is already there. There is a pump but it looked a home made job ( like most things in this house) so I switched it off. When I tried to reactivate it it pumped out dark red/black stuff and soon after my koi died so I turned it off again. I've put a few pondweed plants in there but I think it need drastic action to save the remaining fish. I am on a water meter so if I can sort this out without changing the water that would be better but I will change it if need be for the sake of the fish.

 

[buckry]

Boy, doesn't sound like the water can be salvaged. How big are they? I would buy an aquarium if they are small enough and make them comfortable there and then you can work on the pond and do things right to fix it.

 

[JohnHuff]

How big is the pond? Can you post some pics?

 

[j.w]

SusanAudrey
It sounds like the water is quite polluted and would prolly be a good idea to get those fish outta there and redo the pond. Make sure even tho the pond water is yucky............save some of the water to mix in w/ some fresh water where ever you move the fish to as if it is too clean they will be shocked and could die. You can strain some of that old water by running it through some white filter batting(stuffing for pillows etc.) to remove a lot of the gunk. If the fish are too big for an aquarium you could get a child's plastic swim pool to put them in. Hoping it works out for you and you can save the fish and have a nice pond for them.

 

[buckry]

You might consider giving those fish away and once the pond is squared away buying new babies at that point. Small feeder goldfish are dirt cheap and you can learn a lot keeping them alive, and also learn a lot from killing them, but when it's only thirty cents it's not a big deal. Killing a 7" goldfish probably sucks, luckily I haven't done that yet, so knock on wood.

But you can either loan your fish to someone to watch or give them away, work on the pond, buy $5 worth of fish and begin the process from the ground up, rather than jumping into the deep end so to speak.

 

[fishrich]

you better start asking yourself if you want a pond and all the dedication and expense which comes with it. The fish will be gasping due to a lack of oxygen in the water, probably caused by a lack of water movement and filtration if the pump is not running. The pump will need to be on 24/7 to keep oxygen levels up. A partial water change will be required , maybe several over several days to lower the posible contaminated water. Check and clean out the filters and pump before turning them back on. Hope this helps

 

[addy1]

Sounds like the bottom is covered with muck, there was a bad smell when the water got stirred up, per the post. Releasing the anaerobic bacteria. The pond needs to have the bottom cleaned, but if you stir it up with the fish in the pond, it might kill them. They need to be removed and the pond cleaned of the bottom debris, bet the muck is deep too. Sounds like a drain job, shovel out the muck and start over.

Post some pictures if you can.

 

[Figgy]

Hi SusanAudrey, welcome to the forum from me.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome! :wave: