Water changes to eliminate ammonia?

[HTH]

I think adding more media would be good.

Regarding the water change. The fish are producing ammonia at a fixed rate. This ammonia is in the water. If you were to remove all the ammonia every day (100% water change) the bio filter would never cycle. It makes sense that while the bio filter is coming up to speed we will always want just a bit more ammonia in the system then it can handle. I don't know what that number is .25ppm or .5ppm sounds ok to we with not evidence to back it up.

I have a 8' 500g snapset with a sizable fish load and am using greenwater instead of a filter. Ammonia varies between .15ppm after a water change to .5ppm just prior to it. Fish seem to be OK. Lost one that was eggbound.

JohnHuff said in another thread that algae is due to excess nutrients and I agree. I would like to comment on that but think it may fit better here.

People have green water but no measurable ammonia or nitrates. This is taken as proof that green water or algae growth in general is not related to nutrients. I don't see it that way. What I think is happening is that the bio filter is not up to task and algae has stepped in and is using the nutrients that the filter is not processing. That is why people who add UV's need to be checking their water.

There is a lot of debate on this general subject and after years of ponding I am still learning and discovering on this subject. I am starting to lean in the direction of having algae in the system on a dedicated wall or similar in addition to or maybe instead of a tradition bio filter..

 

[Cdsdave]

I added a 32 oz. bottle of sludge away a few weeks ago. I believe that does contain beneficial bacteria. Checked ammonia levels yesterday and it was back to 0. Nitrites are still 0.25. Going to wait and see but keep a close eye on it. I have been adding Koi clay to give the fish the minerals they need. I know that won't do anything for the nitrites but want to provide my buddies their vitamins)

 

[Dave 54]

We have two bags of Zeolite rocks which we alternate every few months.
Wjat you'll find is its easier to do it this way and is good for emergancies because you are leaving one bag fully charged in reserve.
To charge them its a simple matter of a couple of large scoops of salt desolved in a bucket of water.
You put the rocks into it for 48 hrs then remove them , they are now fully charged ready to go into your filter ready to soak up any ammonia in your pond .

rgsds

Dave

 

[koiguy1969]

zeolite does one thing and does it well...absorbs ammonia. i used the laboratory grade zeolite. (as Dave54 suggested, as the last stage of filtration just before the water returned to the pond), so i cant comment to the effectiveness of PDZ horse stall freshener. but its alot cheaper...
on water changes.. once you get your water where you want it. IMO smaller, but more frequent water changes are better, all the way around. say your doing a 20% weekly water change. a 10% every 3 or 4 days is alot easier on the stability of the overall chemistry make up of the pond. less chance of ph swing, less temperature swing,etc.. there by less stress on fish. and every bit as effective at contolling parameters, D.O.Cs.etc... myself larger than 10% water changes would be reserved for emergencies.

 

[HTH]

First I want to point out that changing more water then you need to is extra work and expense. Changing less then needed is detrimental to the fish especially in the long run as the effects of exposure is said to be cumulative. To know how much to change you need to know your water. To make the change you must know the pH direct from the tap and the normal pH for your pond. Adjusting pH is not something I want to get into here.

We change water to control parameters like nitrates or DOC's. Appropriately sized small changes can keep them in check. But if anything harmful is way high changing 10% still leaves 90% of the problem. If you have a large buildup and are not setup to do a large safe water change you are between a rock and a hard place! Figure out some way to do a large change before you need to! A couple of 500 gallon snapset pools in the closet could be pulled out to create 1000 gallons of safe water. A lot of work but it beats dead fish.

Temperature and pH shock due to small or medium sized water changes can be reduced to some degree by slowly replacing the water instead of filling the pond as rapidly as possible. On smaller ponds this can be a trickling hose. On much larger ponds it take hours to refill unless you are hooked to a fire hydrant so just turn in on. If you are running untreated water into the pond make sure the water is rapidly mixed with the exiting water. Place the hose over an aerator on into a water fall. Fish like to stick their nose into the incoming water.