I am building a 6,000 gallon pond. As soon as the pump arrives, and I get it all hooked up, I'll be moving my koi from a makeshift tank indoors to the new digs. The old pond I had was too small and sprung a leak in the middle of this past winter. We HAD to bring them in to keep them from freezing.
Outside of when we bought the fish 8 years ago, they'd never been moved until we brought them in. In all honesty, we didn't do much research or making sure things were perfect. It was 15 degrees and snowing out. I moved as fast as I could, cleaning out a horse watering trough, and hooking up a pump in the house. I simply dumped in something to remove ammonia and chlorine. We didn't even float them. At that point it was chance moving them, or they were GOING to die. I didn't have too many options.
Now, we are preparing to move them into the newer much, much larger pond. Is it acceptable to just float them for a while and then release them, or should I test the water before doing it? If so, is there a testing kit available that anyone could recommend?
We've treated the water in our new pond for Chlorine and Chloramines (sp?), but not ammonia, and went ahead and put in the mosquito fish before the pump is here. We also have put in some plants.
I just don't want to lose these fish. We've had them 8 years and they are close to two feet long. We also have three more 6 inch fish in with them. They arrived earlier than we expected and the pump hasn't made it yet. Hopefully by Mon. or Tues. the pump will show up.
Outside of when we bought the fish 8 years ago, they'd never been moved until we brought them in. In all honesty, we didn't do much research or making sure things were perfect. It was 15 degrees and snowing out. I moved as fast as I could, cleaning out a horse watering trough, and hooking up a pump in the house. I simply dumped in something to remove ammonia and chlorine. We didn't even float them. At that point it was chance moving them, or they were GOING to die. I didn't have too many options.
Now, we are preparing to move them into the newer much, much larger pond. Is it acceptable to just float them for a while and then release them, or should I test the water before doing it? If so, is there a testing kit available that anyone could recommend?
We've treated the water in our new pond for Chlorine and Chloramines (sp?), but not ammonia, and went ahead and put in the mosquito fish before the pump is here. We also have put in some plants.
I just don't want to lose these fish. We've had them 8 years and they are close to two feet long. We also have three more 6 inch fish in with them. They arrived earlier than we expected and the pump hasn't made it yet. Hopefully by Mon. or Tues. the pump will show up.
