HELP with water quality

[ALLEN007]

I'm new here and thank you in advance for your help.  I have had a small pond for about 6 years, about 300 gallons (I think)  It's 6' x 3' x 2.5' dp.  The first 5 years never had to anything at all to it.  Fish were growing like crazy (goldfish) the water was always clear.  All I ever did was clean the filter every couple weeks and feed the fish.  Then one day I had to drain it due to to many roots from the plants and to many leaves from the surrounding trees and it has never been the same since.  I have had green water ever since (really bad).  At the same time my neighbor cut down the limb that covered the pond.  I went and purchased one of those sails and installed it over the pond so there is no direct sunlight, I purchased some of those Barley Bails and some of those Alge Ball from the pet store, used some kind of water clearer and nothing helps.  I can drain it, refill it and in 4 or 5 days the green is back.  I did and different kinds of rocks to it that had not been there before (if that matters).  Before refilling I did not let it dry out or scrub it before refilling.  Anyway, I would appreciate any advice.

[SueSTx]

Welcome !!!

First off, have patience...allow your water to cycle.  Sometimes it could take several weeks to do so.  Everytime you drain and refill you have to start the process all over.

The fish are bigger, of course there are now issues that you didn't have before.  Try cleaning your filter more often or even adding more filtration.  Do a search for DIY filters.  For your size pond, it should be easy to add a skippy type filter that would even add to the volume of water.

I have a 160 gallon stocktank that has way too many small fish in it.  It just now cleared up from the winter.  I have to clean the filter ever other day and I really should clean it every day.  I also added 3% hydrogen peroxide twice weekly until the water cleared.  The bottom was clean with no potted plants to murk up the water.  I also vacuum my tanks about every week or 10 days during the hot summer months.

If clear water is a must for you, try a UV light.  I have never used one so I can't comment on them.

Is your pond rectangle shaped?  Have you metered the water when filling? 

According to my calculations, a rectangular shaped pond with an even bottom of your size is approx. 470 US gallons.

[ALLEN007]

Thanks for the input SueSTx.  I will wait awhile and see if it clears up.  I did not know that.  And I will search about some of the tips you gave me.  My pond is a kidney shape, I might be a little big on the dimensions.  Every once in a while I'll go buy a couple of the Feeder Goldfish and put in it but for a year now nothing will stay alive more than a couple days.

[SueSTx]

Are you sure there is no chemical contamination going on with fertilizers or insect sprays?

Where are you getting fish?

I bought my goldies from WalMart about 12 years ago.  Yes, the first ones died, but I have many many offspring now.  Why not try to get a couple of fish from a local ponder and see what happens.

[ALLEN007]

I have purchased them from Walmart, Pet Supermarket, etc...  Just last week got a couple of larger ones with no luck.  I took a sample to Pet Supermarket they tested for PH and said all was good.  I've just assumed it was the green water.  Thinking about suspending some plastic fish in it ha ha. 

[SueSTx]

I have 4 8' stocktanks with green water and fish.  Green water alone isn't going to kill fish.

[ALLEN007]

Just throwing this out but I put the rocks / slate in the pond at the time the limb was removed (when I started having issues).  Could slate have something in it cauing issues?  Thanks for your input.  I think I will wait awhile and see if mother nature fixes it.

[SueSTx]

If that is the only change made since you started loosing fish, I'd remove the rocks.

What happened to your 'old' fish?  I'd be more concerned about them dying off that about new fish dying. 

[ALLEN007]

I guess I didn't mention that when I drained it for the first time after 5 years to get rid of the roots and leaves nothing has survived in it since.  Even the original fish.  It was at that time the tree limb was removed and I put the slate in it and it has never cleared up.  BUT, I have not waited more than a couple weeks to see if time will clear it up before I would drain it and fill it again.

[SueSTx]

How long did the original fish last before they died off?

This fact in itself worries me more than anything else.  What caused them to die?  Did you treat the water with  a declor?

I have changed the liner in my tanks before and returned the fish to the fresh treated water as soon as the temps were even.  I have never lost a fish doing this.  I do always put the lily pots back in immediately which I have been told that the dirt itself contains bio media.  I only have air pumps, no pumps or filtration.

It seems like it has to be a "chemical" issue.



As you can see, my water is green and there are older fish in there and last seasons babies.  I have lost a fish occasionally, but when I see them in stress, I immediately do a large water change adding declor always.

[ALLEN007]

I had the pond for 5 years with no problems.  So those original fish did live in the pond for those 5 years.  The pond had got so full of roots and leaves that I had to drain it and remove the leaves and a lot of the roots.  At that same time is when my neighbor cut down the shade over the pond and when I filled it the only thing I did different was add the slate.  But ever since then I have had issues.  I may take another water sample down the the Pet Supermarket.

[miguynmkoi]

I'll put my 2 cents in....SueStx is right about patience.  I'm not sure about the water test done at PS.  Make sure they do the whole spectrum.  If everything in the pond got cleaned, as in scrubbed clean, then adding new water and letting it cycle should be the norm.  All the other things you have done sounds ideal.  Where did you get the rocks for the pond?  Do not add fish until water settles in about a week or more.  Be patient.

Could be the crazy weather too.  Good luck!

[ALLEN007]

Thanks.  The one thing I did not do is scrub the pond when it was empty.  I just let it set a few days.  But now I will take the advice and just let it do it's thing for a while and see.  Thanks!!

[Kittyzee]

Sounds like when you cleaned the pond and removed the roots (I don't know what you mean by roots: from plants in the pond?) they were helping by leaching nutrients in the pond that grow algae (green plants that color your water green). Green water is not harmful, but your water sounds toxic to fish. They don't care what color the water is as long as they can breathe and the ammonia levels or chlorine levels aren't too high. If you live in town, you must put dechlor in the water when adding or filling. Since you did a total clean, even without scrubbing by adding water, the pond should cycle for a couple of weeks before adding fish again. If you have some cover like lilies, lettuce or hyacinth, they block the light that algae needs to grow. I had an almost 2/3 fish kill because I didn't vacuum the poo and solids out enough one summer in really hot weather. A bubbler along with filtration would be beneficial to your fish too, it just adds more air to the water.

[ALLEN007]

Thanks for the input.  I use well water when filling it.  And I am going to wait a while before adding anymore fish.  Also will probably add another oxygen source as well.

[Sean]

I had issues this spring with High PH and all the goldfish I put in died. I took water samples to Pet Smart each week after a large water change and the water read higher than their test strip could read meaning I had very acid water. This happens over time as the rain in cities tends to be acid from the pollution in the air that gets trapped in rain as it falls.
My solution was to use a PH calculator I found online with the dimensions of my pond and I used Baking Soda to neutralize the water. One more test at Pet Smart and everything turned out perfect. I have since restocked from scratch with feeder goldfish and the whole pond is happy.

Take a water sample in and have it tested for everything. A product like Amquel or other various dechlorinators can bind ammonia, nitrites and nitrates which enhance water quality as well and they are not very expensive. Once you have good water quality you can move on to restocking the pond with goldfish. as you get more shade from waterlily pads the water will clear.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Sean

[frogman3]

Personally I would since it cost nothing take your water samples from the well and have it tested. It may fine drinking water but if the well water has low KH the PH will not be stable. Goldfish & Koi can tolerate and thrive in a wide range of PH as long as it is stable. What they cannot survive is wild swings in  PH. Like Sean said adding baking soda will raise the KH and stabilize the PH but is that the problem? Have it tested two separate stores and compare results. Testing your source water will let you know what to expect and what to do in the future when water changes are done if that’s your issue. Some parts of the country well water is known by ponders to be low in KH and they routinely have to add baking soda or other materials such as crushed oyster shells to raise the KH. Be sure to note or ask what scale PPM or other when they give you a number so you know how to interpret  your KH reading. Once again it may not be your problem but that’s  where I would start.