Starting to see a bit of Ammonia and Nitrite

[RKJ]

Hi Folks,

Thank you for advice in advance.

I will try and give as much info as possible.

My pond set up is about 1000 gallons 7L x 8W x 3' deep. Hybird aspect in that it is an Aquascape biofalls upflow traditional size not the mini setup / all mats about seven japanese mats stacked in the unit. / 3000 gph internal pump. That's about 6 times per hr the water gets turned over
Very very clear water. I am nuts about clear water.
Stream about 6' that helps airiate. Also Aquascape air stone / pump.

No small rocks in the bottom just liner no bottom drain with no plants. Been there done that.

I have been doing this hobby for 10 yrs or so. I have up until last week raised 11 nice koi a few between 20" - 26" in length. I do about a 15% water change every week.
I have a dense mat in the skimmer and wash that every week. I wash the
These koi are between 2 and about 4 yrs old.

Historically feed only about once or twice a day. Pretty light feeding most fish are not super bulky kinda slim.

Now for the question about my Ammonia / Nitrite / Nitrate / Ph levels.

I use the API master test kit. Just bought a new one.

I do not know the tap water ammonia level. The Tap Ph level is about 7.4 or so.

I test sometimes in the morning other times afternoon, no real pattern.

I think I have always had just a bit of Ammonia / Nitrite if you do wait 5 minutes before comparing the tubes to the card. Close to zero in my view.

A few things have changed recently, however I just think I am reaching the max filter capacity of the biofalls / mats but not sure. You experts will wonder how I got this far with healthy fish.

I did change out mats all at once about 3 weeks ago so good bacteria cycle is just not happening yet. Ok now for some more fun and no wonder my levels are spiking, I will stop feeding today!!
I have had some more free time since I got laid off from my job in June. I started feeding up to 4 or 5 times a day just a few handfuls.

So as one might expect I am getting .25ppm Ammonia and .50ppm Nitrite. Nitrate has increased as well. Ok if I stop feeding for a week or two weeks, do some more frequent water changes, I hope to see these values drop as the biofalls / pond / get mature again.

ARE THESE LEVELS OK FOR A MONTH?

More fun. I am sure the experts say this pond is over stocked as it was ie fish load etc.. Well I just went nuts and added 12 more small koi from 4" - 7" What was I thinking

I actually want to try and grow these guys out as big as possible before winter.

Would adding a separate retro bottom drain, bead filter that handles 2000 gallon pond / second exterior pump continued water changes really do the trick for me.

Any suggestions would be great for both short and long term. Someday I do hope to build that 6000 gallon dream pond , but I need to take care of this issue first.

Thank you

Robert

 

[dieselplower]

So you threw away pads containing some nitrifying bacteria, have ammonia, nitrite, know you're overstocked, and then added more fish, and increased feeding? It seems like you already know the answers to all your questions so good luck!

 

[RKJ]

Yep,

Well I did sell a few fish before I added these other little puppies.

I just was wondering if the fish are pretty hardy enough to handle these spikes for about a month or so as the ponds nitrogen cycle does it's thing.

Rob

 

[dieselplower]

If they combine to be 1 or greater I'd do a water change. Others will disagree with me.

 

[RKJ]

Hi,

I tend to agree, just tested this morning and seeing closer to 0ppm Ammonia , .50ppm on Nitrite and about 5ppm on Nirate.

I will vacuum the pond and a small water change today as well.

I will try and load some photos later.

Thank you

 

[Amy]

So you threw away pads containing some nitrifying bacteria, have ammonia, nitrite, know you're overstocked, and then added more fish, and increased feeding? It seems like you already know the answers to all your questions so good luck!

Sorry, but I agree with this. I would up the water changes. If you can add filtration, do so, and buy several gallons of prime.

You ask if the fish are hardy enough to survive? I would say that it is possible, but it doesn't mean they won't suffer from burned gills and breathing issues due to the ammonia/nitrites in the water. It's like us breathing air in a fire or heavy pollution. Adding prime doesn't remove the ammonia, but it minimizes the effects.

 

[RKJ]

I use pond prime by Oasis, it's concentrated. Ok another 25% water change today. I will cut back on feeding like the amounts I have done in the past. On another note,

Do you this the pheromones from the large fish really keeps the smaller newbies from growing to proper size ? Water changes are suppose to help minimize this effect from what I have read.

 

[Amy]

Interesting concept. I have not researched this, but I see the logic. In several species of fish there will be one dominant male or female and the rest will stay "juveniles" until one of the dominant fish dies. Then one of the juveniles will become the dominant male/female even if it means changing sex.