Before I lose all my fish - !

[sissy]

I have my pond water tested at the pond store and they give me a printout .Easier to let them do it because they test for every thing

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I have my pond water tested at the pond store and they give me a printout .Easier to let them do it because they test for every thing

Not going to belabor the point, but only commercial laboratories are equipped to test for any type of organics. Your local pond store does not have the necessary equipment.

 

[Birdpond]

Do you know what the GH level is of your pond?

No darnit. Have been working, not been able to get to shop to buy one yet, unfortunately. (I'm a one-person show here, it's frustrating running out of hours in the day.) Good news is that except for the one in the bucket (which died overnight as expected) the remaining are all acting much better, more normal, and feeding too - Good sign I hope.

 

[Birdpond]

I'm not sure if I would call a fuzzy white growth on the mouth as mouth fungus. Are you sure it is not carp pox?

Thinking it's that bacterial infection known as columnaris.

 

[Birdpond]

I have my pond water tested at the pond store and they give me a printout .Easier to let them do it because they test for every thing

Where I used to live there was a similar store nearby, unfortunately not where I am now. Luckily (knock wood so I'm not going to say it out loud lol) but if they are all still swimming and eating in a couple days, maybe I'm getting ahead of the curve here . . . LOTS of BIGGER water changes actually seems to have helped. Maybe the tub just wasn't cycled sufficiently for the biomass (fish) I introduced. One thing, maybe dead plant material (from stuff I stuck in there for the minnows) contributed in a spike in ammonia or something. Also this 'patio pond' filter is 'eh' and likely doesn't have enough complexity in the 'sponge' filter part to harbor enough beneficial bacteria. It's very open, not like the kinds of sponges I've used before in the past and that my local pet stores don't seem to carry any more. I'd never used such a pump (with the stupid little above-water fountain thing). I got it because it was the only one remotely suitable available at my garden center. Replacing that might be a worthwhile investment.

 

[Usman]

Where I used to live there was a similar store nearby, unfortunately not where I am now. Luckily (knock wood so I'm not going to say it out loud lol) but if they are all still swimming and eating in a couple days, maybe I'm getting ahead of the curve here . . . LOTS of BIGGER water changes actually seems to have helped. Maybe the tub just wasn't cycled sufficiently for the biomass (fish) I introduced. One thing, maybe dead plant material (from stuff I stuck in there for the minnows) contributed in a spike in ammonia or something. Also this 'patio pond' filter is 'eh' and likely doesn't have enough complexity in the 'sponge' filter part to harbor enough beneficial bacteria. It's very open, not like the kinds of sponges I've used before in the past and that my local pet stores don't seem to carry any more. I'd never used such a pump (with the stupid little above-water fountain thing). I got it because it was the only one remotely suitable available at my garden center. Replacing that might be a worthwhile investment.

u can get methyl blue too if u have it there for small baths
can u buy small liner like 8x8ft minimum its very small piece of liner must b cheap around 30$ , u can built fairly good size of pond from it 300+ gallon, if u can get more thats better , its easier to maintain larger ponds u wont need to do water changes it will have its own ecosystem , smaller volume causes alot of problem u need to b vigilant and feed less , water changes cleaning etc
Fish Columnaris | Fungus & Saprolegnia | Treatment & Prevention
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html

 

[sissy]

I know that jw and colleen use add on prefilters on the pumps they use .Not cheap but seems they work great .I hope you are over the hurdle .You can be surprised how fast things can change in a pond sometimes .One day great next day terrible one day green water next day crystal clear water .The place where I get my water tested has the new up to date stuff to test water .Not sure what they paid for it but aquascape in NC has the same testing equipment to test pond water .I know some of the pumps sold at lowes even have uv' s built in but never bought one .They have big foam filters and even the one at harbor freight has a bigger foam filter but is a bigger pump .

 

[Birdpond]

u can get methyl blue too if u have it there for small baths
can u buy small liner like 8x8ft minimum its very small piece of liner must b cheap around 30$ , u can built fairly good size of pond from it 300+ gallon, if u can get more thats better , its easier to maintain larger ponds u wont need to do water changes it will have its own ecosystem , smaller volume causes alot of problem u need to b vigilant and feed less , water changes cleaning etc
Fish Columnaris | Fungus & Saprolegnia | Treatment & Prevention
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Columnaris.html

Usman, you are absolutely right - I really miss the ones I used to have before I moved. In my current situation, I am lucky to have this little tub in the garage (no place to put one outside that the horses won't destroy) - But if I can eventually find a way, I would LOVE to do that and have a proper pond. I'm going to post photos in the thread so everyone can see this little setup and even the fishies still in there - And (knock wood) still eating and acting like normal fish!

 

[Birdpond]

I know that jw and colleen use add on prefilters on the pumps they use .Not cheap but seems they work great .I hope you are over the hurdle .You can be surprised how fast things can change in a pond sometimes .One day great next day terrible one day green water next day crystal clear water .The place where I get my water tested has the new up to date stuff to test water .Not sure what they paid for it but aquascape in NC has the same testing equipment to test pond water .I know some of the pumps sold at lowes even have uv' s built in but never bought one .They have big foam filters and even the one at harbor freight has a bigger foam filter but is a bigger pump .

Thanks Sissy! there's a Harbor Freight AND a Lowes only about 40 minutes away - I'll have to go on my off day and see what they have! Crossing fingers, so far so good - I guess I'll know in a day or so if we've gotten over that hump.

 

[Birdpond]

OK here's my little 25ish gal rubber stock tub, set on my garage floor (yeah this is my 'pond' lol). The minnows are still in (3) hence all the rocks, and the 4 little surviving Shubunkins, all eating and active like they should be. Sad that I lost the two but crossing fingers now . . . (Sorry for the glare of the overhead lights in the images)

 

[sissy]

You could always get a bigger stock tank so you can enjoy them more .I have several and they make great places to enjoy water plants and grow them .I have tanks fro 100 gallons all the way up to 300 gallons .I have a couple of my tanks set on furniture dolly's so I can move them around .I even have and old metal grill bottom that had wheels on it that I had a tank on .

 

[sissy]

I am using it to hold plants for now and going to use a pot that has no holes in it for a deck pond .I also built some smaller plant holders out of scrap wood and used old wheels from desk chairs I got at the dump

 

[Birdpond]

You could always get a bigger stock tank so you can enjoy them more .I have several and they make great places to enjoy water plants and grow them .I have tanks fro 100 gallons all the way up to 300 gallons .I have a couple of my tanks set on furniture dolly's so I can move them around .I even have and old metal grill bottom that had wheels on it that I had a tank on .

Cool - Maybe it's something I can consider for the future. I'd actually wondered if wheels under a tank would be workable or not. You're the only person I know of who's actually done it lol.

 

[Birdpond]

So far so good - KNOCK WOOD -


:- )

 

[sissy]

I made a ramp over my basement lip and roll it in and out for winter .,I did build my furniture dolly's cheaper and used heavy duty wheels and then a friend gave me 2 metal things that I use for the other thing and they have heavy duty wheels on it .I also put a piece of 3/4 inch plywood on top of the dolly so no sagging or sinking .