Cistern turned pond

[guitarman023]

yeah, I left enough room in the new pond to add the old pond water when i get ready to move the fish. I already moved about 300 gallons over, just want to make sure the new pond is hospitable before moving the fish.

 

[sissy]

I waited over 2 months to move my fish and that was due mostly to builder clearing lots here .Dust every where and had to put tarp over the pond .

 

[guitarman023]

so I noticed last night that the pond water isn't clear to the bottom yet, but it is noticeably less green and the quilt batting has caught quite a bit. Shouldn't be long now.

 

[sissy]

have you tried soaking the quilt batting in the peroxide and water or added some to the water since there are no fish in there it will add oxygen to the water .I built mine I added 2 16 oz. bottles to my pond since no fish where it it yet and it goes away fast .

 

[guitarman023]

No I haven't. I think once the biological filter catches up, the algae will starve and die out. Any idea how quickly the peroxide goes away?

 

[sissy]

With in a few minutes it adds lots of oxygen to the water which kills off the green stuff .If you have plants I only add a 1/4 cup to mine but spread it out over the pond i don't pour it in 1 spot .I think it helps the fish also .I stand on the bridge and pour it right it to the flow of water coming out of my extra hose from the pump now .

 

[sissy]

never seemed to hurt my filters yet .

 

[guitarman023]

Well last night I moved my three koi to their new pond (forgot to take pics). Two were fine, and hid in the deep water, while my largest butterfly koi swam on his side at the surface all around the pond. I was pretty worried about him all night. He wasn't gasping and didn't seem lethargic, but I was still pretty worried. Luckily this morning I awoke to all three fish schooling and splashing and swimming all over. PHEW! I had never seen behavior like that before. I'm really not sure what was going on. I tested the water, transferred some of my existing bio filter over several days ago, and then let them acclimate before putting them in the new pond. I'm really not sure what the deal was, but I have 3 very happy koi this morning.

 

[sissy]

My fantail did that suspected it was his swim bladder a few peas a couple of belly rubs and he was fine after a couple of days .Next door neighbors dog caused that .

 

[guitarman023]

ive read about the frozen pea thing. Is that just the type of peas you get from walmart and other places?

 

[guitarman023]

any chance your peroxide idea would kill parasites? I know my fish are vulnerable right now because of the stress of moving.

 

[guitarman023]

I made a little progress on the pond this week.
Here's the pond with the filter and quilt batting in place. A ladder makes a quick makeshift framework for the quilt batting
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I was able to get a good start on the border around the pond, still not sure what I'm going to do as far as landscaping around the rocks

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And here's a little closer view of the filter. Probably by this fall I'm going to do a waterfall on the side where the filter is.

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[sissy]

you need a bridge .I am not sure about peroxide and parasites but my fish are healthy

 

[guitarman023]

I'm actually thinking about a small deck on the downhill side with a pergola and a fire pit maybe. I'm still playing with ideas at the moment. I'm planning on building the deck and then extending out over the pond a few inches to make it look like it's part of the pond. Still unsure of my final plan, probably going to finish the waterfall this year and then hopefully by next spring I can install a deck.

 

[guitarman023]

Well over the weekend the fish have acclimated and seem pretty happy. The water is clearing up nicely and I can see down about three feet.

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