Do goldfish poop THAT much??

[Alec j]

Hi I have a small backyard goldfish / Koi pond which is 6 ft by 10 ft by 30 in. It consists of two Juvenile koi and 15 medium to large goldfish as well as alot of mosquitofish. Especially during the spring time. I use a Harbor Freight 2500 gallon per minute pond pump that runs 24/7 and feeds a waterfall that is 6 ft away from the pump and three-foot up which leads into my makeshift biofilter which is a square 5 gallon bucket. The lowest stage consists of both plastic and ceramic bioballs. The next levels are various grades of foam and the last being batting before it cascades down my natural rock waterfall.
Now, my question... I find myself having to clean my pond pump pre filter at least once or twice a week or else it will clogged up and leave the waterfall only to a trickle. I know that goldfish poop a lot but is it normal to be cleaning the pre-filter that often? Or Am i doing something wrong? I appreciate you and I hope you are staying healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Alec

 

[DavidWH]

To start the process of cycling a pond, I put seven small feeder goldfish in a 55 gallon drum for one week. At the beginning of the week, I could see them all easily at the bottom of the barrel. By the end of the week, I had to use the flashlight to see them. I was a little surprised at how murky the water had become in such a short time. Since I was trying to create a bacteria rich mixture to seed my K1 media, this was not a problem. I did notice a sudden increase in the level of haziness after overfeeding. Perhaps that is playing a role?

Also, my old koi pond was huge. It was only filtered by a couple filter pads in a skimmer. I had to clean the filters out weekly or the same thing happened to my waterfall. In fact, looking at the state of the waterfall is how I knew that it was time to clean the filter. This seems normal to me if you have a simple per-filter setup, but there are ways to reduce the cleanings by using a vortex filter or other methods.

 

[brokensword]

Hi I have a small backyard goldfish / Koi pond which is 6 ft by 10 ft by 30 in. It consists of two Juvenile koi and 15 medium to large goldfish as well as alot of mosquitofish. Especially during the spring time. I use a Harbor Freight 2500 gallon per minute pond pump that runs 24/7 and feeds a waterfall that is 6 ft away from the pump and three-foot up which leads into my makeshift biofilter which is a square 5 gallon bucket. The lowest stage consists of both plastic and ceramic bioballs. The next levels are various grades of foam and the last being batting before it cascades down my natural rock waterfall.
Now, my question... I find myself having to clean my pond pump pre filter at least once or twice a week or else it will clogged up and leave the waterfall only to a trickle. I know that goldfish poop a lot but is it normal to be cleaning the pre-filter that often? Or Am i doing something wrong? I appreciate you and I hope you are staying healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Alec

what you'll find here at GPF is a lot of us use bog filtration (actually, upflow wetland filtration) for just your reasons. A 5 gallon bucket isn't going to do much for a pond of anything beyond small size. A bog filter means you NEVER have to clean anything--the only maintenance is thinning plants occasionally and cutting things down in the fall. A bog filter is basically a biofilter with plants on top to take out the nitrates. When you feed a lot, the fish poop a lot; sorta goes hand in hand (ugh, disgusting image there; I'm sowwy) so your filtration, IF you want to do less, has to be more. In any regard. Search here for 'bog' you'll get further info; it might appeal to you and enhance your pond efforts. Certainly, after you install one, you'll enjoy the time off you have a lot more!

 

[Alec j]

what you'll find here at GPF is a lot of us use bog filtration (actually, upflow wetland filtration) for just your reasons. A 5 gallon bucket isn't going to do much for a pond of anything beyond small size. A bog filter means you NEVER have to clean anything--the only maintenance is thinning plants occasionally and cutting things down in the fall. A bog filter is basically a biofilter with plants on top to take out the nitrates. When you feed a lot, the fish poop a lot; sorta goes hand in hand (ugh, disgusting image there; I'm sowwy) so your filtration, IF you want to do less, has to be more. In any regard. Search here for 'bog' you'll get further info; it might appeal to you and enhance your pond efforts. Certainly, after you install one, you'll enjoy the time off you have a lot more!

View attachment 143892

Does a bog filter mean planting filtering plants directly in the pond itself?

 

[Alec j]

To start the process of cycling a pond, I put seven small feeder goldfish in a 55 gallon drum for one week. At the beginning of the week, I could see them all easily at the bottom of the barrel. By the end of the week, I had to use the flashlight to see them. I was a little surprised at how murky the water had become in such a short time. Since I was trying to create a bacteria rich mixture to seed my K1 media, this was not a problem. I did notice a sudden increase in the level of haziness after overfeeding. Perhaps that is playing a role?

Also, my old koi pond was huge. It was only filtered by a couple filter pads in a skimmer. I had to clean the filters out weekly or the same thing happened to my waterfall. In fact, looking at the state of the waterfall is how I knew that it was time to clean the filter. This seems normal to me if you have a simple per-filter setup, but there are ways to reduce the cleanings by using a vortex filter or other methods.

Thank you David, I appreciate your input. Ive necer heard of a vortex filter before. But i will definitely check them out right now

 

[brokensword]

Does a bog filter mean planting filtering plants directly in the pond itself?

no, but the theory is similar; basically think of it as an auxiliary raised (this also gives you a waterfall back into your pond) garden adjacent to your pond where the water is pushed to the bottom of the bog 'box' by your pump and is forced up through rounded rock inside. At the top are plants that like their feet/roots wet. Bacteria colonizes the large volume of rock and does the denitrifying process (this is your biofilter). The plants then take up the last product, nitrate, and the whole thing keeps algae at bay along with keeping the water in great shape. The plants outcompete the free floating algae as you DO want the type that coats all underwater surfaces. Put some floating plants in (approx 60% coverage) the pond, lift your pump off the pond bottom, and that's all you'll need.

There's obviously a bit more detail and if interested, search for the many threads we have on GPF.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @Alec j ! The answer to your question is "I have no clue!" If your pond is sized correctly for your bio load, you'll rarely even see fish poop - especially if you have a gravel bottom pond and good water movement. @DavidWH makes the point perfectly with his post about a small volume of water with an overload of fish - they can definitely muck the water quickly.

Which leads to my next point - you said you have a "goldfish/koi pond" - calculate the gallons of your pond (at 10x6x2.5 feet I get just over 500 gallons) and you have a true goldfish pond. You don't have room for koi.

 

[Relic]

I have a pre-formed fiberglass pond of about 600 gallons. I have no space for a bog (really wish I did) so I use a large 96 gallon plastic trash can as my filter. It has lots of different filter media - from rigid filter squares, to bio-balls, to different size mesh openings of bridal veil material. It gets cleaned 2-3 times a year - whenever water flow is finally affected. I started with a small-sized filter like you have and quickly grew weary with constant cleaning. The key is finding the right balance between amount of fish and amount of filter capacity. Try to err on the side of fewer fish, more filter. Best of luck!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[GBBUDD]

I have used bio balls, ki , foam , Live rock, Protein skimmers, undergravel filters, tried them all the bog has been a true joy. the water is sparkling clear . And the fish have good demeanors. they swim quickly spawn like rabbits even if i don't feed them i end up with a dozen babies. the koi even school If i can make an area have a bog that will always be my go to. you can see why i say this as i have a link below My Pond build can be seen here click below

 

[Lisak1]

I can honestly say in the 11 years of having a pond, we have seen fish poop maybe twice. And that was when we were treating them all for parasites. Other than that I NEVER see poop. I mean, I know they're pooping - the pond just handles it well.

 

[GBBUDD]

@Lisak1 Speaking of 11 years ..... HOWS the new falls and set up doing still loving it ?

 

[addy1]

we have seen fish poop maybe twice

lol I see them poop all of the time, long strings hanging out.........................

 

[GBBUDD]

KOI PUSH IT OUT VS GOLDFISH DANGLEBERRIES

 

[brokensword]

lol I see them poop all of the time, long strings hanging out.........................

geez; now, wasn't THAT a fun few posts to read tonight!!! Again, I say 'sheesh'; all you peeps actively looking for fish poops...can I get Ian to put in another order of straitjackets????


Y'all need to spend more time sprucin' up your bog areas, methinks! Add something exotic, something you hafta baby all the time--that'll get your eyes outta the gutter....literally!

Dang, now that's gonna haunt my dreams tonight, I just know it....