Draining water

[fellfromheaven]

I have a probly 400 to 500 plastic in ground little pond for koi
every now and then we have to drain and clean it out ,
my question is when I add the declorinator how much time is best to wait until adding the fish back into it
normally I would wait 2 or 3 hours and let the water fall mix it.
any suggestions would be great

 

[sissy]

You should not have to drain it if you use a filter .The fish need the water filtered but not clean water new water oh sorry welcome .

 

[fellfromheaven]

we dont have a filter on this one ,

 

[sissy]

then you will need a filter of some sort as changing the water like that is not healthy for the fish .They need filtered water and the water needs tested .You can get a test kit from pet mountain .com 18.99 .and they also need plenty of oxygen

 

[sissy]

I have koi also

 

[fellfromheaven]

um ok didint really answer anything but thanks

 

[sissy]

I have well water so I do not have to treat my water so maybe some one else can answer .

 

[ididntdoit99]

Google search cycling a fish tank, or cycling a pond and READ!

Full water changes are bad, thats what sissy is trying to tell you, and the chlorine is the least of your worries if you are putting the koi in an uncycled pond. Also need some sort of filtration system to accomplish this.

I have well water also, but to answer your question, declorinator works pretty much instantly i believe. Some people wait like 12 hours just be sure.

 

[j.w]

You should never completely have to drain the whole pond. Just do a partial water change of say 20% or so each wk/month or so otherwise you are getting rid of all the good bacteria that help the fish survive. The dechlorinater stuff works immediately and you should not have to take your fish out of the pond when adding new water. Just put in the dechlor and add the partial water. It works on the new water immediately getting rid o the chlorine.

 

[fellfromheaven]

yes i know on that ,, savin up for the filtration part ... one those 1 step at a time type things.. kinda doing best we can at the moment with wat we have ..

 

[j.w]

Sorry 99 we both posted at the same time w/ same info :surprised:

 

[ididntdoit99]

for a 500 gallon pond, you could have yourself basic filtration system for like $20 if you look around, the only real cost is the pump, and you can pick up small pumps at harbor freight for $10-15, and then build a small diy filter for a few bucks.. check out the diy section here, there are plans for some filters, with a pond that small, you may want to make one smaller scale then what there are plans for here, but you get the idea.

 

[fellfromheaven]

thank you ill take a look at it

 

[sissy]

You can build a filter with info you get on here really cheaply you don't need an expensive one tote filter could be a start totes you can get for 5 or 6 dollars ,then hose and filter media you can choose anything .I use my favorite lava rock from the garden center .I just rinse it well before putting it in .But there are tons of things that work like bottle caps any kind of plastic reusable furnace filters buffing machine pads .