finally filling!

[onemean]

worked on the liner wrinkles all day and i've decided they will get no better. i am filling it and had a few questions. i am using rocks from the beach(gravel for the bottom) and noticed a few clam, oyster and snail shells. i am cleaning the rocks but also wonder if i miss anything on the rocks this too can be harmful to my fish. i want my hot tub back and would like to have them in the water in a few days. i am concerned about the water temp difference as the hot tub is in the sun and 1/2 of my pond is in the shade.how many degrees is safe to move them? i may just be freaking out but i never figured how i will be able to clean this thing out once a year. it is around 9k gallons( i believe)this pond is much bigger than i ever figured and may be totally out of control. at this point i don't think my biofall or pump is big enough.

 

[addy1]

lol onemean, I assume you mean fish in the hottub, you can add water from the pond into hot tub to equalize the temp, or put the fish in plastic bags and float them. You want the temp between the two to be as close as possible.

As far as cleaning your pond, mine in arizona and here are both over 9k, with a retrofit or a bottom drain, just sweep the junk to the drain and let it get sucked out. Or get a pond vac. Make another filter, like the diy ones in the diy section,

I don't recall the size of your pump, you want to turn over the water once a hour if possible, but some say every hour and a half is fine if you don't have a huge fish load.

 

[onemean]

thanks, my pump is 5k.my bio waterfall is 2500k-5000k i was going to do exactly as you say but i have only 300-350 gallons. will that even make a dent in the temp? it's filling as we speak, nearly half full. i wanted to do the bottom drain but the book i have talked me out of it.

 

[addy1]

lol you lost me on the 300 gallons, you mean the hot tub? I assume you are filling the pond right now, make sure you check the chemicals ie chlorine, how many fish are in the tub? You might want to do a slow add of fish to the pond, it will need to cycle. I killed off some feeders because of our low ph. from our well



I did retro fit bottom drains on both ponds, without, the junk will collect on the bottom of the pond unless you vacuum the pond. And it does smell! found out on one of my first little ponds.

 

[koidaddy]

Please rethink your plan of rocks/shell on the bottom. I will make it harder to keep the bottom clean.

 

[addy1]

Yep forgot about the comment about gravel on the bottom, in just a little while you would not even see them, covered with dirt algae etc. and they do trap junk

 

[koidaddy]

If you can, add a small shelf area about 6-12"deep and put the gravel there. The only reason would be for the koi to root around in which they will. Just be ready for predators if you do that.

Here is a pic of my old one.

 

[onemean]

hi, yes my fish are currently held up in the hot tub, 300 or so gallons with the filter going and uv light. i have been checking the water every few days.7 fish, 15 inches to 7 inches. my pond will be done filling tonight. should i use the lava rock from my old filter along with the pads? will this help speed things up. i will be adding declor as soon as the water level reaches my pump. i have built a number of fish caves, bought the scarecrow sprinkler and floating gator to scare off the gb heron. i will likely string some line as well and set up the driveway buzzer near the pond. i saw him flying over the house last night. i couldn't believe it! i think he said ,the sushi restaurant has expanded.

 

[addy1]

Yes use the lava rock it is full of good bacteria. And it sounds as if you are doing a good anti heron set up.

One has flown over my house, almost every day, must be his pond path, but high up no interest yet. But then again I have not even seen the darn fish, they are still hiding. Maybe when we get home they will finally show their little fins.

My lilies were doing a good job of covering the one area that is shallow, the walk out area of the pond.

 

[vertigo72]

I was told putting fish in bags to equalize temperatures, (or even Ph etc) , is a bad idea. They get more stress from being in the bag (trapped, not enough oxygen, too much ammonia and other stuff) than from the temperature or Ph shock, which takes weeks before the fish get used to it anyhow. He compared it to humans, if you go from a cold climate to a tropical one, it takes many days or longer to get used to it. Somehow easing the shock when you exit the airport does nothing to change that. You will still be uncomfortable, sweating and feel miserable for days.

Just what I heard...

 

[addy1]

That might be, I just float the ones I picked up then add a little water at a time to get them used to the pond water.

onemean you could slowly add buckets of your pond water to the hot tub to get them used to the new water.

 

[onemean]

hi, that's what i did today. early am my ph was about a point higher in the pond compared to the hot tub. i added small amounts of water over roughly 10 hours, retested the ph several times and it is now nearly identical. zero ammonia still so i'm in good shape(i hope). the fish are active and look great. i will do the same tomorrow and maybe move them mid day. the filter has be running now for almost 3/4 of a day. it will run all night and hopefully will be ok. i appreciate all the help and advice.should i bag the fish or not on the transfer? vert's reasoning sounds solid. wish i could post some pics. can't figure it out. no patience.

 

[addy1]

Sounds like you have been getting the hot tub and the pond water to be equal, if your temperature between the two is close you could just transfer the fish, net and put into the pond. With that new of water remember it needs to cycle, you may still want to add just a few fish then wait a few days before you add more.

Keep a close eye on the levels of ammonia, etc.