Fish in the pond

[fresia1999]

My pond will be put in this week and I wanted to know when I can put in goldfish? I have heard a week, 2 weeks, and a month after pond completion. The person who said a month, said that letting it set like that will allow the pond to make its own food for the fish and you won't have to feed them.

 

[capewind]

whether or not you need to feed your fish, depends on what you put in there for food items. Personally, I would wait a month with the pond running to make sure everything is running as it should with no leaks...

 

[fresia1999]

Thanks Capewind. I know certain plants can help feed them. I am sure I will feed them too but just wanted to keep down the waste in the pond.

 

[sissy]

I waited 2 months so filter was working but guessing you are nearer to the end of season so at least a month and if you add some stuff to the filter to help it start working sooner .Do you have city water as that may or may not take longer

 

[fresia1999]

Yes Sissy city water. It stays warm here into October.

 

[fresia1999]

What is the treatment called?

 

[capewind]

I just noticed that you are in Ark, so a longer season than I have up here... How big of a pond are you putting in? filtration? I am all for plants, and fish and plants work together well (plants eat fish waste, fish can eat plants) but it takes a bit of time to get it to that point...

 

[capewind]

Sissy is probably meaning that you can seed your filter to speed things up a bit...

 

[addy1]

When you start putting in fish, do a few at a time wait for week then a few more. It helps your pond cycle and if something does occur you won't lose a ton of fish.

A pond can take up to 8 weeks to cycle from being a new pond.

 

[fresia1999]

It is a very small pond with waterfall. I asked if they would make a pool at the top of the falls to act as a bird bath. They are digging it as I type. Will mostly be mental therapy (HA!) and ornamental purposes with a few fish. The filter will be just the rocks on the bottom. Landscapers are putting it in. They have put in ponds and courtyards for several of our elementary schools in my district and I have heard they are beautiful. I would have loved to gone bigger with alot of equipment but did not have the funds or manpower from home to accomplish that.

 

[fresia1999]

The pond will be put in where the concrete makes the curved in area.

 

[addy1]

That is a nice location, post pictures as it is built. We love to watch others work

 

[sissy]

The stuff I am talking about goes in the filter and helps build up a bio load and never heard of using rocks as a filter all they do is trap rotting stuff under them and the beneficial bacteria feeds the filter to get it started .i had rocks on the bottom and took them out after the smell got bad and was worried about the gases killing my fish and never put rocks in again .I would never want to clean a rock bottom pond again and guessing they may put in pretty ponds and fountains ,but if you look at most succesful and easy to maintain ponds they have no rocks and no odor .Rocks get covered in muck after awhile and you never see them unless you pay someone to clean your pond all the time and then have to worry about fish dieing .

 

[fresia1999]

Moving along quickly but 3 guys working.

 

[capewind]

Can do a lot of pretty things in a small space. Are they using a liner, or a plastic preform pool? About how many gallons is the fish holding area? I would think you would want some type of filtration... if budget is an issue, and you dont feel handy enough to build one, Laguna makes some deccent filters for small ponds that are easy for a homeowner to put in, and are pretty inexpensive.