Going To Lose 1st Fish

[Nyboy]

Tonight I went to put filter in and found one of the fantails floating on his side. He did swim underwater when I started putting in filter, but I don't have much hope for him. Water test where done yesterday PH was 6. something everything else tested zero. We are in a very unusual heatwave, pass 2 days went over 90 same for tomorrow.

 

[Mmathis]

Remind us, how big is your pond -- depth? And does it have shade? And do you know what the water temp is (if not, might want to get a pond/pool thermometer)?

In an earlier post you mentioned a low pH, 6.6 maybe? What is your source water and what is the pH coming from that? pH readings will differ based on the time of day, as well, so keep that in mind when you test. Also, in another thread you were asking about crushed oyster shells and I posted a mini-tute about KH. (Have you tested your water's KH reading?) A low pH isn't a bad thing, but rapid swings can be deadly. Consistency is the key.
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All of the water parameters and physical aspects of a pond are related (water temp., pH, ammonia, nitrite, KH, etc.) and act on each other to provide a healthy environment, so you can't really look at one reading of a test and say what's going on -- the big picture tells the story. I'm not a chemist and I have a really hard time myself grasping what all those relationships are, but what concerns me is that you've posted many different questions and have had some issues since joining. Sometimes, when folks post a lot of individual questions, we [the members here on the forum] tend NOT to see your pond in it's BIG PICTURE, since we're looking at bits & pieces of the picture over time. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's just that I've noticed [over the years that I've been a member] that you [the in-general "you", not YOU in particular] tend to get a lot of unrelated answers from the GPF members -- mainly [I think] because we will pick & choose what threads we respond to and some may not see everything that's been posted.

Now, is there a way around this? Probably not, but just be aware when you post that someone who answers your question may not have been keeping up with your other questions so they might not see a relationship between questions and issues. It might help to give a brief description with each new thread: such as "new pond, XXX gallons......" -- just something that will help us [GPF members] keep up.

So, a few things to keep in mind:

1. Don't EVER stop asking questions! EVER!
2. ALWAYS ask questions! ALWAYS!
3. Sometimes....things....just happen. Sometimes it's our fault; sometimes it's not. But the MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER: Every thing that happens is a LEARNING EXPERIENCE! NEVER STOP LEARNING! [no matter how discouraging]
   
4. We are here to help you, even when we post long lectures that are seeminingly unrelated to your post [see paragraphs above, LOL]
5. It's helpful to include a little bit of background with each thread -- just because not everyone has been keeping up with your story and might not know all the details as they evolve
6. @Meyer Jordan [and others] who know about chemistry.....are good resources, but even they need to see the big picture to be able to offer assistance.
   
7. And no, I'm not a mean person

 

[Nyboy]

Thank you there is no question about #7, you have given me a lot of advice. I bought pond at yard sale so not sure exact gallons I believe around 300. I live in a city with heavily treated water, I filled pond and let sit a week. Unfortunately I think I picked bad spot for pond. Gets full sun all day ( we are in middle of heat wave) Added 6 petsmart fish all at once after letting water sit in pond for a week. Had no filter till last night, had duckweed and cat tails added hornwart with might have been rotted. Did 1st water test 2 days ago PH was 6.6 Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate tested 0. Added Pondmaster 190 filter last night. PS do not know temperature or KH ( wasn't in test kit)

 

[Tula]

In a pond that size, especially with the heat wave, you're going to have to add water sometimes....so buy a product to take care of chlorine and chloramine.

We lost a big shade tree last summer, and put up a shade sail. Costco has a very good price on them and they're available lots of places and on line.

A PH of 6 is pretty low. I agree with @Mmathis , about testing your water source's parameters.

 

[Nyboy]

Should I raise the PH ?

 

[tbendl]

I thought as long as PH stayed stable it wasn't an issue?

 

[Nyboy]

That is what I thought, the swings in PH bad

 

[Tula]

Is it always that low?

 

[Nyboy]

No idea new pond only tested once will test again tonight

 

[Mmathis]

A pH of 6 IS on the low side, but it's not the pH itself that is bad -- it's when the pH shifts a lot. Your goal is a stable pH, which is what the crushed oyster shell is for: it's a buffer [which is what the KH test tests for....the buffering capacity of the water]. I would take several readings of the pH, some in the AM and some in the PM. See what you get. Check your source water as well. You really don't want to be adding chemicals to change your water chemistry [it's different than in an aquarium].

Check that pH again a few more times and let us know what you get.

 

[MitchM]

... I live in a city with heavily treated water, I filled pond and let sit a week. Unfortunately I think I picked bad spot for pond. Gets full sun all day ( we are in middle of heat wave) Added 6 petsmart fish all at once after letting water sit in pond for a week. ...( wasn't in test kit)

I don't think your pond nitrogen cycle has started yet.
Monitor ammonia daily and have some ammonia binder on hand.
Prime is a good ammonia binder, but your fish have a rough road ahead.

 

[Faebinder]

With a lower ph ammonium becomes ammonia and is more dangerous to the fish, which is bad for an uncycled pond and an uncycled filter.

First step... water change, as much as you can, and make sure your filter is running (I presume you got one by now). Don't forget to add dechloring water conditioners.

Second step... retest the water after the chane and retest in a day and compare ammonia levels and ph.

Third step... start looking to get some water hyacinths, they will provide shade to prevent algae and reduce your evaporation cause of reduced exposure. They will consume ammonia and nitrates.

Finally... a fantail from petsmart that got sick at home is not a shocker. Not saying they have bad fish but they aren't guaranteed disease free. In a way if a fish survives a petsmart it's gotta be resilient.