Hi from New Zealand

[taherrmann4]

The showcase thread is nice to show pics of your pond as the time goes by. I add some every couple of months or so. It's nice b/c you don't get all the posts in between yours; keeps it nice and clean. The construction and photography one is nice as well b/c as Sissy stated it allows us to give our opinions of which there are many. I do both and you can check them out in my signature so you know what I am talking about.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Waterbug]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but 7.8 pH for tap water and 9.0 pH pond doesn't mean the concrete is causing the crease. If the tap water has a higher CO2, level which is likely, that would cause a pH increase. Put some tap water into a clean bucket and stir it up for awhile and measure pH then to see if there's a change in pH. Repeat over a couple of days if you're interested in a more accurate picture.

I don't know what sealer you're planning, but the term "sealer" is often used on products that don't actually seal anything in a submerged environment. There are specific products which are water proofing membranes which would isolate the water from the concrete. That's a whole other deal.

Concrete is self sealing.

Nothing wrong with a pond at 9.0 pH. This is especially true for a new pond keepers. Study up on pH buffering before screwing with pH. Best way to kill fish is messing with pH without really knowing much about it. Yes, perfect pH might be 7 or 8 depending on who you ask, but Koi and Goldfish do fine in 9 -10 pH. There are lots of other parameters that should be "perfect" too but you're not chasing all those too? (I hope).

There's lots of reasons why fish die...the causes are rarely known. Keepers guess and assume, but rarely actually have any clue. Way better imo to just keep water quality as best as you can. That's something you do have some control over and can measure. Better the water the more health the fish and the better they are able to fight off whatever comes their way. Step one in better water is lots of research. Never trust any single source. Most of what you'll hear is crap and that goes double for most people working in pet stores. What they say often sounds good to new keepers because that's who they talk to day in and day out and it's stuff people like to hear so that's what they say. They don't know any better or have any reason to change.

Koi Beginner is not a bad place for serious info.

 

[fishin4cars]

Glad you dropped in on this one WB. Marcus this young fellow has probably the most experience with dealing with cement in ponds and the water chemistry related to ponds of anyone I know of on the site. WB states proven facts, not just a bunch of jibber that isn't true. Take the time to listen to and read from his posted links. Be sure and check out his ponds as well. He will point you in the right direction for sure.

 

[MarcusNZ]

Hi Waterbug,

The internet makes the world a very small place indeed. By chance (and the power of Google), I found & read your article before I came across this wonderful forum. I had concerns as to the possible toxicity of cement products and with this being my first real pond build, I wanted to research as much as practically possible before doing my final fill. Your article gave me confidence in moving forward with the addition of plants (1 week after final fill) and ultimately fish (2 weeks after final fill).

In retrospect, I rushed things. My fault entirely. Lack of patience, research, & knowledge. Finding this site first and reading how many here have gone about cycling the pond before adding the fish would have helped (my peace of mind at least) immensely. Taking a little more time in letting the concrete cure may have helped too. Perhaps even dumping the water that I had circulating over the falls and into the pond for the first week may have made enough of a difference. Then again, maybe it wouldn't...

Like you suggested, I am running tests on my tap water. The first 24hrs is done (without the concrete blocks) with pH changes matching my pond.
pH test day 1
I will introduce the blocks that I had my Lotus and submersible pumps sitting on when I return from work in a few days. I'm very interested to see if there is any change over time.

Thanks Waterbug, Sissy and everyone else that has made an effort to help me along my learning curve (which has only just begun). We all had to start somewhere right?

I can't wait to see my pond rich with the colour of goldies blissfully swimming around. I will no doubt have you all to thank for your contributions in making it special.

Cheers,
Marcus.

 

[addy1]

I wiped out our first group of goldfish, well water is ph of 5.5 (didn't know that) filled pond with well water, let it sit for 2 months added fish.............all died, pond was 5.5 ph. Spent the rest of the summer correcting and stabilizing the ph before adding more fish

 

[callingcolleen1]

Hello and a Big Welcome... Sorry to here about the fish....

Water is a very corroisve element and cement will not last very long with running water. Cement is toxic too as you have now discovered. Then after time the liner tends to slip and move, and it will be harder to fix and a just the liner when the rocks are cemented But don't feel bad, cause I too had cement blocks in and around my pond 22 years ago and had similar problems, but at least I did not cement the rocks together and I just removed the cement blocks from in and around pond and all was good after that.

Now that I am older and wiser, I know better that to glue rocks in a permant fashion. But this is a way to glue rocks in a semi-permant fashion. Rocks can be removed without too much effort if I was to change the pond yet again! The stuff I used is similar to the stuff they sell in a can at pet stores to glue rocks together in a waterfall, but I found a much cheaper version at the hardware store called "Great Stuff, Big Gap filler" It dries very quick and if any falls into pond it floats and does not mix with pond water and appears to very safe as I have it all around my pond now to hld the rocks in place around the edges, and then I stuffed moss into the cracks for a natural look....

 

[MarcusNZ]

Hi Colleen. I'm doing a little experiment at the moment with concrete and tap water in a container.
The results should be interesting. I will do the same with the waterfall section of my pond prior to reintroducing it to my pond system. I will also remove my fish as a precaution before restarting the waterfall.

 

[MarcusNZ]

A good indicator that a pond is habitable for fish is when you can see aquatic organisms like daphnia thrive...

Regards, andy

Hi Andy,

I'm seeing aphids thrive but I bet that's not what you are referring to...

I also have what appears to be tiny snails popping up too along with string algae.

I'll be spraying the aphids with cooking oil my next days off. I hope it works better than the squishing and water spraying I have tried so far.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Marcus, you can never get rid all all the aphids cause the Ant's farm them like we farm cattle, the ant's milk the aphids for the sweet sap. If you can move the ants, the aphids should go with them. You can never get rid of all the ants, if you bug them they will eventually move elsewhere.

Let us know how the experiment goes with the concrete goes.

 

[sissy]

my pond has been at 9 over 3 years and never lost fish yet and no sick ones .I use lava rock in my filters and also put in crushed oyster shells and fish seem happy

 

[adavisus]

There is a point where a pond becomes 'mature', plants and aquatic organisms will thrive and go on to dictate water quality. If the pond is well proportioned diversity will get going, if the pond has unstable characteristics, diversity will be limited.

Too high a ph, and lime will be harsh on eyes, mucous membranes. Something to look up in msds reference sheets, as to what that hazard is and what effective ways there are to eliminate it

 

[MarcusNZ]

Marcus, you can never get rid all all the aphids cause the Ant's farm them like we farm cattle, the ant's milk the aphids for the sweet sap. If you can move the ants, the aphids should go with them. You can never get rid of all the ants, if you bug them they will eventually move elsewhere.

Let us know how the experiment goes with the concrete goes.

I read a few posts by members here saying cooking oil seemed to be a safe effective method of treating aphids.
I spot sprayed the little suckers last night and the results so far look promising.

Another workmate of mine had some fry he wanted gone so I grabbed some of them (12) last night. He has had a population explosion in his small pond. They vary in size from 10mm to 20mm so I'm unsure if it would be safe to introduce them to my pond/fish. Out of curiosity I tested the very green water from his pond both last night and this morning. It went straight off the high pH scale last night and this morning it had dropped significantly and ended up the same pH as mine @ 7.8. Considering it's mid summer here with a lot of growth activity. Is it safe to assume these large daily pH swings are normal?

I'm replacing parts of the water they came in, with my pond water over time with the intention of introducing them to my pond when they are large enough.

 

[MarcusNZ]

Note: My pH readings are now in the high 7s in the morning and mid to high 8s every night.

 

[sissy]

dish detergent gets rid of aphids also .Nice clean dead bugs :razz:

 

[MarcusNZ]

Koi Beginner is not a bad place for serious info.

I'm from the VCR generation so those You tube clips are great! :razz: