Hi there. New member and pond novice.

[LorraineT]

Our pond company has been trying to figure out what happened and so far we have discovered that our water has no chlorine and they put chemicals in to neutralize the chlorine because they didn't test first! The company owner is very upset that his employees did not follow protocol which should have prevented the problem in the first place. They did drain and refill the pond on Tuesday and yesterday they introduced 6 new koi into the pond. The fish seemed happy last evening as they were getting used to their new home and this morning but hid out most of the day. This afternoon the bubbling problem seemed to get worse and now it looks like soap clinging to the plants and bubbling over the rocks in the waterfall! We have checked the Ph and it is high so with the advice of the pond guy we added baking soda and will check again shortly. The barley bale that I had in was removed during the cleaning so I just added a new one and that may be helping withe bubbles. We also purchased bacteria to add because the bacteria balls had been rinsed off but nothing new added. I REALLY hope we can keep these fish alive! Thanks everyone here for your concern! We are really wanting to get this once healthy pond back to normal AND keep the fish happy.

 

[Mmathis]

@LorraineT Your water doesn't have chlorine, but they added chemicals anyway? (You must be on a well and not city water.) I wouldn't think too much dechlorinator would harm the fish, but guess it could happen. Where you run into problems is when the opposite happens.

Be sure to watch the fish closely and keep an eye on your pond's ammonia level (get a test kit)*, especially if they completely changed out all of the water, and immediately added new fish. If the ammonia level starts to rise, you may need to do regular, partial water changes to keep it at a safe level until your biological filter has a chance to "cycle." You want the ammonia to be there, you just don't want the level so high that it is harmful for the fish. For sure you want your ammonia to be below 1ppm.

What we usually do is add, maybe 1 or 2 small fish to start out. [what size are the 6 koi they added?] Their waste products (ammonia) are food for the beneficial bacteria that will eventually inhabit all of the pond's surfaces and the filter media. Right now (and the benefits of adding bottled bacteria, etc. are debatable), there aren't enough of the beneficial bacteria in the pond to process much fish waste (IOW, transform the harmful ammonia into less harmful chemicals). This process takes time -- many weeks -- and goes through several stages before your pond has "cycled." Which is the main reason most of us don't power-wash as it removes the good bacteria.

Get a test kit *[that has tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH], monitor the ammonia level, don't let it get too high, and don't over-feed the fish. You'll eventually learn about all the bacteria and the breakdown products that these tests monitor, as well as how everything [pH, water temp., etc.] interacts to give your fish nice, healthy water. One of the biggest fallacies/misconceptions about pond water is that clear water is healthy water. Healthy water is balanced water!

*Most of us use the API brand test kit, which uses test tubes and reagent drops. Test strips are OK in a pinch, but tend to be less accurate that the "liquid" tests.

 

[Mmathis]

@LorraineT I want to add to the above note without getting lost in the text (sorry it's so long). There's a lot to learn and it can be overwhelming. For now, focus on the immediate issue of monitoring the water and keeping an eye on the fish. Take it a step at a time and learn as you go.

 

[LorraineT]

@LorraineT Your water doesn't have chlorine, but they added chemicals anyway? (You must be on a well and not city water.) I wouldn't think too much dechlorinator would harm the fish, but guess it could happen. Where you run into problems is when the opposite happens.

Be sure to watch the fish closely and keep an eye on your pond's ammonia level (get a test kit)*, especially if they completely changed out all of the water, and immediately added new fish. If the ammonia level starts to rise, you may need to do regular, partial water changes to keep it at a safe level until your biological filter has a chance to "cycle." You want the ammonia to be there, you just don't want the level so high that it is harmful for the fish. For sure you want your ammonia to be below 1ppm.

What we usually do is add, maybe 1 or 2 small fish to start out. [what size are the 6 koi they added?] Their waste products (ammonia) are food for the beneficial bacteria that will eventually inhabit all of the pond's surfaces and the filter media. Right now (and the benefits of adding bottled bacteria, etc. are debatable), there aren't enough of the beneficial bacteria in the pond to process much fish waste (IOW, transform the harmful ammonia into less harmful chemicals). This process takes time -- many weeks -- and goes through several stages before your pond has "cycled." Which is the main reason most of us don't power-wash as it removes the good bacteria.

Get a test kit *[that has tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH], monitor the ammonia level, don't let it get too high, and don't over-feed the fish. You'll eventually learn about all the bacteria and the breakdown products that these tests monitor, as well as how everything [pH, water temp., etc.] interacts to give your fish nice, healthy water. One of the biggest fallacies/misconceptions about pond water is that clear water is healthy water. Healthy water is balanced water!

*Most of us use the API brand test kit, which uses test tubes and reagent drops. Test strips are OK in a pinch, but tend to be less accurate that the "liquid" tests.

Thank you! Believe it or not we are on city water so we have no idea why we have no chlorine. We are trying to find out if there is a filter on the house somewhere and short of that I'm going to call the city water dept. and find out if they know why this is. We are using a PondCare master liquid test kit from PetSmart because we had to get it right away. The 6 koi that were put in are pretty small from what I can see. There are 2 small, 4 - 5", and 4 that are about the same size, 8 - 10" maybe. They are not very active at all since yesterday morning I'd say. The first night they explored the pond and the following morning but since then they've been pretty still, laying in the bottom and not moving around much. They DID make it through the night so I'm grateful for that at least. And we added some bacteria today - a small bottle, again from Petsmart I know it's not nearly enough but we are supposed to get a gallon on Monday from the pond guy. Just ran an ammonia test and it is high - 4. Backwashing right now so we can add new water.......

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Believe it or not we are on city water so we have no idea why we have no chlorine.

How was the determination made that you had no Chlorine in your source water? Was it tested for Chlorine?

If your Ammonia reading is presently at 4.0, your fish may not make it to Monday.

 

[Usman]

Thank you! Believe it or not we are on city water so we have no idea why we have no chlorine. We are trying to find out if there is a filter on the house somewhere and short of that I'm going to call the city water dept. and find out if they know why this is. We are using a PondCare master liquid test kit from PetSmart because we had to get it right away. The 6 koi that were put in are pretty small from what I can see. There are 2 small, 4 - 5", and 4 that are about the same size, 8 - 10" maybe. They are not very active at all since yesterday morning I'd say. The first night they explored the pond and the following morning but since then they've been pretty still, laying in the bottom and not moving around much. They DID make it through the night so I'm grateful for that at least. And we added some bacteria today - a small bottle, again from Petsmart I know it's not nearly enough but we are supposed to get a gallon on Monday from the pond guy. Just ran an ammonia test and it is high - 4. Backwashing right now so we can add new water.......

Hows ur fishes now? Are they alive , add 10% fresh water daily

 

[Usman]

Hows ur fishes now? Add 10% fresh water daily

 

[LorraineT]

Hows ur fishes now? Add 10% fresh water daily

We backwashed 3 or 4 times and added water to the pond over the weekend. We tested the water from the hose BEFORE we added it to the pond and found 0 ammonia and chlorine. So the ammonia in the pond is not coming from the hose water. By last night we had significantly lowered the ammonia and our last test at about 11 p.m. was about .50 ppm - HUGE improvement. And for the second night in a row the fish were very active! From twilight around 8:30 till our last check at about 11 they were swimming, playing in the waterfall, looking like normal fish! We even gave them a little bit of food which they happily ate. This morning they are back under the lilies and in their little den but we saw, on this forum I believe, that young fish will hide until they get used to their environment, so hopefully they will continue their night time activities and get used to their new home.

 

[Mmathis]

@LorraineT Unless your water has chloramines added, the ammonia isn't coming from the water (our water does, so I have to neutralize that as well as chlorine). The ammonia is coming from the waste your fish are excreting. If the ammonia is reading THAT high [11ppm], you might want to add something specifically to neutralize ammonia, but keep doing the water changes. A high ammonia level can/will cause damage to the gills.

Be sure you are feeding VERY sparingly if at all. They will survive, believe me, but the more you feed, the more waste they are going to put out.

Please keep us posted!

 

[Mmathis]

@LorraineT When you say "back washing," what exactly do you mean?


How are things going?

 

[LorraineT]

@LorraineT When you say "back washing," what exactly do you mean?


How are things going?

Well we have been having a couple if good days! The fish come out at night & seem pretty normal but during the day - hot days as you know I'm sure - they hide out under the lilies in their 'den'. Seemed like we had the water under control but it rained a lot yesterday and today nitrates are reading 'dangerous high' on the test strip! We've had the US filter turned off for a week per the Pond guy so The algae & bacteria can 'take hold'. So grateful for your help- what r we doing wrong now???? One thing tho -- the pH is reading way lower on the test strip then on the API test tube test so I'm questioning how accurate the strip is for nitrates also. How do we lower the nitrates? Thanks!

 

[Mmathis]

@LorraineT Most of us on GPF prefer to use the liquid "drop" tests [like API] as they tend to be more accurate than the strips. And it's important to watch the exp. date [I get a new kit every year].

One thing to keep in mind about pH is that it's less important WHAT your pH reading is and more important that it stays consistent. IOW, don't worry about trying to keep your pH to a certain number. Also, if you're using the API kit, there is a "high range" bottle, and a "low range" bottle, so be sure you're using the same one each time.

This is just speculation here, but if your pond is "cycling," it might be at the "nitrate" stage, which is normal. As with the high ammonia, water changes will eliminate the excess nitrates.

 

[crsublette]

We received no instructions from the previous owners about fish or pond care and were told to " Google it" when we asked about maintenance.

To be honest, I think "just Google it" is really the worst advice the previous owners could give ya... at very least... they should have gave ya the internet address of a pond community they trusted or reference to a local koi club or local water garden club... oh well, that is neither here nor there now.

Florida sun and rain started turning the rocks black with slime and it was getting murky in the pond itself.

Slime is a good thing! Now, I never heard of a black slime, but, generally, "slime" on rock is something ya gotta get use to since it helps to keep your pond water filtered.

My husband noticed lots of bubbles at then base of the waterfalls that we hadn't seen before but I thought was just air bubbles.

Could be a few things... One, the biology around the waterfall is growing and giving off oxygen (seen as bubble)... Two, might be a result of organic decomposition or a chemical residue from cleaning.

Often times, after I clean my pond (don't use any chemicals) and fill with new water, then, for a week or so, there are bubbles and foam all over the place... This is due to various organic "stuff" was disturbed during the cleaning, and was not all remove... It eventually went away on its own for me...

All weekend the fish were acting trumatised after their ordeal of being moved then reintroduced into the now clean pond. We had a huge thunderstorm last night and this morning, like I do every morning, I check on the fish. All dead! I am so broken hearted and confused. I feel like we did something to kill these beauties by having the pond cleaned so we obviously need some expert pond advice before we restock with new fish. It's just terrible to not know what went wrong . I feel so bad for the poor fish.

My guess is the business doing your pond cleaning has cleaned ponds for other customer's ponds...

...I would kindly call the pond business that cleaned your pond if they could give you a referral of some happy customers and see if you can visit with these customers to see how their pond experience is going... Ya might learn something from them as well...

...unless the pond business tried a new oxidizer to power wash your pond... I agree with the others that the cleaning likely was not what killed your fish...

...biggest stress factor I see is a very fast change in pond water chemistry... Your old pond water chemistry and temperature was likely quite different to your new pond water chemistry (after the huge water change and cleaning)... and this type of stress can kill fish...


...fish should always be slowly reintegrated back into a pond that has completely new or different water...

...the fish should never be just thrown back into the pond that has completely new or different water...

...one way to slowly reintegrate them is by, over a period of a week, have a pump slowly trickle new pond water on the tanks floor... that is the tank where you are holding the fish... allow the water to overflow out of the tank, dumping off to the side somewhere... and then reintroduce the fish back to your pond.

The owner believes his guys did not properly balance the ph.

Yep, that is likely what was going on... a very sudden change in water pH, along with entirely new water chemistry, can definitely kill fish...

...sounds like there was a miscommunication happening with the pond guys...

Glad to hear the business owner is attempting to take care of ya..

We had a beautiful natural pond with healthy fish but because we wanted it to be 'pretty' my beautiful fish are dead.

@LorraineT , yep, I think you learned a very important lesson there...

Everyone has their own definition of what is "aesthetically pleasing" and, at first, most often does not align with Nature. It can be done, but takes more work to get that clean, "brand new car", look.

The way Nature takes care of a pond is pretty as well...and easier to do... it is just a different kind of "pretty".

...much like what people say to me... I am just a different kind of "pretty".

 

[crsublette]

@LorraineT , one enjoyment of mine is chasing my sister with string algae all over my arms and face, asking her to...." Just give me a hug!! Don't you love me!! "..

...it freaks her out... but that is because she just doesn't understand it... or... she didn't want her nice outfit adorned with algae.

 

[Mmathis]

@LorraineT How are things going? Haven't heard from you in a while.