In desperate help. Fish wont survive In my pond

[Lindsaykay]

We started our pond back in may. Its been emptied twice due to a couple problems but its been sitting collecting its natural balance since early June. Ive done water testing everything is good but my PH is a bit high at 8.4. 3days ago i bought two cheap walmart Koi. Floated them for an hour then introduced small amounts of water over a 15min period. They acted normal for nearly two days then each passed. I did add new water plants the day before they died.

This is my second attempt at fish and i am so frustrated. We hand dug this pond. Its ruffly 8x11 and 2ft deep. Its has a pump/filter with a light inside burning the algae? An LED light maybe? Since losing the fish i have bought Phusion PH reducer and another bottle called phoshate control thats a biological pond water treatment that treats naturally. I did that today and ive added 8 feeder fish to test it out again. Im so deperate for any advice my goal is at least 5 Koi but i wont buy spendy kids till my water is safe.

My lining is Tpo (roofing material/it has no chemical that will harm the fish) i do have loose gravel on the bottom and plants along with a barley bag for natural cleaning. Help me somehow through it all i have two water beetles that have enjoyed life abundently and alone in my 1,000gallons of water. My pump is being faulty at the moment and shocks me when i touch the water but that shouldnt be hurting my fish cause they arent grounded. I do also have a pumpkin plant that had its leaves touching the water that since has been moved away....what could it be?

 

[Faebinder]

Get rid of the barley bag and the keep the light turned off since you want the algae initially.

Are you adding dechlorinators to the tap water? We need more parameter information like Ammonia and nitrite levels. The ph is too high for a reason.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

A ph of 8.3 is fine for goldfish and koi. You will do more harm than good by playing around with it and trying to lower it (stable is better than constantly changing)

If you are getting shocked by the pump then so are the fish. Get the pump out of the pond and get a new one.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome. Sorry that you're having problems. Have you done any reading or research about ponds and fish-keeping? We could use some more information from you in order to better help you. You might find that your pond isn't going to be suitable for 5 koi -- they get big and grow fast, and 2' is the borderline for depth.

Don't worry about the pH. That isn't too high. You want it to be stable, though, and not bouncing around.

We don't recommend adding chemicals to a pond (except dechlorinator), as a general rule. If there is a problem, it's best to find out what that is and work to correct it.

Did you dechlorinate the water before you added fish?

And yes, I would think that electric current could be harmful to the fish. I hope you've unplugged that pump and stopped using it -- dangerous!

Tell us your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels, as well as the pH.

Tell us more about your filtration system, as well. What kind of set-up is it -- pictures are helpful if you don't know what to call something. We can usually identify it for you with some good pics. And that is a UV bulb, not LED. What were the earlier problems you had that caused the pond to be emptied?

 

[Lisak1]

Being grounded STOPS the current, not vice versa. I don't know if you're shocking your fish to death but if you can feel current, so can they.

 

[snoozer]

Unplug and get rid of the pump, it is dangerous. It should be plugged into a GFCI outlet also. Maybe the pump is the cause of your fish loss. I started with some feeder goldfish and still have some of their decendants in the pond

 

[Lindsaykay]

Hello and welcome. Sorry that you're having problems. Have you done any reading or research about ponds and fish-keeping? We could use some more information from you in order to better help you. You might find that your pond isn't going to be suitable for 5 koi -- they get big and grow fast, and 2' is the borderline for depth.

Don't worry about the pH. That isn't too high. You want it to be stable, though, and not bouncing around.

We don't recommend adding chemicals to a pond (except dechlorinator), as a general rule. If there is a problem, it's best to find out what that is and work to correct it.

Did you dechlorinate the water before you added fish?

And yes, I would think that electric current could be harmful to the fish. I hope you've unplugged that pump and stopped using it -- dangerous!

Tell us your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels, as well as the pH.

Tell us more about your filtration system, as well. What kind of set-up is it -- pictures are helpful if you don't know what to call something. We can usually identify it for you with some good pics. And that is a UV bulb, not LED. What were the earlier problems you had that caused the pond to be emptied?

Just a hole issue we had to patch it. I have read alot on fish keeping. Everything seems to be in oerfect order thats why its so confusing as to why they arent making it.

The only thing i havent done is declorinate the water but we were told if we waited till there was a slimy film on the side then it would be ready for fish. Like i said its been sitting since june.

 

[Lindsaykay]

Unplug and get rid of the pump, it is dangerous. It should be plugged into a GFCI outlet also. Maybe the pump is the cause of your fish loss. I started with some feeder goldfish and still have some of their decendants in the pond

It is plugged into a GFCI outlet its why my husband didnt think i was actually feeling the shock. He cant feel it and i can only if i leave my hand in for a bit then i can feel a slight current of electrity giving me slight shocks. I do have a warrenty on the pump and will be exchanging it tomorrow

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Agreed. Toss the faulty pump. What is the flow rate (gph) of the pump? Stop adding quick-fix treatments. I am suspicious of the liner. Roofing membrane is not always safe for fish.

 

[Lindsaykay]

Get rid of the barley bag and the keep the light turned off since you want the algae initially.

Are you adding dechlorinators to the tap water? We need more parameter information like Ammonia and nitrite levels. The ph is too high for a reason.

I took my water to a pond shop and he told me the levels were all good but the PH. i dont know what all the levels were tho he didnt say. I was going to buy i test kit but i have a ph kit so thought that woukd be enough. But i didnt dechlorinate since its been sitting since june i figured all the chlorine would be completley gone at least the pond guy said it would be. The barley bag has only been in for two days and doesnt start decomposing for a month so that shouldnt be a problem and there is plenty of algae growth along the sides and rocks...

 

[Lindsaykay]

Agreed. Toss the faulty pump. What is the flow rate (gph) of the pump? Stop adding quick-fix treatments. I am suspicious of the liner. Roofing membrane is not always safe for fish.

Epdm is what people usually use and thats roofing material. Grey liner is dangerous as it has chemicals... 1200 gallons an hr i think is the flow rate

 

[Lindsaykay]

Agreed. Toss the faulty pump. What is the flow rate (gph) of the pump? Stop adding quick-fix treatments. I am suspicious of the liner. Roofing membrane is not always safe for fish.

Im sorry im wrong we used PVC liner.

 

[Usman]

Everything looks perfect u did well ,only doubt was pump.
Can be fish were sick or stressed from journey and they died after sometime?
Did u feed them?

 

[MitchM]

If you really want to take control of your pond, get your own master water test kit, including nitrate, KH and ammonia.
You need to be able to track your water quality parameters yourself so you can understand and react to adverse changes in the water quality.
You also need to be able to identify, by make and model number, all the components of your mechanical filtration and water circulation.
Get rid of the barley. That doesn't help anything.

 

[Faebinder]

The pump is the culprit at the moment till you show us numbers of a testing kit.