Major Pond Problem

[drjay9051]

Having been away from ponds for over 10 years I recently constructed one holding app. 7000 gallons.
All went well as far as liner, filling, edging etc.

I stocked with about 100 goldfish and 2 small koi.

Also found some water hyacinth which looked nice.

My thought was to have a natural pond with no external filtration. I have done this before with success.

I placed an aerator which was woking well.

first problem: we had a hard freeze and most of the water hyacinth "browned out" but it is coming back. I live in zone 8b, North central Florida (Ocala).

Second problem: we had a major storm which caused a lot of debris to be washed into pond. I will have to install a french drain at a low point where the flooding occurred. Too late to relocate pond! Unfortunately there is a low spot.

Anyway I bought Rapiclear liquid flocculant to clear the water as it was beyond murky.

Per the label:

• Clears pond water fast
• Makes pond water sparkle
• Safe for all aquatic life
• 64-ounce bottle treats 32,000 gallons
• Apply 1-ounce for every 500 gallons of water

I followed directions and woke up this morning to a pond with white foam and major fish kill!!

Not sure what happened.

Anyway I have decided to install filtration. Submersible vs external pump. I am looking at the Oase submersible pump and Oase box type filter. Expensive but worth it?

I need opinions on spending money to buy a commercial filter vs building one out of a plastic tote and PVC. there are many videos on this and it looks pretty simple. Anybody build a home made filter box?

I am not looking for elaborate just a simple box with inlet at top, water trickling through pads and onto bio balls and back to pond via simple PVC pipe. No waterfalls etc.

Any help is appreciated including thoughts on why pretty much all my fish died.

 

[sissy]

It is best to get a swimming pool net and that is a lot of fish as goldfish breed like crazy .Lack of oxygen and ammonia spike could be the problem .My filter is a stock tank from tractor supply and used sump pump hose and my pond is 5000 gallons +

 

[sissy]

you will need tank adapters also .There are 40 gallon tanks and 100 gallon tanks and you will need at least 1 2 inch adapter I use 2 1/2 inch ones . Best thing is lava rock in the filter and then plants in the filter help clean also

 

[mrsclem]

As far as the fish dying, it was probably due to low oxygen kevels. Any time you use and algacid or similar products, extra aeration is needed.
I agree with Sissy about use of a stock tank. Plastic totes are flimsy. Check the DIY section for ideas.

 

[Tula]

I agree, low O2. Very sorry for the loss of your fish

 

[sissy]

Had a tote and cut the handles off another one to make it a tote in a tote and it still did not last as a temporary filter .Crushed oyster shells help stabilize your pond and you can now even get it in Walmart as chicken grit .Plus I use koi clay it adds minerals for the fish and helps clear the water .Even pure clay kitty litter works .I also keep zeolite handy for ammonia spikes

 

[drjay9051]

Appreciate the replies. There are so many pump manufacturers. i even considered a Home Depot sump pump but I think i am going with Sissy's suggestion, a Laguna.
They make a max flo which is round and a max drive which is tall like sump pump. Not sure why but max drive uses way more wattage. i'll go with the Max Flo 4280 (160 watts) as opposed to the max drive 4200 (820 watts). Similar flow rate.

I'm learning as I now see the max drive is good for 40 ft head !! I don't need this. Simple out to filter back to pond. Maybe all of 10 feet.

Pond is closer to 8700 gallons so with low fish load this should be OK ??

I will also heed the advice to opt for stock tank over tote. I made a swimming pool out of a stock tank and it is bullet proof.

As for the fish dying I had aeration going with a Aquascape Pond air Pro at 2.1 CFM. Live and learn. They were 'only fish' but I was heart broken!!

 

[Angel]

I have a laguna it pumped well to the point when i drained and cleaned my pond it was covered in leaves and crap with no change in volume of output i was like holy S. good pump good cage. 3 years with it and no issues at all still going strong even with i think higher head pressure then it suggest

 

[sissy]

Remember head is where the hose comes out of the water not the whole length of the hose .I got a 4 year warranty with mine 3 years with an extra year added on .Bought back in 1014 and no problems yet .I found the bigger the hose is you use the less wattage the pump uses .I had a 1 1/4 inch sump pump hose and ordered a 1 1/2 in sump pump hose and I saved 5 more watts of power .My sump pump hose is 25 feet from the pump and then I added another 10 feet with the pvc adapter .JW has the bigger laguna pump .i prefer 2 pumps in case one goes out I am not in panic mode

 

[brokensword]

You should have your water turned over at least 1.5x (so, consider more pumping capacity) and don't use the additives; most don't work/aren't needed and have harmful consequences if not used correctly. The debris washed in probably wouldn't have hurt you as much as the flocculant. I use a 'filter sock'; search my name and related threads to see how/what I did. I like my idea as it means easy access and less maintenance. You'd probably have to double what I did to get the same filtering capacity. The nice thing is, I set up my filter sock filter in the spring and never had to clean it; just threw it away come fall closure and will put a new sock in this spring. So, low maintenance.


re the low spot; you might be able to berm up around your pond where necessary to divert the water where you want it to end up/go.

Michael