new mini-pond taking F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to cycle

[CometKeith]

Hi Lulu, I think your assessment of the general mood here is an accurate. Most of the people here that have both large and small ponds try to establish a natural ecocycle that does most of the work on it's own with minimal help from us. Because both koi and goldfish in general produce a lot of waste they are more generally suited for a pond and the natural cycle that occurs. It can be a lot of work to keep up with when you push the boundaries of the bio-load in a pond. Because of that most experienced ponders have realized that to keep their fish healthy and their backs from breaking they need to follow the "rules". Of course there are always exceptions and if you want a higher bioload you will have to be very vigilant with its upkeep. Good luck with your pond!

 

[KennethO]

If your going for an overstocked boi load. Then I would definately think about upgrading to a diy bio filter outside your pond. Maybe made out of a 20g tote or something with a bunch more scrubbies. If your having a hard time stablizing it now with no real high waste load. Then it's sure to spiral out of control after some fish growth has occurred.

 

[HTH]

I agree with Kennith but think you need to so something to take care of the nitrates too. maybe about 4 square feet of floating plants in a shallow container plumed into the pond. My thinking is that unless you get this pond to where you can do without a bunch of water changes you will grow to hate it.

If anybody lives close please confiscate the ammonia bottle :nananananana: Nature knows how to do this better they we do.

We are all talking about an eventual large bioload. But with the 2 or 3 small fish it will be OK.

HTH

 

[lenny jewell]

Lulu in general .... leave the pond alone for about a week , see what is reading on ph ammonia nitrates and nitrites , seriously , us newbies tend to think we are not doing stuff correctly , i have found out that the more us humans intervene the more it becomes necessary for us to intervene , so in fact less is more , i stopped messing with mine as i thought the ph was always high , as soon as i stopped adding stuff ANY STUFF, i saw the pond clear up and fish stopped dying , now the ph still reads a shade high but it is coming down , i added plants to take out Nitrites or nitrates one or the other i am never sure which is which ... the pond got cloudy but it settled down again ,....... And for any of those interested i underestimated the size of my pond apparently its 100 gallons and has 9 fish in it totaling about 18 inches , i know its a heavy load , but i change water once a week 20% and put in protected and ph balanced before adding it ... Plants are the main thing Lulu ... good luck ... i'm in st louis if you're close you may come check it out , im know my fiance is ok with pond friends visiting ....

 

[HTH]

Could be a case here that we have too many cooks stirring the pot.

I expect if the advice of any one person was followed there would have been much less trouble.

 

[CometKeith]

yes, but the first cook was the one that told her how you could cycle a pond without having to wait the usual time and that didn't work so well. Who should be the head cook here? I don't think anyone really knew the answer right away because there were so many variables. I like Lenny's advice. Most ponds will cycle on their own if they are nudged in the right direction, but you don't need to hit them with a jackhammer!

 

[j.w]

Sounds like testosterone on the rise to me :surfing:

 

[CometKeith]

lol, HTH made a good point. It is hard to know what to do when several people all tell you to do something different, but I liked Lenny's advice and obviously he has been learning a lot from his own pond.

 

[addy1]

Agree with lenny, my ph was heading up, started to worry, got side tracked, never really did anything, now it is nice and stable. In other words left it alone. The only thing I added was oyster shells since our well is acidic and soft. My pond is in the sort of new range. First year with plants and more fish than 5.

 

[lenny jewell]

awwww shucks im blushing

 

[lenny jewell]

i could use a thank you lol

 

[LuLu]

Hi guys n dolls... I did a huge wc, almost all of the water, LOL, and finally ADDED FISH! *happy dance* I know you're all waiting for the how many part. Now don't freak, or like... throw things at me, but there are EIGHT. *ducking* BUT, there are only two 2" goldies and the rest are a school of tiny white mountain minnows. Water parameters have been fine except for a small nitrite spike shortly after they went in, but since the wc to correct that, there have been no further changes. Well, except for me being able to look at my pond AND fish all in the same place. That's been a WONDERFUL change! :lol: And oh yeah... 10+ water lettuce have also been added. (the "+" is because almost have of them have "babies" hanging off of them.)

And get outta my head already! Considering I want as many fish as I can manage, I'd already planned to add a combo of extra biofiltration / a veggie filter as well. Like... already planned to the point that my "things I need" list has been drawn up. Hittin' the hardware store tomorrow a.m. for supplies to DIM (do it myself), most likely tomorrow afternoon weather permitting. I know some of you who have been doing this for a long time might find it aggravating when us n00bs come in asking for advice, and then not following it, but I promise you... I researched ponding EXTENSIVELY before embarking on this little journey. And just like with everything else I've ever taken on... it's in my nature to see juuuuuuuust how much I can get away with/push the limits. :lol: Sometimes I fall, and wish I'd listened, but I've also learned some of my best lessons that way. I've also managed to do MANY things that people said I never would or could. It doesn't mean that I'm not appreciative of all the information you offered up tho, I truly TRULY am.

 

[addy1]

Good luck to you and your fish. Just watch your water test levels to keep them healthy

 

[HTH]

I see a larger pond in your future. Happens to all of us.

 

[sissy]

seems our brains need us to go bigger but the work involved makes us say are we NUTS.Sore muscles aching back geeze we are nuts LOL