New pond need some direction please.

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Hey all again. Well, my pond is finally finished. Here is my story.

My original pond, small, 500 gallons. Had for about 10 years, wanted bigger hah.

Started in the beginning of June and finished 3 weeks ago. About 1400 gallons. Filled it, put in water conditioner and so far have added the beneficial bacteria each day for the 2 weeks as instructed. Just finished the last 1.5 oz yesterday. Now it says once per week. I have about 11 small goldfish. No koi. The largest fish is about 6 inches, most are around 4 so not overloaded by any means. I had the fish in a 200 gallon holding tank and I added them in about a week ago.

I have the Easypro 11 by 11 pond kit. I have the filter pads and a bag of 660 bio balls in my bio filter. The skimmer has a net and brushes. No UV yet. Water has been crystal clear so far. Fish loving it. It is an all rock pond, bottom and side walls etc.

Yesterday I noticed a very fishy smell from the water, stronger from the skimmer and now green algae is starting to grow on the rocks closest to the top shelves. The algae is very green. I was thinking this was normal except for the fish smell.

Again the pond is crystal clear, fish are eating. I do have a large water lilly and some hyacinths, water plants spread out in the pond. I will try to get some pictures posted. I am going to pick up a water test kit this weekend but wanted to get some advice from you guys on what could be going on and what to look for. I hope I gave you guys enough info. Please let me know if you need more.

Thanks so much!!!

Brian and Lisa
 
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I also wanted to add in that my son (avid fisherman) caught and put a 10 inch or so bullhead catfish in. Wife went nuts. He has not eaten any fish as of yet as I am trying to figure out how to get him out. He is in the fish cave I built.

I tried to get my hands in the pull him out but no luck. Tried to poke in some pipe and nets etc. He has not moved.

Anyone have any ideas? Could this cause the fishy smell?

Thanks.
 
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Just a regular fishy smell, not dead but never had it with my other pond. Or I never noticed hah.

I am not sure how I can get him out. Maybe I can fish him out as they eat anything.

Is the bright colored green algae normal to start growing on the rocks at this point?

Thanks again.
 
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Hey TurtleMommmy,

I am new to having a pond this size and would love some advice on care. I will be doing some searching on the site for sure. How often to test and what to test for. What should be my results.

Thanks.
 
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Am i correct in adding the beneficial bacteria once a day for 2 weeks as instructed on the bottle? Should I be adding anything else? I have not looked in the bio falls as it has only been 3 weeks running. I have only cleaned the net in the skimmer. Thanks.
 

Mmathis

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Hey TurtleMommmy,

I am new to having a pond this size and would love some advice on care. I will be doing some searching on the site for sure. How often to test and what to test for. What should be my results.

Thanks.
Good question and excellent place to start! Keep in mind that good water quality is all about CHEMISTRY and interactions. You can’t look at each value as a separate entity, but consider how they react with each other. Opinions may vary, but in general you want to test for:
  • Ammonia
  • Nitrites
  • Nitrates
  • pH
  • KH (carbonate hardness - is an indication of the water’s ability to buffer the pH)
  • GH (general hardness)
  • Phosphates — I don’t test for this, but some do
  • Water temperature
  • O2 — optional, but good to keep track of
  • Oh, and run all of these on your source water as well. IOW, your source water either from the tap or from a well. These are your “baseline” readings.
You want your ammonia and nitrites to be negative, or 0 ppm (except when your pond is cycling). Please read up on the nitrogen cycle!

pH should be stable — and there is no magic number. The most important factor is that the pH remains in whatever range it likes and doesn’t swing wildly. Mine runs around 8.4. My KH tends to be low, so I have to add (crushed oyster shells) to my system to keep the KH level up and the pH stable. Another member runs with a range of 9. Each pond is different.

Nitrates will be a little up — I don’t know the good-range levels, though. If you have a lot of plants, they will help keep the nitrates down. The only way to lower nitrates is with plants or water changes, but higher levels aren’t as acutely dangerous to the fish as are ammonia and nitrites.

KH and GH — can’t give you values here, either except that for KH, the higher the better, and something over 100 is good.

Most of us recommend the API Master test kit. It comes with ammonia, the 2 “N’s” and 2 different pH range tests. KH, GH, O2 are add-on kits. Liquid drop test kits are preferable to strips. Read all instructions well, and watch expiration dates.

How often to test is up to the individual. When my pond was new, and for at least the first 6 months I checked it weekly. Now that it’s established I might check once a year, or any time I think I have a problem (like mysterious fish deaths :(. ) with the water quality.

I would recommend that you keep a record or journal of your readings. It’s good to have that to look back on.

We don’t recommend adding any chemicals other than dechlorinator (if you have city water). Our philosophy is to let Mother Nature balance the pond. It not wise to go chasing values by adding this or that. It’s better to remember that any whacked out values — or the presence of algae — are SYMPTOMS, not problems in themselves. PATIENCE is the key!

....and there’s always a ton more, but it’s best to start with the basics. Strive for good water quality(“good water quality” does not equal “clear” water). Some things are almost better to learn as you go or it becomes overwhelming — like this answer I’ve just written — oh my!

 

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