New to ponds and killing fish!!!

[eljohno]

Well I always wanted a koi pond so decided i'd put in a small one 165 gal. I live out in the country and filled it with well water and let water sit for about aweek then had water tested and everything was ok except ammonia was a bit high, not sure how high person at pet store that tested water for me just said it was a bit high. I bought 20 cheap feeder goldfish to see how they would do and after a week they seemed to be doing ok then I started loosing 1-2 a day. After 2 weeks I had water checked and they told me everything was ok except ammonia still abit high. I called another fish store and the first thing the lady asked me was if I was using a filter. I told her no, that the magdrive pump only had a plastic screen to keep things out of pump. She told me I needed a filter to clean water so I bought a Pondmaster 1000 filter with charcoal screen today and hope this will take care of problem. I also have some water plants but there not well established yet, can you folks give any other advise to this newbee before I kill many more fish.

eljohno
THE FISH KILLER!

 

[DoDad]

In no way is a 165 gal pond good for koi. Not even one.

 

[eljohno]

OK, how about 1/2 doz goldfish!










eljohno

 

[Stouty109]

once they get full grown u might b pushing it but id say for the first 3 yrs 6 gold fish would b fine. Were the fish dying or disappearing and its common for the feeder fish to die that wound from what i have noticed. How deep is the pond, is it a liner or proformed

 

[rdk]

Last year I started out ponding with the exact same filter. It is junk It just does not work. This is what you have to do to keep your fish now alive. Get a another sump pump or use your pump and pump out 30% of the water. Fill it up with tap water first using dechorinator that you buy from a pond store. If you have well water check the ammonia level first with a test kit. Every 7 days you must repeat this. That will keep your fish going. RDK