Newbie to Ponds

[thehumphries]

Greetings All!

I am reaching out to forums because my wife and I are closing to giving up on our Koi pond in our backyard. This pond came with the house we bought last year. I will attach a picture of the pond (pardon the yard, we are in the middle of landscaping around our house). I am guessing its size is around 1250 gallons, give or take a hundred or two.

Here is our setup:
Sunterra Biofilter
9W UV Filter
1500GPH Pump
10ish Watter Hycinthes
25ish Snails
1 Water Lilly
Feed: Tetra Kio Sticks
Tetra PondSafe when I add water
When Needed, I add Ultra Clear SST (Bio)
Fish: 1 Kio and 2 Shubunkins

The issue we have, is all the fish, no matter what we purchased, keep dying. Can anyone point out some hints, tips, or what we are missing? Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[buckry]

Something dangerous in the water. You need to test it, no idea what it could be without testing.

 

[thehumphries]

What should I be testing? PH?

 

[buckry]

Where in the pond is the pump? It kind of looks like it's right under the waterfall. If that's the case then I'd say you're also probably not really circulating the water. You're just taking it right off the bottom of the waterfall and returning it to the top, this would mean no oxygen in most of the pond for the fish to breathe.

 

[thehumphries]

It is to the left of the fall, in the deepest section (under the plants)

 

[ididntdoit99]

http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=qoPoT7aII6by2QX9q9nZCQ&ved=0CJgBEPMCMAQ

You will want to buy something like this, (i havent personally used this test kit, it was just the first one that popped up) it will be able to test a number of things , depending on the kit, like PH, ammonia, nitrates. If you test your water and posts the results here, we will be able to help diagnose your problems much easier.

 

[buckry]

Ok, the pump is probably fine then. You need to check for Nitrite, PH, and ammonia for starters. If any of those are out of whack fish will die.

 

[thehumphries]

Could you recommend the tool(s) needed? Not sure the best way to test for it.

 

[thehumphries]

Sorry, didn't see the post of the kit. Will get it and post results. Thanks for the help!

 

[buckry]

The kit posted above is good, I personally use:

http://www.amazon.com/PondCare-164M...&qid=1340638845&sr=8-1&keywords=pond+test+kit

You scoop up water in a test tube and add some chemicals. Just follow the instructions it's super easy.

 

[sissy]

some pet stores test for you also for a cheap price .I got my test at pet mountain.com.If you have plants and snails amonia should be in check .Do you check the bottom of your pond if there are a lot of leaves or other stuff on the bottom that will kill your fish get a pool net but be careful of your snails .I am surprised though that the snails have not died .

 

[sissy]

looking at pic and you said you are doing yard work any chemicals ,because they can get washed into the pond .Looks like I can see your bottom and noticed deck anything done there can effect your pond .Power washing it or the house can super washer things into the pond .Heavy rains can effect the quality of your water also .Any one doing bug spraying can get blown into the water on windy days .Info on what you have done around pond would help figure out what is wrong .

 

[thehumphries]

No chems/spraying. Just cutting trees, bushes, etc. I try to scoop out leaves and junk every other day.

 

[sissy]

depends on what kinds of trees and shrubs you are cutting or trimming some can be toxic .You can check which ones by googling to see but testing your water will be the tell all .Petco and pet smart have test kits also .

 

[thehumphries]

Us losing fish though has been happening since we moved into the place and put fish in.