Overfilled 250 gallon koi pond with tap water and koi in distress

[AllyZee]

URGENT!!! I left the garden hose on all night accidentally and found one small koi dead and the large one in distress at bottom of pond but still breathing. Per the label instructions I have put a little more than 1/2 cup of Stress Coat into pond and turned on the pond aerator -- my pump is on the fritz. One pond specialist told me I should I can put as much Stress Coat in the pond as I want -- can't overdo in this situation and another specialist told me to follow the label directions as I could cause more harm. Api Fishcare not open for help. Please advise what else I can do to help my Koi

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome, just sorry it has to be under these circumstances!

You’re probably doing the best you can for now. Keep the water aerated. I would get a replacement for the pump and get your biological filter up ASAP. What kind of filtration do you have?

I was so afraid of having something like this happen to me, that I got in the habit of setting the timer on my watch for, say 30 minutes, and set it to repeat until I turned it off. It was annoying, but it worked to keep me from overfilling. At one point, I also bought a water faucet chlorine filter. At least, if I did overfill, the water would be somewhat dechlorinated by the time it hit the pond.

And I know you didn’t ask, but I’ll put this out there. 250 gallons will soon become too small for koi.

 

[AllyZee]

Thank you for your response and your help. And you are so right -- after 2 years my oldest Koi has tripled in size -- if it makes it I can see where the pond will become too small. Thanks again

 

[poconojoe]

Is the water from your hose chlorinated?

 

[AllyZee]

yes

 

[j.w]

@AllyZee
Stress coat will help but just hope the damage to the fish has not gotten too bad.

 

[poconojoe]

So, your hose is chlorinated. I think the first thing you should have done was add a dechlorinizer. What do you normally do to counteract the chlorine? I use Tetra Pond AquaSafe Conditioner. There are also many others you can use. They need to be added at the proper ratio too.
I don't know what that stress coat was supposed to do to combat the chlorine. You needed to get that chlorine out of there.

 

[Mmathis]

So, your hose is chlorinated. I think the first thing you should have done was add a dechlorinizer. What do you normally do to counteract the chlorine? I use Tetra Pond AquaSafe Conditioner. There are also many others you can use. They need to be added at the proper ratio too.
I don't know what that stress coat was supposed to do to combat the chlorine. You needed to get that chlorine out of there.

OP said he used Stress Coat.

 

[j.w]

Stress Coat gets rid of Clhorine and Clhoromines also.

 

[Pond skipper]

I have a related question/statement… I empty and refill my pond every spring with chlorinated tap water and I top it up every time the level drops with chlorinated tap water.. I always have. I only have goldfish not koi but I’ve never had any problem with the fish. It’s not a large pond (just under 3000 gal.) I used to let the water for my aquarium sit and off gas for a day or so before putting in with my aquarium type fish but only when starting a new aquarium. For 1/2 to 3/4 water changes I just put it right in from the tap and again have never had a problem. I know according to everything I’ve ever read and heard that you are never supposed to use chlorinated water for these things but but several years ago I just “gapped it” had a brain fart if you will, and put the chlorinated water in and when I realized I panicked but found nothing happened.. anyway, I know that wasn’t helpful to this question.. I just question weather it is chlorine at all. I guess maybe koi could be more sensitive to it. Good luck

 

[Jhn]

Question one @Pond skipper why are you emptying and refilling your pond every spring? And doing water changes? Are you sure your water is chlorinated? Where are your fish when you empty the pond?

water changes and emptying and refilling your pond every year are completely uneccessary / even counterproductive tasks in a properly set up pond.

Chlorine off gases quickly, many top off with chlorinated water especially in a decent size pond the percentage of chlorine going into a large volume of water will be small.

If you are on city/public water, emptying and filling your pond and doing large water changes, all it will take is one time with the water having a heavier dose of chlorine and it will kill your fish.
Some fish are more sensitive to water conditions than others but koi and goldfish are both tough. However, too Much chlorinated water in your pond will kill your fish.

 

[Lisak1]

100% agree with @Jhn . No need to ever empty a pond, unless something really bad happens, like a chemical gets washed in from the landscape or something.

I really wish we had a follow up from the OP, but as so often happens advice is shared and then... crickets. One thing I would have asked the OP - you say you talked to not one but TWO "pond specialists"... did either one mention that your 250 gallon pond was completely unsuited to koi? Also "my pump is on the fritz" on a 250 gallon pond with koi... did either of them freak out about that?

Ugh. Pond specialist... I'm adding that to my resume.

 

[Pond skipper]

I anticipated this question and intended to address it in the original post but I forgot. My pond is completely covered by large trees up to this year I have not had any leaf netting (I intend to have it this year. ) the pond bottom gets so filled with sediment and muck that I feel it’s better to start over by emptying in the spring and thoroughly cleaning the bottom before putting the fish back in. They stay in an aquarium for the winter, (Pond is only 2.5 feet deep at it’s deepest and I was under the impression it needed to be 4 feet minimum to overwinter fish. I have, this morning, been set straight by others on this forum who live in the same climates and have similar depth ponds and say that It’s a myth and that I can leave them in so I’ve just ordered a bubbler/heater off Amazon and I’ll try it this winter. Anyway, putting the chlorine issue aside, last week I’ve started to have a slight amount of foam appear on the surface. I’m thinking something has gotten out of whack. I only have 6 goldfish in the pond this year and they usually just forage for food. I feed them about 3-4 times per month so I really doubt it has anything to do with fish load or over feeding on the positive side I’ve never seen any mosquito larva in the pond lol. I’ve never had foam in the pond before the only thing I can think of that is different from past years is the pair of mallards ducks that had been visiting daily this year.. I also note that I haven’t seen them since the foam issue started. I don’t know if that’s a sign that something is off about the water or if they are just snobby ducks. Out of it their very presence that caused the issue. Any idea what I should be checking first? I guess I should attach a picture so y’all can see what it looks like in context. The waterfall is in the background. Skimmer is on the right at close end of pic. Pond is filtered by a garbage can type bio filter falling into a pea gravel bog which overflows back into pond. Thanks in advance for any ideas

 

[Lisak1]

Foam can be a sign of phosphates as a result of too much decaying organic material. By your description I'd guess maybe leaves in the pond. A

good pool net (don't waste your money on the ones the pond stores sell) will be an invaluable tool for you. If you keep the pond scooped on a regular basis, you won't have the build up of muck and sediment as you have in the past. And scooping can be fun! You never know what you might pull out of your pond!

 

[Pond skipper]

Ya, I broke my leg scooping the fish out of the pond last fall lol… usually in the summer it’s fine. Not too much stuff falling in but it’s the fall that kills me. All those leaves and I just can’t seem to stay on top of it. I’m thinking a big piece of netting to string up in the trees above the pond to catch the majority of the falling leaves. And maybe next week I try and vacuum the crud off the bottom and see if I can manage to leave the same water in the pond next year! thanks