Pond trouble!

[Danielcole]

I have had my pond for 4-5 months, lost 2 fish about 4 weeks ago and 1 yesterday. 7 left in the pond now. Just a question about weed/algae… long stringy stuff, do I remove, and if so how often should I be doing it, weekly? Also how often should I refresh water, google it and getting different answers, some say weekly and some say every few months. Only done it a couple of times. Thank you

 

[Pharian]

I'm a newbie myself, but as I understand it, it really depends on your filtration system. What sort of filter system do you have on the pond?

Generally you don't want to replace the water often, or add high chlorine content to your water. The primary thing that stops algae is bacteria eating all the nutrients in the water before the algae can eat it (ie, starve the alage). If you change the water too often or use tap water with too much chlorine then it will kill the bacteria and make the algae problem worse.

 

[Danielcole]

Thanks for replying, filter is like a pressurised box with uv light on it

 

[poconojoe]

We need to determine what is causing your fish to die. It's definitely not any algae. Algae is nature's way of balancing the water.

Try testing your water and post up the results. Use an api pond master kit which has the liquid reagents. Don't use the inaccurate test strips.

Something could be off with your water parameters or you might have a parasite problem.

Without knowing exactly how the fish died, we are just guessing.

Test the water.
Give us more details about your pond and filter.
How many gallons in your pond?
How many, what type and how large are the fish?

I never do water changes.
Too many good microorganisms living in the water.
The only time I would do water changes would be if there were a major contamination.

 

[Danielcole]

Just tested the water, all ok. Tested aminos and oxygen. 1500 gallons, only 7 fish. Filter is like a box with uv light. Also have an added solar filter. Can you give me an idea of how much I should be feeding them? I use variety sticks. 6 goldfish and 1 ghost carp. Thanks

 

[Jagsfan]

Just tested the water, all ok. Tested aminos and oxygen. 1500 gallons, only 7 fish. Filter is like a box with uv light. Also have an added solar filter. Can you give me an idea of how much I should be feeding them? I use variety sticks. 6 goldfish and 1 ghost carp. Thanks

just a tip, please post the actual test results and not just " all ok". it will also let us know what exactly was tested for and if something was left out. For instance, i checked my pond water yesterday and these were the results, PH 7.5, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Phosphate 0-.25(colors are so close its hard to tell), KH 8, GH 7. Something like that paints a much better picture of what may be going on. Also list any chemicals or additives you put in the pond. The more detailed info you can give, the better help you will receive. Good luck!

 

[brokensword]

I'm a newbie myself, but as I understand it, it really depends on your filtration system. What sort of filter system do you have on the pond?

Generally you don't want to replace the water often, or add high chlorine content to your water. The primary thing that stops algae is bacteria eating all the nutrients in the water before the algae can eat it (ie, starve the alage). If you change the water too often or use tap water with too much chlorine then it will kill the bacteria and make the algae problem worse.

It' actually not the bacteria, it's the plants. Bacteria breaks ammonia down into nitrites and another kind of bacteria breaks that down into nitrates. Which btw, algae will consume too. It's plants and lots of them that out-competes the algae.

 

[Lisak1]

It's interesting that you say you've lost fish, but your question is related to the algae. I'd suggest that these two events are related - you have an excess of nutrients in your pond which is both feeding the algae and possibly killing the fish. Solve one problem and you'll solve the other.