There are bulked fittings and then there are bulked fittings odds are you had the wrong one, or it was just user error and seeing as you appear to have taken apart glued sections I'd lean to user error
Rebuilding a pond, tips on bog filter?
- Thread starter dinm
- Start date
I'd have guessed it was a wrong fitting or something, I can't tell but the bulkhead fitting that most people used on the tutorials seemed very different. Then again it is the one people used for barrels to make a tap, so it could not possibly be that different. Whatever it was I could not deal with it any longer, so my options were either buy uniseal or order a replacement bulkhead. Uniseals just seem right for the job so I think it'll be okay.
But I saw it leaking from day one, so this to me is not all that surprising, it's been cold though so its not like I could have done much anyway, but now its warming up and hopefully gonna wrap this up in a few weeks when this arrives.
Looks like I jumped the gun on feeding fish. Been feeding them randomly, every 3-4 days as the temperatures have been quite warm for February. I guess it's too much, ammonia poisoning apparent in one fish, and probably others as well although that's the only one I notice.
Just not gonna feed for a few weeks I suppose.
Just not gonna feed for a few weeks I suppose.
Sorry to hear that. I will be new to having fish, just curious how can you tell that the fish has poisoning?
This one fish, has red gills which are alarming to me, now I doubt its a parasite or some random health issue, it aligns with the fact that I've been feeding too much. Now I've never seen that, and one other that has a brown color like it is just gone so I'm gonna have to assume it is dead, or just hiding somewhere.
I don't really know for sure it's ammonia poisoning, but I'd guess it is cause I've never seen this before. I thought I could feed since the pond is quite big and there's not much fish in there compared to the size, but I guess the ecosystem just hasn't woken up yet, and anyway the pond is barely 5 months old (and over the winter so its not like anything would establish, other than algae) so bacteria etc just aren't there to handle it yet.
Thank you for explaining. Similar here as far as the age of the pond. I filled it the beginning of Sept. 3700 gallons. I only put 5 small goldfish in at the end of Sept. Had a pretty warm Fall for MA so they had time acclimate. They have pretty much been in hiding since the water got cold, I would see a couple at night swimming around the lights but that was back in Dec. I stopped feeding when it got to 50 degrees. I took the water temp a week ago and it is at 37 degrees so I have a long way to go before it gets to 50. Will see how they make it through the winter.
ive had 15c (60 fahrenheit) many days in february, most have been over 12c for some reason. never really fed fish but i guess i wanted to speed up the covering of the bare bottom but too early. ive got 10 goldfish i think, 3 koi. had 8 in total of fish back in 2022 with a much smaller pond, 23 rebuilt to bigger, and again i rebuilt it bigger with a more proper liner in oct
a 5 month old pond has barely reached being stable let alone cycled. seeing as it is February and the last 4 months theres little to no bacterial growth with cold waters that leaves only October for your pond to cycle? sorry but i doubt it. Red around the gills is more often than not a sign of gill flukes.
Last edited:
I don't really know what it is, I just thought it made sense it'd be ammonia poisoning given I've been throwing food and I've not seen this prior to that. If it is flukes, what is the course of action?
I found the dead fish, unsure whether it was weeks ago or recently as it was decomposed and under algae and sediment. I guess it could have been a month ago. I had one fish die a while ago back in December, but that was one that was in poor condition from the beginning and winter was nail in the coffin. So I guess it could be flukes as you said if this fish died some time ago I wasn't feeding anything back then.
I was guilty in the beginning seing a fish flash and jumping to parasites. flashing can be a simple itch, some water or more than likely parameters the fish is not liking with the water. Ammonia , nitrites, all the usual tests. chlorine, and PH /KH AND GH . ALL too often we run to parasite treatments when its the water that needs tweeking.
Been some time since I made that post, fish is still alive, haven't seen red gills since then. But I also stopped feeding then so that is probably the reason, and it shows in the box filter that's now full of algae.
Only thing I dislike are the creases, but that's my fault cause I totally forgot about that. I think algae will cover it though so it shouldn't be an issue. Realized I had a bit of a low edge, I think it's more wicking than anything else, so I built up soil around the edge, hopefully it does not occur again.
Not sure if I can plant Carex inside the pond, but would totally love to do that.
Not sure if I can plant Carex inside the pond, but would totally love to do that.
j.w
I Love my Goldies
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2010
- Messages
- 33,091
- Reaction score
- 20,356
- Location
- Arlington, Washington
- Showcase(s):
- 1
- Hardiness Zone
- USDA 8a
- Country
Yep sedge's are great for a pond. They look good and suck up gunk! Many different varieties to choose from.
I currently only have an Acorus in there I put in I think it was November, growing well and I imagine this spring/summer it's gonna go crazy with growth, it's been moderately growing.
I do like tall water grasses a lot, very pretty, I don't think I know yet if they can grow in shade well, but I should see this year since I have many.