So excited, been digging for weeks, liner now in! When can I have fish!

[Rach]

Hi, great to find a pond forum, I have wanted a pond for years and beginning of Seltember I thought why not! So I hVe been digging, sieving for weeks and today, eek, was liner day! I have bought EPDM liner which was great to fold as so flexible. I used my cousins marquee carpet he had for his sons wedding, that was perfect to as really thin but a great underlay. Where we bought our stuff from told us that the underlay waists of money as so thin!

Anyway, after great fun today, carpet in, liner in, hazelock 6000 installed and working we hVe out pond? I will continue to edge it tomorrow and have a stream to build too!

So my question is, when can I have some fish? How long should it settle for? Not many p,ants about at the moment but I can get some oxygenating weed and some marginals.

Do I feed the fish from hand every day to? Or just whilst the pond takes time to come to life?

Thanks, rach

 

[Tula]

Welcome to our friendly forum and ponding!

 

[JohnHuff]

Welcome to our forum. Read up on the nitrogen cycle. Your pond is ready for fish when it has cycled. What size is your pond?

 

[dieselplower]

You can throw in a couple fish as soon as you dechlorinate the water. I'm also interested to know the pond size.

 

[j.w]

Rach

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome! Where do you live? How big is your pond: gallons & dimensions? What kind of fish were you planning to have?

Welcome to our forum. Read up on the nitrogen cycle. Your pond is ready for fish when it has cycled. What size is your pond?

and

You can throw in a couple fish as soon as you dechlorinate the water. I'm also interested to know the pond size.

Also, get a water testing kit: liquid, not strips. Do a test of your source water (tap, well, wherever your water comes from) for your baseline reading. You may have to use a de-chlorinator that also treats for chloramines. Once you get a couple of fish in to start your cycle, start monioring ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, KH. This is your best indicator as to when to add additional fish.

 

[Rach]

That's great, thanks for the responses, I have spent that much time prepping that I have not read up,on when it was actually completed! I shall,pop to ?Wyvale , my local,garden centre that has an aquatic shop, Hills. I side. We also have a Maindenhead and Ripples close by to. Looks like a bit of science before fish can be introduced.

My pond is just over 2 ft deep, has marginal and deeper shelves plus a top shelf that is about 4 inches deep in some parts of the pond. It is not too big, I think from memory about 3 by 2 metres ish.
I will be building the stream/waterfall today, hoping to used the overlap and cut offs and return the second liner we bought. The stream will be about 3.5 metres I think. I want it to pond so,the birds will hopefully bath in it.
thanks again, will attempt to attach a photo ID there is that option

 

[Rach]

Oh and I live in Shropshire, England and will not be keeping Koi. I want it to be a wildlife pond!