Source water ammonia

[Ione]

Hello all, I’ve been keeping koi and goldfish for over 20 years, we are on municipal wells and up until recently we have had great water. I got a betta so I took my water in to be tested and was horrified to see we had ammonia of 2ppm. I have been trickling water in my 10,000 gal koi pond and found it was at .25, my 3800 gal goldfish is at 0, no water added since shut down. I have some ammonia binder coming but my question is, what do I do now about water changes, I vacuum the ponds weekly once the season starts. This is so frustrating, some of my koi are 19 and 20 years old. I checked the output of the 2 wells that service my house, one read 2 and the other 4ppm
any help appreciated

 

[Jhn]

Hello all, I’ve been keeping koi and goldfish for over 20 years, we are on municipal wells and up until recently we have had great water. I got a betta so I took my water in to be tested and was horrified to see we had ammonia of 2ppm. I have been trickling water in my 10,000 gal koi pond and found it was at .25, my 3800 gal goldfish is at 0, no water added since shut down. I have some ammonia binder coming but my question is, what do I do now about water changes, I vacuum the ponds weekly once the season starts. This is so frustrating, some of my koi are 19 and 20 years old. I checked the output of the 2 wells that service my house, one read 2 and the other 4ppm
any help appreciated

What type of pond do you have? A Dedicated koi pond or hybrid or eco pond?

The last two should not need water changes, if set up properly. If a DKP is what you have, you could invest in a ro filter and reservoir to store water for water changes, this would remove ammonia.
Personally, I don’t do water changes in any of my ponds for the very Reason you are experiencing, source water issues. But all my ponds are eco/hybrid ponds that aim to achieve a natural balance....

 

[brokensword]

what jhn said +1

I don't do water changes either but haven't had koi as long as you have. Still, they're growing and doing just fine and my water is well water like yours (private well). Having a large bog tends to take care of the nitrogen cycle efficiently.

 

[Lisak1]

I'll add my third to the no water changes routine. But if you do need to add source water, could you get a hose end filter that would remove ammonia? I know they make them to remove chlorine and other undesirable elements in water.

 

[Ione]

What type of pond do you have? A Dedicated koi pond or hybrid or eco pond?

The last two should not need water changes, if set up properly. If a DKP is what you have, you could invest in a ro filter and reservoir to store water for water changes, this would remove ammonia.
Personally, I don’t do water changes in any of my ponds for the very Reason you are experiencing, source water issues. But all my ponds are eco/hybrid ponds that aim to achieve a natural balance....

The koi and goldfish have their own ponds, we are in high desert area which has a lot of sun and can freeze anytime during the summer months so algae is a big problem, string in the koi and the mucky floating in the goldfish which is why I do the vacuuming. Using the reservoir would you treat the water in holding? Thanks

 

[Jhn]

The koi and goldfish have their own ponds, we are in high desert area which has a lot of sun and can freeze anytime during the summer months so algae is a big problem, string in the koi and the mucky floating in the goldfish which is why I do the vacuuming. Using the reservoir would you treat the water in holding? Thanks

If you aren’t using an ro filter to fill the reservoir, then you would need to treat the water in said reservoir. An ro filter and the various filter cartridges before it will remove any ammonia, if you went this route. As lisak1 said you may be able to find some type o filter you can attach the garden hose too, as well.

 

[sissy]

all you need is zeolite and I use zeolite for horse stalls it is called pdz and sold at farm stores .You can buy it at most pets stores as zeolite for ponds .I have never done water changes and had my koi since 2005 and they are now over 3 feet long .I use koi clay and zeolite and nothing else .

 

[TheFishGuy]

If you aren’t using an ro filter to fill the reservoir, then you would need to treat the water in said reservoir. An ro filter and the various filter cartridges before it will remove any ammonia, if you went this route. As lisak1 said you may be able to find some type o filter you can attach the garden hose too, as well.

I would say RODI is very expensive, even if you are just looking at RO, it seems Impractically expensive and slow, am I getting something mixed up here?

 

[Jhn]

I would say RODI is very expensive, even if you are just looking at RO, it seems Impractically expensive and slow, am I getting something mixed up here?

Not really, if you are on well water. The only cost is the initial output for the ro membrane and filters, which can run from roughly $100-200 Initially, then reservoir and some type of float switch to keep it topped off. You don’t really need the di resin. It is slow if you are using it daily doing large water changes.

As sissy suggested the cheapest way to go is just adding zeolite to the pond and stop doing water changes or set up a reservoir with zeolite in it for water changes.

 

[GBBUDD]

You can always use waste water fro.m ro system to water plants and the grass

 

[sissy]

rain barrels are handy .I catch rain water in my plastic barrels and have one dedicated for my pond .I paid 5 dollars for mine each .I use them all over to catch rain water ,some to wash cars near my carport and some near my yard to water flowers and plants .I add liquid manure to them and have a faucet outlet in them at the bottom and attch a hose and makes it easy to water and saves running my well p

 

[sissy]

The metal one is my burn barrel and the white one was food grade barrel to wash cars with .The grey out by the shed is a stock tank to water there