Spilled Carbon in pond!

[buckry]

yeah, those are just what my wife has, the wholes are awfully big, the AC i have is tiny. It won't all flow out instantly, but it looks like that bag will let tons loose into the pond. It's better than cheesecloth though, so if I can't find anything better at the dollar store I"ll just make it work.

 

[sissy]

The holes in this stuff may look big but they are fine enough for my carbon and my oyster shells and you can double them up .

 

[thor04]

I wonder by chance your fish that died ate some of the carbon that fell on the bottom of the pond. Just goind out on a lim. I'm waiting for one of mine to die from eating a pine needle. I seen one go in the mouth and out the gill maybe the carbon got stuck or he swalloed it

 

[addy1]

I wonder by chance your fish that died ate some of the carbon that fell on the bottom of the pond. Just goind out on a lim. I'm waiting for one of mine to die from eating a pine needle. I seen one go in the mouth and out the gill maybe the carbon got stuck or he swalloed it

You would think the fish would not eat something like that. I usually see them do like a taste test then spit it out, but maybe the pine needle got stuck when it sucked it in to taste it............weird

 

[buckry]

lol, you read my mind. I have been wondering about that carbon this whole time, but for one it's just like aquarium gravel, they probably have been grabbing them and spitting them out. I seriously doubt once it went in the mouth they'd be like "Mmmm that's delicous." It's really small, too unless the texture makes it get stuck, it should come out relaly easily like gravel.

And of course the real show stopper to this theory is I have looked inside each fish and saw nothing but an empty mouth. Unless it made it to the throat, which seems really unlikely.

 

[pugle1]

I wonder by chance your fish that died ate some of the carbon that fell on the bottom of the pond. Just goind out on a lim. I'm waiting for one of mine to die from eating a pine needle. I seen one go in the mouth and out the gill maybe the carbon got stuck or he swalloed it

AC is not toxic. As a matter of fact, that's what they use in hospitals in the event someone swallowed a toxin of some sort or another .... if your fish ingest sand or small gravel, the carbon bits will eventually break-down in their stomachs and they'll just pass it. Larger bits will most likely just be spit back out, the same as is they gobbled a stone or something they realize isn't food.

 

[buckry]

lol, ok, so it's the exact oppposite of toxic, that's cool. Definitely a load off my mind.

 

[pugle1]

That's the thing bucky... the AC used in aquarium filters always has some small dust and bits that get out of the filter into the water. For the most part the fish just leave it alone. I have an AC water filter for my drinking water. When I change the cartridge, the water comes out black or grey for the first little bit, then runs clear, but I bet there's still some carbon particles in the water for the first few glasses that are consumed. It's pretty much an inert material.

 

[pugle1]

addy1, that was helpful. Thanks. It seems I may have difficulty keeping my pond balanced. My pond is fairly small (500 to 600 gallons) and is partially shaded through the day, but gets almost full sun in the afternoon. My temperatures swing between 75*F and 85*F daily. I just don't understand why I've had a zero ammonia reading all this season, and suddenly I have a 1ppm reading this week. I'm going to reduce feeding for a few days and see what happens. I only feed them (goldfish and minnows) once a day, but they get lots of bugs on the surface, so I'm going to try once every 3 days or so. The fish seem fine though as they're very active. No signs of "gulping" for air or anything. Nice bright colours and no signs of of the gill coverings curling.... I guess I just have to wait and see. I may try adding a little salt and see what that does as well.

Think I'll add a trickle system as well as I need to top up the pond every few days for evaporation. The constant change of water may help too.



Edit* .... oops! Wrong thread!....LOL. The price you pay for having multiple tabs open....lol