starting pond up, seeding?

[mailman62]

just about got to the point where i can fill pond now ( aprox. 2500 gals) but i am still waiting for my stock tank to come in to make a filter , but I do have the skimmer and and uv and waterfall filter set to go, how should I go about seeding the pond with bacteiria or should it just be done by adding fish slowly ? maybe getting some filter water from someone elses pond? any advise on this thanks

 

[koikeepr]

Hi Mailman. If you could grab some media from someone else's pond that would be the best thing to do. The water won't help, you need the media. Or take some of your media to a pond pal and have them shove it into their pond so your media starts collecting good bacteria.

 

[mailman62]

that sounds like the best way, I was not going to put any fish in pond until I get the stock tank up and running, will the bacteria survive if there is no waste being produced for it?, I would think it would but not sure

 

[DrDave]

You are not going to get much good bacteria without fish to seed it.

 

[Squidhead]

that sounds like the best way, I was not going to put any fish in pond until I get the stock tank up and running, will the bacteria survive if there is no waste being produced for it?, I would think it would but not sure

The bacteria would slowly die off without "food" = fish waste. What is the source of the bacteria? If it's media from an established pond or aquarium then add it at the same time or a day after adding fish. You can presserve the bacteria by refridgeration for a few days, which has mixed results, or feeding it artificially. Pond water from an established pond will not do squat for seeding the filter media as Koikeeper said. Media from an established pond is best, or having your media in the established pond for a while is good to, but may not be as effective.

 

[koikeepr]

Right. You need to have both in place. Fish to continually produce ammonia to feed the bacteria and a nice seeded bag of media

 

[stroppy]

i would be a little worried about seeding my filter from another pond ...whats the chances of fish diseases being past to the new pond ?

 

[koikeepr]

That is 100% true, stroppy. You have to be very confident that you know that other person's pond and can trust the seeding material. I would never take plants or fish from someone, for example, unless I knew their pond very well

 

[DrDave]

You can tell a lot about a person's pond care by how carefull they are. For example, I never use a customers container to scoop water from my ponds when they are purchasing plants. This keeps my ponds free of outside diseases.

At the same time, I get every customers phone number so I can call and warn them if an outbreak occurs anywhere in the county.

Beware of anyone who does not practice at this level of safety.

 

[koikeepr]

Right. I also never pour the water from the bag that my fish came in into my pond, I gently lift the fish out of the bag and place it in the pond after acclimitization.

Ideally, once should have a quarantine tank to keep the fish in for at least a month, preferably more. Unfotunately, the great majority of us pond kepers do not have the luxury of a quarantine tank. So, it's best that you know where your fish, plants and anythign else are coming from.