Weird Pond Smell

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I recently moved all of my adult fish into temporary holding bins and emptied out their pond because the house was getting powerwashed with bleach. I was gone one day and when I came home, I found the holding bins vandalized and drained of the majority of their water so my poor fish had an inch of water to move and breathe in. Things were moved around; it was clear someone had been there. The power washing is done and I want to get them back into their old pond as soon as possible. I sprayed down the sides and emptied the remaining water. For the few days that the fish had been in the holding bins, my automatic feeder had kept going, dropping in food that went uneaten. Bacteria took hold, but I didn't know this until I went to clean it out for the fish's return. So, I filled the pond back up, but there's a weird smell and a little bit of ammonia. I really don't want to leave my fish in those vulnerable bins, but I don't know what's causing the smell. It doesn't smell like bleach or chlorine; it smells more like rotting. But I cleaned out all the food, so I don't know what's causing it.
 
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Pretty sure I figure it out, but I'd still like thoughts. I think it was that bacteria were living in the couple of inches of unmoving muck. Then, the water stratified and I can smell the results.
 
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Yeah, pond muck will have a definite smell to it.

And you just defined the one reason many people are not fond of auto feeders - they are sometimes TOO auto!
 
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What should I do now? How long before I can move my fish back?
 
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Basically clean the pond again turn off your auto feeder and wait for your pond to cycle again .
I'm not a fan of automatic feeders they often tend to go wrong and dump their entire contents in the pond.
Whilst the pond is cycling though Jenny your going to hve to keep a close eye on your water perameters .

Dave
 

Meyer Jordan

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Pretty sure I figure it out, but I'd still like thoughts. I think it was that bacteria were living in the couple of inches of unmoving muck. Then, the water stratified and I can smell the results.
Please explain "the water stratified".
 

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