Woke up this morning 1/4 of my water missing and most of fish dead

[Lisak1]

I had two 500watt glass fish tank heater that I put on the bottom to keep it from freezing over. During the winter it got below 0 a lot of times and parts of the pond would freeze but the heater kept a nice large open circle in the pond, which i thought was ideal.

I asked the question because I wondered if it was possible that an aquarium heater on the bottom of the pond would get hot enough to melt a hole in the liner if it was in contact for an extended period of time. I don't know if by "at the bottom" you meant near the bottom, or literally on the bottom. Your fish dying and your water disappearing may have two separate causes.

Also, I am near Chicago also so I know the kind of winter you've experienced! I am sorry about your pond and fish - you've already gotten some good suggestions. Hopefully the answer is an easy one!

 

[Paul S]

Don't worry too much about the algaecide. You did that 2 weeks ago. If they killed the fish, they would have done it 2 weeks or so ago, not this morning.

Do you know why you weren't able to nitrite and nitrate reading? I can't see that pic very well. Can you do it again?

Do you have a pic of the filter?

The reason why some people have algae is overfeeding. Algae need nutrients to survive bloom. If it's a type of algae you can scoop out, even better because you are taking organics out of your closed environment.

Seeing your pond now. I would do a little water change and fill it up with treated water and run your filter.

I tired twice and I could not get a reading of the Nitrate or Nitrite. They came out gray/brown colors. I have not fed the fish since November. I stopped running the pump in the beginning of December. I took apart the filter and it was very filthy and smelly, i will post a picture shortly

 

[Paul S]

Pic of the test strip

 

[Paul S]

I asked the question because I wondered if it was possible that an aquarium heater on the bottom of the pond would get hot enough to melt a hole in the liner if it was in contact for an extended period of time. I don't know if by "at the bottom" you meant near the bottom, or literally on the bottom. Your fish dying and your water disappearing may have two separate causes.

Also, I am near Chicago also so I know the kind of winter you've experienced! I am sorry about your pond and fish - you've already gotten some good suggestions. Hopefully the answer is an easy one!

The heaters had suction cup bases and I attached them to plexi glass to make sure they did not directly contact the liner.

 

[dieselplower]

Seems like a reasonable theory that the ice melted and the water drained out a busted pipe. Try taking the water inside and letting it warm up to room temperature, and then test it.

 

[Paul S]

Here is a pic of the filter

 

[Paul S]

My heaters the way they are attached to plexi glass

 

[Paul S]

Ok i will try one more test with the water taken inside. Is it ok to use the same sample? I just gotten a cup of the water out of the pond.

 

[dieselplower]

Yes

 

[Tula]

Is it possible when you cleaned your filter, you described as filthy and smelly, that some anaerobic bacteria flowed into your pipes? I wonder if it could have flowed into your pond as the pipes thawed ? In that case the two things ( low water level and fish dying) could be related.....just a thought.

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Paul S]

Is it possible when you cleaned your filter, you described as filthy and smelly, that some anaerobic bacteria flowed into your pipes? I wonder if it could have flowed into your pond as the pipes thawed ? In that case the two things ( low water level and fish dying) could be related.....just a thought.

So sorry for your loss.

I havnt cleaned it yet, i just took it apart to look at it..

Thank you all for your condolences and help..I am really saddened over my fish because they made it through all winter and then this just happend...

 

[sissy]

you say your heaters are attached to plexiglass .That can heat up and release toxins or you could have had an electrical short also

 

[Dave 54]

For one Paul ditc those test strips and buy drop kits as they are much more accurate buy either API or Tetra I've a feeling it ws the algaeside that killed off your fish , you must remember they have just come through a harsh winter, they are at their weakest and your unsure of your readings .
What I cant understand where did all this algae come from , koi will normally crop it close during the times of no food , at the end of this winter ours was cropped short against the sides and bottom of the pond.
Did you before the onset of winter clean your filters ?

Dave

 

[Paul S]

Did the test for a 3rd time with room temp water. Ph was 7.0
Alkalinity was 180
But I still couldn't get a nitrite or nitrate reading. It keeps coming out tan/ grey color

 

[Paul S]

For one Paul ditc those test strips and buy drop kits as they are much more accurate buy either API or Tetra I've a feeling it ws the algaeside that killed off your fish , you must remember they have just come through a harsh winter, they are at their weakest and your unsure of your readings .
What I cant understand where did all this algae come from , koi will normally crop it close during the times of no food , at the end of this winter ours was cropped short against the sides and bottom of the pond.
Did you before the onset of winter clean your filters ?

Dave

I cleaned my filter once in November before the onset of winter. Maybe the algae bloomed from the pond getting sunlight, I thought it wouldn't bloom because of the cold but the water got entirely green where you couldnt see the bottom. It got like this sometime around February. Initially i wanted to keep my pump running all winter but I read that it can freeze the fish mixing the cold water since the bottom is suppose to be warmer than the top of the pond so i turned it off in Dec once it started getting 30s.

I found the leak it was a cracked pipe by the pump inlet that leaked out all the water above the level of my plumbing.