2fishy Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 HEy I have a customer who has an approx 300L pond, it has no filtration (apart from a small water fountain), she was maintaining the algae by adding algae fix to the pond every fortnight and all the was well. Anyway she stopped adding the algae fix as she got busy, so its been about a month without it, now the algaes quite bad and all the fish ( 5xlarge comets) are all dead. I tested the water pH is at least 8.8, ammo 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0, phosphates 0.5 Now im am asumming here the pH has killed the fish. I didnt know what to tell her to do to the pond to lower the pH, as ive never come across a pond with such high pH. Any suggestions??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gannet Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 get her to put some drift wood in, and see if that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted November 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 sould she need a good size piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gannet Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 i no 1 of the suppliers do *huge* pices, coz we order some tht was to big to go into a 4ft tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Maybe she needs to put some bags of peat in there for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 its unlikely the fish died from the ph as goldfish are quit happy living in high ph but very sensitive to low ph or a sudden ph drop so i would not suggest trying to lower the ph if she has already stocked the pond with fish again. its only an 300L tank why not just empty it and give it a good scrub, fill it back up with tap water and leave it for a couple of day before stocking any fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted November 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 theres no fish in it at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted November 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Would it be just best to scrub and empty the pond, refill it and maybe put a pond filter and uv unit on it to get rid of the algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Would it be just best to scrub and empty the pond, refill it and maybe put a pond filter and uv unit on it to get rid of the algae? bit of an over kill for a 300L pond IMO. but of cause if she is willing to spend the $$ that would be the best. what i would do after the emptying and scrubbing is just add couple large pots of lily. u will find it would keep the water clean and keep the PH stable and because its only a small pond the water should stay just warm enough for the lily to grow all year round. [once a year lily fertilizer will help it stay though the winter] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 I'd sort out getting a filter for it first! There isnt much point in treating the symptoms if shes just gonna keep adding algae fix to make it "work". Doesnt need to be expensive, a $40 pump, some pumice/scorica/bioballs and an old $10 brewing barrel would make an excellent filter. I bet there'd be some old ones on trademe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishkeepa Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 I'd sort out getting a filter for it first! There isnt much point in treating the symptoms if shes just gonna keep adding algae fix to make it "work". Doesnt need to be expensive, a $40 pump, some pumice/scorica/bioballs and an old $10 brewing barrel would make an excellent filter. I bet there'd be some old ones on trademe? Good old Kiwi inginuity (spelling) :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Goldfish are tolerant of a very wide range of pH. Where is the pond (full sun, full shade, a bit of each)? How deep is it? How much sun does it get? How much plant cover does it have? I think 5 large comets are too many for only 300L and a sudden warm day plus too much algae meant a lack of oxygen. She should fix the cause of the algae rather than toss chemicals into the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 When a body of water becomes green, it can then absorb a lot more temperature from the sun than it normally would. We all know what the sunny BoP is like, and you'd only need one GOOD day, and the temperature could have shot way over the top. That's my tuppence worth anyway. I know, I lost an outside tank like that, and the fish. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 Good point Alan, in fact I was thinking this when I looked at my green water tank full of daphnia as the sun beat down, starting to get some good days here in Hamilton, luckily it gets overcast before you know it tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 13, 2006 Report Share Posted November 13, 2006 If the pond is concrete it is probably that making the water alkali. Keep changing the water until the pond stabilizes, then add fish. In the meantime use the green water to grow daphnia, plant some lillies to block the light and give the new fish a good feed of daphnia for xmas. If the water is getting very hot the O2 will become depleted so the lillies may help with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2fishy Posted November 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 the pond isnt very deep (like 30cm), should i maybe suggest she get lillies for the pond, do u think she needs to empty and scrub the pond first? not sure if the pond is concrete. does every body think a small filter will help things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gannet Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 yes get a filter... i had a very simaler prob wif a customer last week, but her pond was 5000L, she ended up getting TLC and i am just waitn to here back to see if it works, differences are: no geen water, no dead fish, just some algea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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