Couple Questions

[mrchillman]

Do ponds require water changes? or are they even advised? I don't really have a filter going on it besides the big sponge thing attached to the pump.I suppose i could install some sort of a small carbon one in the waterfall box i made if it was really needed is it?. I figured out how to change the water really easily by hooking up my python to my hose, and i recently changed about 25 percent of the water. If i can change the water every week or so do i still need a filter? After i did the water change, however, i did notice that my pond became really cloudy and murky. I used to be able to see all the way to the bottom but i can't any more. Is this normal?

Also, how long does it take for guppies to start breeding? I have 15 of them including 8 females.

[finsNfur]

How big is the pond? And how old is it? The cloudy water is making me wonder if your pond is in the cycling process. And did you add a de-chlorinator to the water with the water change? I am not sure I understand your filter and pump system, so I'm not sure about your water-change question. I have goldfish in my pond and I don't do weekly water changes, however several inches of water evaporates each week, or gets sucked up by the plants, so I regularly add fresh water.

If your guppies are healthy and the water conditions are good, they should start breeding right away. :grinyes:

[mrchillman]

my pond is not that old, only about 3 weeks. I'm not sure how many gallons it is, but i think its probably somewhere between 150 and 250 gallons. The pump is 950 gph (it only gets about 500 though with my waterfall box) and it has a sponge thing attached to the intake to keep the pump from clogging but thats it. And yes, i am very careful about adding de-chlorinator.

[Desertponder]

Your pond is cycling. Don't do a bunch of water changes trying to correct murky water, you'll just prolong the process. You need to let it just run, get its good bugs going and it should clear on its own in about six weeks give or take.

[FluffynTex]

I put 7 guppies in my pond and 2 months later there are probably 75 or so hehe, that answer your question? lol

[wataugachicken]

if 15 guppies are the only things in there, i don't think they would be causing a cycling issue in a 150g pond. alone they simply do not produce enough waste to provide a build-up. but i could be wrong. can you test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? that is a sure way to see if you are truly cycling, or if something else is the issue.

[mrchillman]

Ill bet its cycling because i also have a small RES turtle in there with them, and i have lots of plants. I guess ill test for amonia nitrite nitrates and all that good stuff sometime this weekend. I really hate testing water...not sure why its like pulling teeth i guess haha

[wataugachicken]

i understand - i am terrible at testing water. i don't have a timer, and so i forget right away. 20 minutes later when i finally notice the test tube, i have to start all over again.

[mrchillman]

OK well i just made a new waterfall box (my first one didn't stand up to a couple of the neighbor's cats who tried to go fishing in it last night) and i added a foam filter to it, and planted some parrots feather on top. My guppies i decided are boring. How big do you think 3 or four goldfish would get in my 150-200 gallon pond?

[wataugachicken]

well. worry about getting the pond running right first. then, you can definitely add a few goldies. they will probably reach full adult size (12-14+ inches), as long as no birds or raccoons get them first.

where do you live? or, more specifically, what are the winters like where you live? if it is warm/warmish year-round, you could try out different kinds of fish than just goldfish.

[mrchillman]

i live in San Jose california, and it only freezes like one or two nights out of the year, never goes much bellow 30 though. usually its sixties to seventies during the day, and 40s and 50s at night in the winter. What else would you suggest?

[mrchillman]

SWEET! my guppies finally had babies! i have about 15 or 20 little baby guppies swimming around the pond now. There are also now about 25 adult guppies as well (I got 9 more females to take stress off the others from all the males) Any estimates on how many will survive to adulthood? should i take measures to help them?

[mrchillman]

If i were to get say 2 goldfish that would get to be 6 inches, do you think i could get a predetor prey thing goin on with my guppies? and the gold fish? or is my pond too small? Even though there is a big pool of water where the guppies can go to get away from the goldfish?

[wataugachicken]

i don't think all goldfish eat smaller fish. i had a black moor that would eat guppies, endlers, even 2.5 inch rosy reds (it was more like they seemed to fall into his mouth and disappear, i never saw him actively hunt anything) but other people are successful in mixing goldies with smaller fish. so it depends on the individuals.

[mrchillman]

Ok i think ill let my guppies get established first and get a stable population going before i introduce any goldfish. How many guppies do you think a 150-200 gallon pond could support? The filter is just a 950 GPH pump into a waterfall box with a filter sponge in it.

[finsNfur]

Female guppies drop fry every month, you are going to have a guppy farm, lol. If you have some kind of underwater plant like anacharis or hornwort it will provide cover for the babies, too. I've had guppies about four months now, and I have about 15 juvenile fry that survived so far. And then they will have babies....and so on...and so on....so you are well on your way to an established guppy pond. And if you use that "one of fish per 1 gallon rule" you have plenty of room in your pond for guppies. If you do decide to get goldfish though, don't get a common goldfish, or Comet, or Sarasas, they get pretty big. Your pond would be a little small for big goldfish as well as guppies. As for goldfish eating babies---my Comets and Sarasas goldfish in my pond had babies this year, but only about 4 seem to have survived. Something ate them, not sure if it was them, my smallish koi, or the bullfrogs living in my pond. I would guess the goldfish would certainly eat baby fish when they were real tiny. But I don't know for sure.

[OldMan47]

Your sponge on the pump suction will act just like a sponge filter in a tank, I have 2 on the suction of my fountain pump because I was afraid 1 would get clogged with leaves and such. I have found that I can change water in my pond just like I would on a fish tank. The fish in mine are endlers, a molly and some green swords. They were all young when they went into my summer pond and are growing and really prospering. For me it is a summer only pond because here it would get 3 inches of ice on it in the winter. That limits me to warm weather only and small fish that I can put into tanks during the winter.

[finsNfur]

i live in San Jose california, and it only freezes like one or two nights out of the year, never goes much bellow 30 though. usually its sixties to seventies during the day, and 40s and 50s at night in the winter. What else would you suggest?

I hate to be a downer, but your guppies won't survive a winter that cold. They are a warm water fish, "tropical". They need water in the upper 70's. Do you know what you will do with your guppies for the winter? :confused:

On the other hand, goldfish will easily survive such colder temperatures.

[mrchillman]

i heard somewhere though that guppies could take down into the thirties as long as its not for an extended period of time. I do have a couple fish tanks inside i think ill move a bunch of them indoors just in case, and see how the other ones do. If it doesn't work out ill get some goldfish and mosquito fish to replace them.

[mrchillman]

NOOOOO!!! I think my liner might be leaking! I had to top off the pond 3 inches yesterday, and it is down to about the same level this morning! It has been really hot here into the 100s but i don't think that much water could have evaporated? am i wrong? What should i do if my liner is leaking? I got a good liner, 45 mm black rubber one from home depot.

[finsNfur]

Ack, what a nightmare! Keep an eye on the level---if it continues to drop at the same place, you will have to check on that level for leaks. I've heard that if you use a spray bottle filled with milk and spray along that line, any leaks will bubble.

[mrchillman]

sweet! ok so i did a little experiment last night to see if it was leaking by turning off the waterfall and marking where the water line was. I got up this morning, crossed my fingers, and went outside and it was at the same level. I think my problem is that the waterfall splashes too much water out of the pond! the pool it empties into is really small, and some of it just splashes out onto the rocks where it evaporates. IS there anything i can do to stop this? make the water fall, and stay in the pond once it lands?

[finsNfur]

Can you post a picture of your pond?

[mrchillman]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v411/whatnot45/IMG_1456.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v411/whatnot45/IMG_1452.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v411/whatnot45/IMG_1454.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v411/whatnot45/IMG_1455.jpg

[finsNfur]

Beautiful! Looking at the second picture, is the water splashing out onto the left side of that picture, between the fence and the waterfall? Can you add more soil on that side so that it is up 3-4" higher?

[mrchillman]

WHAT SHOULD I DO?!
I went out to my pond this morning and expected to see 1 turtle basking on a rock, but instead i saw 2 RES Turtles on the rock!. Can my pond support 2 RES turtles without killing all my guppies? I did a big water change today because it was getting disgusting, and I only saw 3 adult guppies. That is not to say the others weren't just hiding, but still what are the odds that i would only see 3 of my 20 or so guppies? I do have about 50 baby guppies that are not afraid to show themselves. Do you think that my adult guppies were eaten already? I set up a 10 gallon guppy fry grow-out tank with rocks, and plants just incase all the ones in the pond don't make it. What should i do though i like the turtles, and i feed them turtle food...i dont understand why they need to eat my fish too!

[finsNfur]

Well---turtles do eat fish, I'm sorry to say. Hopefully the adult guppies are just hiding. Make sure you provide plenty of hiding places for them.

[mrchillman]

THere are lots of hiding places, and i think the adults are fine. I have actually been seeing more of them lately, and my new turtle did not eat them! I feed the turtles almost daily so they shouldn't need to eat my fish. As far as the ich goes, its obvious that most of the guppies in the pond have it. THe ones that i was able to put inside in a tank have been completely cured of it though. I added salt to the pond, but i have a feeling that that won't get rid of the ich... am i right?

[rinmouse]

weren't you the one whose turtles kept 'running away' since there was no fence to keep them in? It's probably one of your escapees.

[mrchillman]

Yes but that was my old pond, and this new one is bigger and better, and my turtle has been in it for 2 months, and not only did he not run away, but an escapee has come to join him and stay...I must have done something right. :)