New to fish ponds - not completely sure what to do

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PallasAthena

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May 17, 2009
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I just posted over in the intro section. DH and I have inherited a fish pond from the previous owners of our new house. We didn't realize there was a fish still in there since they had moved out some time ago and let the pond run dry. When we filled it back up, we discovered that one goldfish (Rambo), or possibly a koi, survived. I'm still upset that they ran off and left their pet like that. I mean I know it's just a fish, but I happen to like fish, and nothing deserves that kind of treatment!

So now we're fish owners!


I'm going to take some time this weekend and see if I can get the pond in shape. I talked to a guy at the local koi farm and he gave me some advice. Here's the plan:
  1. Put the fish in a bucket of old pond water in the shade
  2. Drain the pond
  3. Trowl out all the muck at the bottom. The koi guy said it was probably anaerobic sludge which is apparently really bad for poor Rambo, so we need to get that out of there.
  4. I'll throw out the sludge saturated foam inside his filter, and hose all the sludge out of there. I already got new foam at Petsmart to replace it.
  5. Clean the filter media really carefully and make sure that sludge is all gone.
  6. Refill the pond and condition the water for a couple of hours.
  7. Add my bacteria cultre gel to the foam/filter media.
  8. Reintroduce Rambo.
Does that sound like an okay plan? I am hoping that Rambo survives all of this. I want to get him some little fishy friends and something to eat any mosquito larvai. It's a pretty small pond, so I'm not going to get too much.

Do I need to put gravel in the bottom or anything or can I add rocks later? Cost is a factor. This wasn't a pet we planned on having, but since he's here, we need to care for him in the best way we can. Because if this, I was plannin on doing a little at a time. Big tank overhaul this weekend. Add some rocks and plants later and then some fish. But the more I think of it, the more I think maybe I ought to go ahead and add the gravel now to give the good bacteria a little more to grab on to.

What are y'all's thoughts? Am I kinda headed in the right direction? Any tips on draining the pond? Also, I need to keep in mind that because they let the pump run dry, we need to plan on the pump biting the dust in the very near future. *sigh* Why can't people take responsibility for their pets? Yeah, it's a pretty pond and fish are nice to look at, but they're a responsibility, too.

ETA: This is the water conditioner I got, and I can't find a link with the gel stuff. Basically, it's a gel that you squirt into the foam part of the filter to get the bacteria going. Is this good stuff? I figured if it was good for big, fancy koi, it would probably be just fine for my little guy.
 
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What's the brand of the gel bacteria stuff? Many products are called bacteria boosters or starters, but often they are just dead bacteria which does nothing. There are only a few out there that actually work. The one that comes to mind is Tetra SafeStart, which used to be called BioSpira. I know there's a couple more that seem to work, but I can't think of them right now.

I would just gently rinse out the old filter media and put it back in to keep the bacteria going, unless it got completely dried out. If it's still wet, there's a chance that you might not have to cycle it again. I'd just take a bucket of old pond water, and then gently squeeze out the foam media until it looks like water would be able to pass through it. Then put it back in the filter and hang the new foam so that the water coming out of the filter passes through it. Run it like that for a few weeks and then you should be able to safely change the filter foam. I'm no expert on ponds, just starting one myself, but that's the method that I use for new filters on my aquariums. I would imagine that it would work for ponds as well. You could also try to get some gravel or filter media from someone else who has a healthy pond (perhaps the LFS?) to instantly cycle the pond as well.
 
Hm, thanks for the info. I will definitely check the brand on my bacteria starter and post the name.

The thing is with the filter, is that it was packed full of that black anaerobic sludge, which it seems like from talking to the koi guy is really nasty, toxic stuff. His suggestion was to get rid of all of that and clean the filter out really carefully. There's also a fairly significant amount of sludge in the bottom of the pond. It stinks really bad when the water gets stirred up. It's a pretty horrible way for this fish to live.

There will be some of the old water going back into the pond. Probably about a bucket-full, so hopefully that will help. Thing is, the foam really needs to be replaced ASAP. It's all decomposed and packed with the sludge. Bits are coming off. It's in bad, bad shape.
 
It is entirely possible that the previous owners didn't know the fish was still in the pond.

Pond fish don't always show up at meal times and one fish in a pond is going to find plenty of food- snails, larvae, algae, water beetles...etc. If the pond was that dirty they had probably thought him long-dead and not cleaned the pond in a long-long time... thus never discovering him.

Theoretically, the pond should be a lot easier to take care of than an aquarium and hopefully there will be some aerobic bacteria left alive on the floor or the edges of the pond somewhere so cycling won't take tooo long.
 
You know, as shy as this little guy is, you may be right about them not realizing he's in there. As soon as I peek over the edge of the pond he dives down under the filter or under some of the old leaf trash. I am going to need to be sure to give him a place to hide so he doesn't freak out completely and die after I clean out the pond. Is there any reason why I couldn't wash off some of the garden rocks really well and build him a little hole or put in a flower pot? Or are there too many risks in doing that with the possibility of garden chemicals and things?

Also, if I want to put rocks/gravel in the bottom, can I use general garden rock (like pea gravel only a little bigger) from home depot or lowes or do I need to get honest to goodness aquarium gravel from Petsmart or some place like that? I think that would look nice to have a nice rocky bed on the bottom of the pond. Would that be too much of a PITA to keep clean though or would it be fairly self-sustaining? I don't think one of those siphon aquarium vaccumes would work to clean out the pond gravel is why I ask.
 
If you put in pots- make sure they are the real terracotta kind not glazed or coloured... oh and make sure it is a pot that hasn't been used!!!!

Rocks will be OK as long as they are not calcium based. Granite is fine- limestone and marble will mess with the chemistry of your pond. Slate is good... sandstone is hit or miss... best not to risk it.

The test people say to use is dropping a little acid on to the rock (such as vinegar) - if it bubbles don't use it... I don't think this is 100% foolproof though.
 
Honestly, with that size goldie in a pond that size, as long as you do decent water changes, you shouldn't have to worry about the bacteria too much. Just make sure you test the water, and use water changes to keep ammonia below .25 (and as low as possible) until the biofilter comes back. Did you use the calculator on this site to get the pond volume? I remember the dimensions roughly, and it sounds plenty big to dilute the waste from that little goldie... roughly 75gallons from what I remember you saying...

also, :iagree: with what Wycco said... I wouldn't mess too much with rocks and stuff right now.. best to get things stable first... but a brand new unglazed, colored, painted, or finished terra cotta pot would be a great hiding place for the fish.
 
Oh, then yeah, replace the media. If it's breaking apart, then there's no way it will be useful. Not that it won't have good bacteria in it, but more that it's just going to be a mess. Plus, with the bad stink, that would tell me you've got to get that junk out. Go ahead and clean it good.

I agree with Wycco that the fish may have gone unnoticed. How big would you estimate the pond to be? If you're unsure on the gallons, you can post the length, width, and depth and approximate shape to give us an idea.

The old water won't carry much beneficial bacteria in it; they mostly live in the filter and the substrate (gravel, sand, etc.) as well as any other surface such as the sides of the pond, plants, decor, etc. There will be very little in the old water. But, the fish will be used to the old water and may go into shock if the water is suddenly clean. I'll let someone more experienced with ponds post on how to minimize that risk.

With aquariums, we recommend doing small (25% or less) water changes daily until the water is good (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, less than 20 nitrate). I'd think that would be a big project for ponds, so I'm not sure what the best way would be to do that.

Sounds like you're pretty much on the right track, and it's great that you are so committed to giving the fish a good home! This hobby needs more people like you. It might seem like a big task at first, but it really gets to be quite easy once you've got it down. And it's so rewarding to see your good work pay off!
 
They make things for cleaning ponds that work well... It looks like a big gravel vac, but garden hose attaches to the out end, and there is a jet nozzle to create a suction. They are kinda expensive though... make it easy, but prolly a hundred bucks for one. Buckets work too.
 
Oh, thanks so much you guys. This is so helpful! I will definitely NOT grab one of the old pots in the yard for him to hide in. I'll be sure to get a new, plain one.

I don't think I can do a gradual water change. That wouldn't let me get the sludge up out of the bottom of the pond. Every time I tried to scoop it on Saturday (before I realized we had a little buddy in there), it just stirred it up and stank up the yard. I'm actually fairly concerned that the water change will kill him, but the pond really must be cleaned. He's survived so much that I am hoping he will survive this, too.

Where is the pond size calculator? I think the pond is about 4 ft x 2.5 ft mostly about 12" deep (the shelves), but with a much deeper well in the center.

The filter box likes to float and move around. Is there any reason why I couldn't put a couple of rocks to weight it down or would that block up the water intake too much? It's this filter. At some point I want to cut off the fountain and just have it run straight ot the waterfall in the back. It's a fairly good sized waterfall. The water flows for about 3.5' over rocks, so I would think that would be enough aeration for a pond this size.
 
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