pond water/ dumb question

xsdbs

xsdbs

AC Members
Oct 16, 2006
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does an outside pond water need water changes like tanks do. I kind of think so but thought I would be humble and ask before a neighbor says "what are you doing". I have just set up one of those plastic preformed ponds a couple weeks ago and it has gone thru the "pea green" cycle and is clear water now. Maybe I got a little eager to please my 7 yr old son and tossed in 10 little feeder gold fisf to humor him. I am seeing that this may just a couple too many. thanks in advance for any education that can be offered.
Oh, I know some one will say "pics" so I will try to get a couple here this afternoon.
 
yes, they should be changed every so often but sepending on rainfall is where your guess is. If you can, build a bog of some sort for which the run off can go when you are overfilling to washout....
 
The water in my pond evaporates regularly, and the plants also soak it up, so I never have to do partial water changes. I just add more water to it each week or so, along with a de-chlorinator.
 
That might be a mistake. The water that evaporates causes the remaining water to have a higher concentration of whatever is in the water. Adding water will never remove the unwanted "stuff". Yes, it is easier to just top off the pond with 2-3" of water but it is also good to occassionally remove another 4-5" and then add in new water.
 
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thanks for the replies everyone, I had thought at first top offs would work but then also thought about my saltwater tank and we do changes on them to take out bad matter so I thought, hey I probably need to do this to the pond also.
another quick question, for the water changes do I need to use dechlorinator or will it work just letting the water set in a clean container for 24 hrs or longer?
 
That depends on whether your water treatment plant uses chlorine or chloramine. I would just use a dechlorinator to be safe. You don't need to change the water in the pond nearly as frequently as in a tank, so it's not a big expense, and the more thorough dechlorinators (such as Prime) have the added benefit of neutralizing heavy metals and other toxins.
 
I do pwcs every couple months. Removing 800 gallons of water during changes isn't that bad with a good sump pump. :grinyes:
 
I just top mine off. It loses about 2 inches a day in our West Texas heat. I fill it directly from the water hose. I have well water and have never treated the pond water. I let it age initially for about 2 months before adding fish and snails but after that it is just the daily top off. No filtration if any kind, just plants. Lily, Hornwort, Salvinia, Frogbit, and Duckweed. I do run it over a little sometimes and the heavy rains we have been getting has run them over as well. I have guppies and comets in mine. I did have a few Rosey Red Minnows but I got bad stock and they all died. I really like the Rosey Reds and plan on getting more as soon as I can find a decent place to get them.
 
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