What Every Pond Keeper Ought To Know Before Emptying Their Fish Pond
Pond Filter Media Selection Affects Ammonia Conversion Rate
From time to time you will need to carry out routine maintenance work on your pond, whether it is a preformed pond, liner pond or concrete Koi pond. You may have a leak or a crack for example which necessitates emptying the pond and finding a temporary home for its inhabitants ... For other interesting articles relating to backyard fish ponds click the link ...
This can be quite a traumatic event for all concerned, especially for Koi, goldfish and other pond inhabitants. You will of course need to find a temporary home for them. You may have another pond or have a friend with a pond that is willing to let you place your fish there for the time being. If this is the case then please be aware that the larger the fish load, the larger the possibility of ammonia problems arising. Increased fish loads place more stress on the biological pond filter as it needs to cope with the increased levels of ammonia. This is assuming that you intend to place the fish in a pond environment with a biofilter in place.
What Do I Need To Consider Before I Empty My Fish Pond?
The following steps will significantly reduce the amount of stress placed upon your pond fish and will make for a smoother transition
Stop feeding the fish about a week before you intend to empty the fish pond.
Hire or buy a children’s vinyl swimming. Go for the largest size you can get your hands on.
Clean out the pond; ensure that you do this with pond water and not municipal water; municipal water contains chlorine, which is bad for fish and nitrifying bacteria.
Arrange to buy, borrow or hire the largest air pump that you can; preferably one with which includes air stones.
On the day the necessary deed needs to be carried out you will need to pump water from the damaged pond into the temporary pool. Also ensure that you start pumping oxygenated air into the temporary pool.
Please ensure that you do not over fill the temporary home as stressed pond fish have a habit of trying to leap out of the pond altogether.
If you intend to leave the Koi and goldfish in their temporary home for a while then it is critical that you carry out partial water changes, daily. It is better to replace the pond water twice a day, with a 25% change each time.
Remember there is no biofilter and the levels of poisonous ammonia and nitrites will build up. This is why you stopped feeding to minimize chances of toxic build up.
Be vigilant and keep a careful eye on the fish. If you see any unusual behavior then make sure that you change a portion of the water straight away. Double check the air pump to make sure that it is working properly.
People with serious koi collections may well decide to have an ammonia removing product available, as a precaution.
On refilling the main pond it would be a good idea to add a chlorine removing agent to the fresh tap water and in any case rather spray the water into the pond as this will help the chlorine to evaporate.
Take care when refilling the pond to measure your pond volume.
