water problems

Please can you help, I have had a problem for about 6 weeks now. I have got
a small pond and I have had a lot of trouble with fish not surviving in the
water. I have had the water tested for the usual PH and nitrate problems all
coming back ok. I have emptied the pond scrubbed the liner and refilled.
This time I changed the water circulation so I have several fine jets of
water from my pump back into the pond to get more oxygen into the water.
This time I have not stocked the pond or put any plants into it I plan to do
this after a week or so. My problem is that after 2 days a layer of white
film has formed over the bottom of the pond all over the liner. I live in
north Kent and we have very hard water. I do not know what the film is or if
it is safe for fish. We have not sprayed or fed any plants I have talked to
southern water who are not interested because it is a pond and not domestic
water supply. Have you got any ideas?

"Andymcgoo" wrote in message
. ..
Please can you help, I have had a problem for about 6 weeks now. I have
got a small pond and I have had a lot of trouble with fish not surviving
in the water. I have had the water tested for the usual PH and nitrate
problems all coming back ok. I have emptied the pond scrubbed the liner
and refilled. This time I changed the water circulation so I have several
fine jets of water from my pump back into the pond to get more oxygen into
the water. This time I have not stocked the pond or put any plants into it
I plan to do this after a week or so. My problem is that after 2 days a
layer of white film has formed over the bottom of the pond all over the
liner. I live in north Kent and we have very hard water. I do not know
what the film is or if it is safe for fish. We have not sprayed or fed any
plants I have talked to southern water who are not interested because it
is a pond and not domestic water supply. Have you got any ideas?
====================
I don't like in the UK so can't say what the white stuff on your liner is.
There are so many things that can cause the death of fish. You didn't say
how large your pond is (in gallons for us here in the USA) or if it was
filtered or not when the fish died, how warm the water was on a sunny day...
etc etc etc.....

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McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
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"Andymcgoo" wrote in message
. ..
Please can you help, I have had a problem for about 6 weeks now. I have
got a small pond and I have had a lot of trouble with fish not surviving
in the water. I have had the water tested for the usual PH and nitrate
problems all coming back ok.

If it's a new pond, and you put fish (how many? what
kind? what size? etc etc) into it right away, it could
well be an ammonia problem. You didn't mention
testing for that.

I have emptied the pond scrubbed the liner and refilled.

Scrubbing the liner generally means killing any
useful algae that might have formed.

This time I changed the water circulation so I have several fine jets of
water from my pump back into the pond to get more oxygen into the water.

Maybe that's stressing the fish (already stressed
from (1) new situation, (2) likely high ammonia)?
You didn't mention how large your pond is.
For some, a "small" pond is about the same size
as a large hot tub. For others, a small pond is
about the size of half a whiskey barrel (or smaller).

This time I have not stocked the pond or put any plants into it I plan to
do this after a week or so. My problem is that after 2 days a layer of
white film has formed over the bottom of the pond all over the liner.

Could be bacterial bloom? I'm familiar with those
in aquariums; don't know if ponds get them, too.
You mention (below) very hard water. The "white
film" could maybe be a mineral deposit and unlikely
to be harmful. Although fish (whichever kind you
have) might not like too hard water.

I live in
north Kent and we have very hard water. I do not know what the film is or
if it is safe for fish. We have not sprayed or fed any plants I have
talked to southern water who are not interested because it is a pond and
not domestic water supply. Have you got any ideas?

I would definitely put the plants in first, let things
settle a bit, test for ammonia, add fish *gradually*.
Small fish, like really small goldfish or minnows,
if you can get them.

Gail
near San Antonio TX USA

"Andymcgoo" wrote in message
. ..
Please can you help, I have had a problem for about 6 weeks now. I have
got a small pond and I have had a lot of trouble with fish not surviving
in the water. I have had the water tested for the usual PH and nitrate
problems all coming back ok. I have emptied the pond scrubbed the liner
and refilled. This time I changed the water circulation so I have several
fine jets of water from my pump back into the pond to get more oxygen
into the water. This time I have not stocked the pond or put any plants
into it I plan to do this after a week or so. My problem is that after 2
days a layer of white film has formed over the bottom of the pond all
over the liner. I live in north Kent and we have very hard water. I do
not know what the film is or if it is safe for fish. We have not sprayed
or fed any plants I have talked to southern water who are not interested
because it is a pond and not domestic water supply. Have you got any
ideas?

Check the alkalinity and the general hardness of your water. It sounds
like you have a high mineral content in your water, and it is precipitating
out. You might also want to check the salinity just to be sure that the
water isn't too salty (assuming that you aren't using city water). As for
the fish dying, you need to tell us the volume of your pond, what kind of
filtration you have (if any), and provide us with the following parameters
(pH, GH, KH, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temperature). Since you appear
to have something precipitating out of your water, you should also do a
calcium test. Also, if you could describe the behavior of the dying fish,
and their general health (torn fins, sores, discoloration around gills,
mouth, etc.).

how old is the pond? I think all water problems sort themselves out in
time. If it's a new pond I suggest leaving it at least a month before
putting in plants and then another year before introducing fish. Maybe
that's a bit ott and people in this group laugh at me for it, but it works.
Ask your local chemist or the local water board about the white film


"Andymcgoo" wrote in message
. ..
Please can you help, I have had a problem for about 6 weeks now. I have
got a small pond and I have had a lot of trouble with fish not surviving
in the water. I have had the water tested for the usual PH and nitrate
problems all coming back ok. I have emptied the pond scrubbed the liner
and refilled. This time I changed the water circulation so I have several
fine jets of water from my pump back into the pond to get more oxygen into
the water. This time I have not stocked the pond or put any plants into it
I plan to do this after a week or so. My problem is that after 2 days a
layer of white film has formed over the bottom of the pond all over the
liner. I live in north Kent and we have very hard water. I do not know
what the film is or if it is safe for fish. We have not sprayed or fed any
plants I have talked to southern water who are not interested because it
is a pond and not domestic water supply. Have you got any ideas?

Andymcgoo wrote:
Please can you help, I have had a problem for about 6 weeks now. I have got
a small pond and I have had a lot of trouble with fish not surviving in the
water. I have had the water tested for the usual PH and nitrate problems all
coming back ok.

My problem is that after 2 days a layer of white
film has formed over the bottom of the pond all over the liner. I live in
north Kent and we have very hard water. I do not know what the film is or if
it is safe for fish.

Our water is also very hard and a white film forms on anythibg that
contacts it. However that doesn't seem to effect the health of the fish
at all. You don't mention if the water is treated or not, chlorine is
of course not good for fish. Is there any treatment for the hardness?
Before installing a water softener system, and taking the advice of
people in this group, I made sure there was a bypass valve so the
garden and fish pond could get untreated water.

Dave

http://members.tripod.com/~VideoDave/pool/pool.html

better still get some water butts so you can fill, or at least top up, with
rainwater. There's some stuff called Dechlor in the petshop if you have to
use tap, but let it stand as long as you can bear before stocking the pond


Our water is also very hard and a white film forms on anythibg that
contacts it. However that doesn't seem to effect the health of the fish
at all. You don't mention if the water is treated or not, chlorine is
of course not good for fish. Is there any treatment for the hardness?
Before installing a water softener system, and taking the advice of
people in this group, I made sure there was a bypass valve so the
garden and fish pond could get untreated water.

Dave

http://members.tripod.com/~VideoDave/pool/pool.html

Oxymel of Squill wrote:

If it's a new pond I suggest leaving it at least a month before
putting in plants and then another year before introducing fish. Maybe
that's a bit ott and people in this group laugh at me for it, but it works.

It does seem like overkill. A friend had offered me 3 good sized koi,
so 2 days after filing the pond, I introduce fish (the 10 cent each
feeder goldfish). Within a week they all had died. I introduced 5 more
feeders and when they were all doing fine in another week, I added the
koi. It has been close to a year now and the koi and those 5 goldfish
are all doing fine. So, your mileage will vary. I'm lucky to have a
well, so there are no chemicals in the drinking water and the PH is
just slightly on the basic side.

Dave

http://members.tripod.com/~Vid eoDave/pool/pool.html

wrote in message
oups.com...
Oxymel of Squill wrote:

If it's a new pond I suggest leaving it at least a month before
putting in plants and then another year before introducing fish. Maybe
that's a bit ott and people in this group laugh at me for it, but it
works.

It does seem like overkill. A friend had offered me 3 good sized koi,
so 2 days after filing the pond, I introduce fish (the 10 cent each
feeder goldfish). Within a week they all had died. I introduced 5 more
feeders and when they were all doing fine in another week, I added the
koi. It has been close to a year now and the koi and those 5 goldfish
are all doing fine. So, your mileage will vary. I'm lucky to have a
well, so there are no chemicals in the drinking water and the PH is
just slightly on the basic side.

Dave

http://members.tripod.com/~Vid eoDave/pool/pool.html

A rule of thumb with any new system, be it a pond or an aquarium is to wait
until the nitrogen cycle has run to completion before adding aquatic life.
That usually takes about 30-40 days (although some suggest waiting even
longer). Using that rule of thumb, one could predict that your first group
of feeder goldfish would die, since at 7 days ammonia levels are near peak
concentrations and nitrites begin to show up in the water (both of which
are highly toxic to fish and invertebrates). Another rule of thumb is that
after the nitrogen cycle has run to completion (that is, no ammonia or
nitrites, and a light load of nitrates), one introduces a very light load
of aquatic life to the system to allow the nitrogen fixing bacteria to
become well established, and to prevent a repeat of the cycle due to heavy,
and sudden nutrient loading. And thereafter, to introduce aquatic life in
small increments, and to add no more than the system can handle. Here is a
good article on the nitrogen cycle. I hope this helps. In fact, I think I
will post this as a FAQ on a new thread.

George wrote:

A rule of thumb with any new system, be it a pond or an aquarium is to wait
until the nitrogen cycle has run to completion before adding aquatic life.
That usually takes about 30-40 days (although some suggest waiting

I guess that I was just lucky introducing fish so quicklym but
somethinh you said confuses me. **wait until the nitrogen cycle has run
to completion before adding aquatic life**. I thought the nitrogen
cycle was due to the interaction of plants, bacteria and fish, so how
is there going to be any cycle before ading aquatic life? Unless, ypu
are using runoff from farm fields, I wouldm't expect to find
significant nitrogen anyway.I did test the water before starting and
not surprisingly found no trace of amonia, nitrates or nitrates. What
am I missing?

Dave

http://members.tripod.com/~VideoDave/pool/pool.html