Hi! We have an unusual aquarium

[Bennyisafish]

Hi! We moved to a new house that had a 400 gallon hot tub that no longer worked. We turned it into a large pond and it seemes that no one else we know has ever done this. But obviously don't know what we are doing cause the fish keep dying. We have a water pump and a filter and have put in plants underwater. We also put in the water treatment and bacteria stuff. Some of the fish have been fine--but we have lost about one fish per day for the last 2 weeks. They are all goldfish but mainly the silver ones have been dying. Is it normal for them to die this often? What size water pump and filter does this size aquarium need--and do you sell them? Thanks for any help you can give. TJ-- killpepper@sweetwaterhsa.com

[Billythefish]

your tub/pond needs to cycle for atleast 4 weeks befor you add fish... the water in your pond.... have you tryed testing the water with a test kit?, i dont think anyone sell filters here

[smaug]

Do you have testing supplies,good kits not dip strips.? A 400 gal pond,whewee!Have you kept fish before?If so what type and what is your experiance level.
We need

PH not real imprortant for pond fish
nitrates
nitrites
ammonia
water temp
how big is your pump and filter what type plants [not real important]
Are they koi you put in there or just std goldys.
Did you cycle this pond?Yes ponds need cycled.

[country_boy454]

Firstly, welcome to the forum! Secondly, did you cycle it? I suggest reading the Free Aquarium Book found in the left hand column under menu. Also, what size filter are you using and what bacteria stuff did you use?

[LosC]

Get some established filter media from a friend and put it in your filter.

[cocoa_pleco]

how long has it been set up? sounds like it wasnt cycled

[Bennyisafish]

Thanks Billy and Smaug for your responses. I guess we don't know much as the first question is about cycle--ing the pond--what is that. I have been reading up about all this and not sure what you both mean. The pond --hot-tub has been up-and running for over a month and some of the fish have lived the whole time. We had about 35 goldfish and now are down to about 24. The remaing fish seem to be lively and healthy. It seems that mostly the brown--silver goldfish have been dying and only the smaller ones. We siphoned off some of the water and dirty spots today.
Yes we have a standerd testing ph-kit and it says everything is ok.
I think the pump is only for a 60 gallon tank--but was told that this might be ok. The plants were sold to me as good for the pond and were sold by a pet-store owner. They seem to be thriving and healthy submerged in the water.
Water temp is fairly warm---it has been 85 degrees during daytime and getting down to 60 or so at night.
The fish are all goldfish.
Thanks again so much for the help--TJ

[Bennyisafish]

Thanks for your responses. I guess we don't know much as the first question is about cycle--ing the pond--what is that. I have been reading up about all this and not sure what you both mean. The pond --hot-tub has been up-and running for over a month and some of the fish have lived the whole time. We had about 35 goldfish and now are down to about 24. The remaing fish seem to be lively and healthy. It seems that mostly the brown--silver goldfish have been dying and only the smaller ones. We siphoned off some of the water and dirty spots today.
Yes we have a standerd testing ph-kit and it says everything is ok.
I think the pump is only for a 60 gallon tank--but was told that this might be ok. The plants were sold to me as good for the pond and were sold by a pet-store owner. They seem to be thriving and healthy submerged in the water.
Water temp is fairly warm---it has been 85 degrees during daytime and getting down to 60 or so at night.
The fish are all goldfish.
Thanks again so much for the help--TJ

[Mvjnz]

If the pond is 400 gal and the pump is for a 60 gal tank, then no, that is not ok. You need a filter which pumps at least 800 gal per hour.

pH might be fine, but fish produce ammonia when they breathe and poo, and the filter needs at least a month to build up the bacteria to process this toxin. These bacteria will turn ammonia into nitrite, which is also very toxic. You then get bacteria which turn nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is harmless in small amounts, and that's when your filter is cycled and can handle the toxins produced by the fish.

So having a test kit for pH only isn't enough, you need test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as well. Get the liquid test kits, not the strips.

[Bennyisafish]

Thanks mvjnz. We will look at pumps and filters for the 400 gallon situation we have and try to find the test stips you talked about. We live in a small town--so hopefully the only pet store in this county will have them. Wow-we never knew this was going to be this hard--. I wish we sould have found this site and forum earlier as you guys are the only ones who have been able to help us so far. Like I said before--a lot of the goldfish have survived--so maybe we can still save them and get everything right. Thanks again!! TJ

[Mvjnz]

No worries:)

When you do get a bigger filter, don't get rid of the old one just yet. Despite the old filter being too small, it will have built up some bacteria. So either run the old one as well as the new one for about a month OR take the sponge out of the old filter and rub it on the sponge in the new filter, to transfer bacteria to it.

Another way to keep toxins down is to do frequent waterchanges, but I guess that's easier said that done in a pond this size...

[Lady Hobbs]

Temps are pretty high for goldfish, too. About 10 degrees too high, in fact. Is the hot tub sitting in a sunny location? It is summer time and with the sun beating on that water.........?

[Billythefish]

Thanks Billy and Smaug for your responses. I guess we don't know much as the first question is about cycle--ing the pond--what is that. I have been reading up about all this and not sure what you both mean. The pond --hot-tub has been up-and running for over a month and some of the fish have lived the whole time. We had about 35 goldfish and now are down to about 24. The remaing fish seem to be lively and healthy. It seems that mostly the brown--silver goldfish have been dying and only the smaller ones. We siphoned off some of the water and dirty spots today.
Yes we have a standerd testing ph-kit and it says everything is ok.
I think the pump is only for a 60 gallon tank--but was told that this might be ok. The plants were sold to me as good for the pond and were sold by a pet-store owner. They seem to be thriving and healthy submerged in the water.
Water temp is fairly warm---it has been 85 degrees during daytime and getting down to 60 or so at night.
The fish are all goldfish.
Thanks again so much for the help--TJi think this link will help you to understand how to cycle your pond http://www.pondkoi.com/cycle.htm and i think your filter isn't going to do the job on its own.. i think you would also need a good uv steriizer to help control algae parasites & bacterial disieses. i hope this helps

[Billythefish]

hay whats with the two threads on the same thing? lol ive posted in your other one:thumb:

[Lady Hobbs]

Two threads and both in the wrong forums. I have merged them both together and put them in the Goldfish forum.

[Billythefish]

Two threads and both in the wrong forums. I have merged them both together and put them in the Goldfish forum.magic hobbs thanks:19: