Can I Fishless Cycle a Pond?

[Bettafanatic]

Whenever someone asks how to cycle a pond everyone tells them to do a fish-in cycle, but if I put a lot of raw shrimp into a mesh bag and let it rot at the bottom can I do a fishless cycle? Would that work?

 

[Elmo1287]

Just throw a catfish in their or a lake caught fish bream or something like that

 

[Bettafanatic]

That'd be hard for me to do because the only body of water nearby has hardly any fish, only really tiny minnows. And I don't feel like doing water changes every other day to keep anything alive because it's October and the water's getting chilly. And also usually fish-in cycles take about 8 weeks and my pond is bound to be frozen sooner than that so I need something fast. Is a fishless cycle possible?

 

[Elmo1287]

I really don't know we had a coy fish pond outside and just put in goldfish the day we filled it up

and that's all we did that was in July and nothing died or anything it really don't have piranha lol but catfish goldfish and cleaner fish from Wal mart

 

[Bettafanatic]

I'd also prefer not to add any fish that won't be permanent to the pond because my pond is huge, 20x8 and 3 ft deep, so catching them would be impossible. Please just answer my question can I fishless cycle or not?

 

[Bbarb27]

The first time I ever tried a fishless cycle, I couldn't find any pure ammonia without additives. So I bought a container of ammonium chloride from an online pond store. It was sold as food for nitrifying bacteria to help cycle ponds, so I'm assuming a fishless cycle is possible in a pond.

I think you could cycle a pond with pure ammonia, or buy ammonium chloride in bulk to feed the bacteria.

Disclaimer: I've never had a pond, so this might be bad advice!

 

[Bettafanatic]

That sounds pretty good. I might be able to get some cycled filter media from another pond, but that'd be a good backup. Thanks! Do you have the link?

 

[Bbarb27]

That sounds pretty good. I might be able to get some cycled filter media from another pond, but that'd be a good backup. Thanks! Do you have the link?

Here's the link to what I purchased:

Aquatic Eco-Systems: Koi - ProLine® Ammonium Chloride

In case the link doesn't work, the product is Proline Water Conditioner from www.aquaticeco.com. It's pure ammonium chloride and I've used it to successfully cycle many tanks, but not a pond. They have directions on the bottle for how to measure and cycle a pond.

Good luck!

P.S. They also sell "bacteria in a bottle" for seeding ponds at the same site. I've never tried those products myself, as I've had access to seeded media when cycling, so I don't know if they actually work or not.

 

[jetajockey]

Just put fish in it. Most don't fishless cycle a large pond because it's completely unnecessary, even more so than in a house tank because of the massive water volume.

 

[Bettafanatic]

I don't wanna get fish yet because it's october so it wouldn't finish cycling in time for the icing over and the koi wouldn't have enough time to get adjusted. But I might be able to get some old filter media, but if not I'd prefer fishless.

 

[jetajockey]

Nitrifying bacteria slows down as the temp drops, and completely stops at 39 degrees (and consequently dies below 32). Not to mention the water volume is so massive that the fish will not likely ever get it to a remotely toxic level.

I'm not sure what you mean by the 'koi won't have time to get adjusted'?

 

[Bettafanatic]

Wait hold on. If nitrifying bacteria dies below 32 degrees will I have to re-cycle my pond every spring?

 

[Bettafanatic]

Okay sorry I know I'm being a pain. So what do you propose I do if I can't get the cycled media? In spring should I just slowly add koi to give the bacteria time to grow, or add some wait for it to cycle and then keep stocking?

 

[jetajockey]

No, the change is gradual enough that the bacteria will compensate on it's own. People report that as the temp gets near or below freezing, ammonia levels rise dramatically, but it's not really an issue because the ammonia is less toxic/non toxic at low temps/low ph levels.

It's the same concept with fish-in cycling a tank as it is with a pond, a small amount of fish relative to the water volume means that the setup will cycle itself, no massive water changes, no fish being hurt, none of that happens if there is enough water volume and care taken.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Okay. So in spring I'll add some koi, wait for the pond to fully cycle, and then start adding the rest of them. And thank heavens I won't have to re-cycle again that scared me lol.