Need advice with caring for my fish the right way

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mermaidlady123

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 9, 2014
Messages
15
Location
UK
Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well.

I entered Aquarium forum into my browser this evening in hope of finding somewhere where i can receive good advice on fish keeping. I am a complete newbie when it comes to fish keeping but i want to learn as much as I can. I recently bought a 55L pond, which I then filled up with water, went to our local fishery, and purchased 8 goldfish and some goldfish food. I then purchased plastic plants to place in and a few floating flowers and ducks for shade and decoration. I did research after this point (which i appreciate should have been done before, but I regrettably took advice from people i know, which was that goldfish do not need much caring for) and most of the information i found baffled me. I did however realise that the pond i had purchased only a week before, was not efficient enough in sizing to accommodate my fish. I then went out last week and purchased a 750L pond, and was advised by the staff that this will accommodate 12 full grown goldfish. I am waiting for assistance in digging this into the ground, but in the meantime i have purchased a solar panel pump (which does 150L per hour) and some other plants etc to go in the pond.

I have really enjoyed fish keeping and only want the best for my fish. If someone can put into a simplified format, exactly what i need and how to do it, it would be really appreciated (by me and my fish!).

I am currently having to clean my pond approximately every 3-4 days. When i first got my pond, i used to catch the fish and place them in a bowl whilst i drained all of the water and scrubbed the pond clean. However, after doing some research i began leaving the fish in to try and not stress them whilst pumping out most of the water to then put fresh in, although, i am not sure if this is right, and any information would be great.

Thank you in advance. :) :thanks:
 
Sounds like you are going down the right path - you don't want to scrub everything clean as bacteria beneficial to the nitrogen cycle will grow on the walls and decorations. Keep the water moving with your pump will be good, as it will keep things aerated and oxygenated. Once you have the larger pond in place, I would think you could go much longer between water changes.
 
Hi fort384, thank you for your reply and the information given. :) Sorry to bother you, but do you know if my pump that does 150L per hour be sufficient for my 750L pond? I bought this as only want a solar panel one so i do not have to use electric. There is however some solar panel pumps that i have come across which do around 1000L per hour but they are more expensive, but if they are the only thing that will work then i will invest. Also, do i only need a pump? Or do i need other things to go in my pond i.e filter? Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks in advance
 
Ideally a bit larger pump would be good as would a filter box. However I don't think either are imperative for success especially if you are willing to do water changes frequently.
 
Hi fort384, thank you for your reply again. What do you mean by filter box? Is that just a standard filter? Many thanks.
 
Yes. They make them for ponds. It provides surface area for good bacteria to grow and multiply and help with the nitrogen cycle.
 
I'd give it a try. Test for nitrites and ammonia and see how it goes. With water changes it'll work.
 
Thanks fort, it's arrived today in the post so will set it up (when i figure how to lol) and go from there. Yesterday i went out to the pond and all the water had gone cloudy, do you know how to combat that? Many thanks
 
Time. It's a bacterial bloom. It'll clear naturally in a few days to a week. It's very normal for new ponds/ tanks.

Unless by cloudy you mean it has a green tint (not milky). In that case it is algae.
 
Hi fort, should i still be doing water changes every 3 days (approx)? Or just let the cloudiness die down first? Many thanks..you've been very helpful! :)
 
I'd test ammonia and if it is over 1ppm the do a change. Otherwise you can let it run its course.
 
Hi fort, thanks for reply. I pumped some of the water into a bucket today to see what i am actually dealing with. it appears the water was very green, which i took a photo of (i can upload this if it will help). I then pumped most of the water out whilst the fish were still in and then refilled the pond with tap water. It looks a bit cloudy still but not as bad, i can see the fish now! :)

I didn't scrub the green sides of the pond nor did i clean my artificial plants inside that are going a bit green - should i have?

So if i am dealing with algae...how can i treat this? I remember reading that real water lillies help to combat that - do you know if it works?

As i think i've said before on here, i don't mind to refill the pond with it only being a 55L, but dont want to have to keep refilling a 750L.

Also the pump i got is in and working great! Not sure how the filter part is doing (does it just remove fish waste, not algae?) but the fountain is working great so i imagine that is putting a good supply of oxygen in?.

Please let me know your thoughts..sorry for all the questions! :)

Many thanks
 
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