Chris Wilson Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Anyone into keeping freshwater fish in ornamental or bigger ponds? I was wondering how you might go about testing the water in a year old man made pond, to see if it's viable to introduce freshwater fish. Is this a service anyone offers, and how much of a sample, taken form where, do you need? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl_S Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 fascinating question. I had the reverse problem, someone - my bro - put our gold fish into next door neigbours pond when I was a teenager. they died. I still havent forgiven him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tooquicktostop Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Our local fish supplier will test the water if you take a sample, I think most fish suppliers have this service, I keep tropical freshwater fish and when I have an issue I take some water and they test for quality, PH etc all for free You can buy DIY testing kits also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr lover Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Chuck a fish in and see if it lives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrickTT Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Depends on the fish, if they are expensive, then a pro pond test available at most aquatic shops is the way to go, if they are only cheap goldfish just bung 'em in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 You can buy over the counter test kits...et la http://www.petsparade.co.uk/koi-pond/test-kits-water-purifiers/?p=1949 You need to test for ph and ammonia levels. If the pond has been established for a year and has plants and other aquatic life that have naturally gravitated to it in the past year (frogs, essentially, is what I'm getting at) then it shouldn't be a problem. Concrete lined ponds can be tricky as the bare concrete can leach alkalines into the water, killing everything. You'll want a pump, filter and UV system as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONKEYmark Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 my father has a bigish pond about 14 foot long 7 foot wide and about 5 foot deep.got some really big japanese koi car they have even been breeding.great to see them when they feeding pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Ok, thanks everyone. I have taken a sample and will test it with one of the kits available, thanks for the info. I think there some fish living in it already, but can't be certain. If there aren't then a heron is wasting a great deal of his time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonlady Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 You can buy over the counter test kits...et la http://www.petsparade.co.uk/koi-pond/test-kits-water-purifiers/?p=1949 Concrete lined ponds can be tricky as the bare concrete can leach alkalines into the water, killing everything. You'll want a pump, filter and UV system as well. You can always buy a tin of G4 and paint the concrete. This is seal the concrete and prevent any problems. But yes the best approach is to but a test kit and test the water. There is also a product that you can buy called PH balance which can help balance new ponds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 It's man made, but dug directly into the land, and it's big, so no liners or whatever. It's too big to alter the PH I would think, short of spending a huge amount of money. It's part and parcel of a house we are thinking of buying to let, and we'd like to know if fish are viable in this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I'd love a house with a huge pond. We only have room for a 10-15k gallon liner type pond. Even small amounts of fresh cement/concrete can be fatal to fish, even if its just on a rockery nearby. From the sounds of it the pond you are looking at is quite well established which is a good thing. What type of fish are you planning on keeping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 So it's a lake? What stops it from all soaking away into the land? Just thick clay? Is it fed by a stream? Who is Kaiser Soze? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 If its been there for a year Chris, it should be fine, providing there are no run off problems directly from any cultivated farm land, just get a nitrate test kit, don't worry about PH, you won't be able to do anything about it in a natural pond, buy a few Orfe they will soon tell you if its OK or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Unless there is something nasty in the water, or it gets a lot of nitrates from farmers runoff then you should be ok. We have a pond with no filtration or any mod cons, and must have thousands of the little buggers in there. Heron's McDonalds. Cold freshwater are easy, just make sure it's deep enough so it doesn't freeze solid having said that I would not put you prize koi in there just yet! Goldfish in a hazmat suit for a few weeks first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian R Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I the pond has a waterfall of sorts watercress is a great natural filter aswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Haggas Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Ive got a 2000 gal pond with Koi and Goldfish etc.Basics are look after the water and the fish will look after themselves(to a degree).Basically you end up being a water-keeper as opposed to a fish-keeper! All the advise given so far is certainly good and correct. Last year over 40 frogs were at it,in my garden if you please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Well, it's not our pond, it's been built opposite us, without proper planning consent, and the guy who dug has had the mortgage lenders foreclsoe on him, so the house and land have come up for sale. We are tempted to try and buy it, so we have some control over what the pond is used for, and to rent the house and a small part of the land out, or fettle the house (it's very run down) and sell it without the lake and most of the land. As I am into wildlife I have visions of landscaping the pond and having some nice waterfowl on it, and some fish in it. It's amid agricultural land, with drainage ditches down 2 sides, so if there was a lot of nitrates (nitrites...?) around they may well contaminate the water, hence all the above. If the thing was some open cesspit (which I am pretty sure it's not), I'd rethink. The planning issues are resolvable, the planners saw their backsides as he just took zero notice of them, and went ahead with this huge project. They just need talking to nicely The adverts for the house have a photo taken just after it was finished, it looks a lot "nicer" now as the water levels risen and the land around it has had some landscaping and minor planting. The pic only shows about 1/4 of it, there are 2 more islands To dig it he had 75 thirty two ton truck movements of spoil every day for months off the site, and sold the sand and topsoil, but apparently didn't have a mineral extraction licence. which no doubt ruffled other feathers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian R Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Thats a lake not a pond LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanchan Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Thats a lake not a pond LOL If you can go for a pedalo round it, it ain't a pond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Hmm, my pal is urging me to dig deep, make a deal out of it, blah blah, and he's heavily into barefoot water skiing. I wonder if there's a connection... ? The main reason for getting involved is to try and STOP anything commercial happening. A couple of black swans I can put up with, powerboat racing, well, no thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanchan Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Hmm, my pal is urging me to dig deep, make a deal out of it, blah blah, and he's heavily into barefoot water skiing. I wonder if there's a connection... ? The main reason for getting involved is to try and STOP anything commercial happening. A couple of black swans I can put up with, powerboat racing, well, no thanks. I'd love to own a pond large enough to go wakeboarding on! A little out of my price range at the moment unfortunately though! The idea of some waterfowl is good. I've always liked Canadian Swans (which is a weird thing to say...!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 LARFFF!!!!! Size of that!!! Know wonder there's no liner. I wouldn't bother with a filter, UV clarifier, water pump etc. That ocean can look after itself. It's too big for ornamental fish like koi because you wouldn't see them to appreciate them or know when a heron's had them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colsoop Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 That is nice i always wanted some land like that so i could fill it with carp and fish all day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Haggas Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Hmm, my pal is urging me to dig deep, make a deal out of it, blah blah, and he's heavily into barefoot water skiing. I wonder if there's a connection... ? The main reason for getting involved is to try and STOP anything commercial happening. A couple of black swans I can put up with, powerboat racing, well, no thanks. Self,self,self Chris!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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