Cement In New Pond

[fireblade]

hi i have just built a new pond from bricks and mortar, its fitted with a pond liner i was just doing some finishing touches with the pond already filled when i dropped some mortar in the pond which sent the water cloudy will this affect anything or will my filter sort it out. my pond holds 3000 ltrs of water and my filter is good for 9000 ltrs.
also people are telling me not to feeds his fish in the winter, my friend feeds his koi with sweetcorn all the way through and they are piling weight on is this wrong to do.

regards fireblade

 

[mixmaster jay]

cement containes lime which is very harmfull to fish as it burns them get as much out as you can and leaveve it to filter through for a week or even better 2 and give it a good clean out the lime should of neutralized by then and then i would add the fish.

someone else maybe more helpfull but that is roughly what i would do mate

 

[saltynay]

The lime issue can be sorted out with carbon filtration it basically sends the ph skyrocketing which obviously isn't good I have heard people have neutralised it with acetic acid (vinegar) but personally I wouldn't reccomend it just do a lot of very large water changes to get yourself back to a more regular ph.

Goldfish and koi shouldn't be fed all year round as their metabolism slows when it becomes winter and when the pond freezes over they virtually hibernate at the bottom where its slightly warmer. With the slowing of their metabolism summer food can rot in their stomachs before they have digested it which obviously isn't a good thing. There are winter foods on the market usually containing wheatgerm which can be used at lower temps if memory serves 8+C which will get you through all but the times the pond freezes over. Personally I just leave them to fend for themselves until spring time and once the air temp i around 14-16C I start feeding them again.

 

[saph.st24]

hi fire blade
as saltynay has said do a few water changes say 10% everyday if possible till water clears and ph is stable or 20% every other day,
check the water perameters daily till your happy every things stable also dechlorinate the new water you dont want the chlorines and chloramines knocking the filters back as well.,

you can feed koi and goldfish on wheat germ all year round but the usual is from 18c (64.4f) down to a water temp of 10C (50F) below this stop feeding

does your friend feed just sweetcorn all year round or does he feed other foods? because sweetcorn does provide the fish with a source of roughage but has very little or no nutritional value on its own

 

[simonas]

I did the same after I added liuner cos I did a top course of block

Mine were alright although it can;t be good for them

any pics of your pond it sounds liek a raised one like mine

 

[fireblade]

well chaps thanks for the advice i took the plunge and compleatly empted the pond cleaned it out and refilled it. now its crytal clear. my friend only feeds his fish sweetcorn in the winter months about one tin a month. again thanks for your advice

regards fireblade

 

[saph.st24]

i take it you have no fish in the pond just yet

 

[fireblade]

no i only just built it. i was running the filters for about a week before it happened.

regards terry

 

[saph.st24]

hi fireblade

thats ok i thought you had fish in there

right your will be knocking back what little of the cycling you had done, get some filterboost/filtercyle bacteria for the filter this will give it a boost into cycling quicker