Preparing the Pond for Opening Day
A Workshop by
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Preparing the Pond for Opening Day A Workshop by |
This is your show and you are the Director! As the temperature rises for spring so does the curtain for your pond’s opening day. There are ways you can make it easier for your fish to wake up from their winter’s nap – carefree and healthy.
Looking Forward
In this workshop we will cover the "Danger Zone" and how it affects your pond. We will discuss ways to battle the bad elements that can kill your fish during this dangerous period and the timeline by temperature of when to do what. We’ll cover the common questions folks have about such things as cleaning the pond and feeding the fish.
Preparing the Pond for Opening Day is a workshop made available by
The Pond Doc’s Water Garden Center
located in Alpharetta, GeorgiaPhone (770) 663-6325 / Fax (770) 663-6326 / Website www.ponddoc.com
It is intended as a tool to help educate the consumer and is not designed as a means of promoting any company’s product or service.
The Pond Doc’s Water Garden Center holds the copyright to this material. We encourage the use of this workshop by any non-profit organization provided The Pond Doc’s Water Garden Center is credited as the source. We forbid the use of this material by any for-profit commercial business with the exception of its creator.
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The Danger Zone |
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As water temperatures begin to rise, the first to take advantage of the warmer waters are the "bad elements" of the pond. Cold-water parasites, such as Costia, become active and thrive at 50° while Flukes survive and, although slowly at this lower temperature, reproduce. This, combined with an increased survival rate of aeromonas, puts your fish in harm’s way.
Critical Temperatures
These are the changes that take place in your pond as the water temperature rises for spring:
40° No bios established. No bad elements to be concerned about.
48° Aeromonas bacteria (ulcer disease) begins to develop.
50° Danger Zone Begins…
Cold-water parasite "Costia" thrives!
Flukes begin to grow and reproduce (slower than in warmer temperatures).
52° Nitrobacter (the good bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites) is slowing growing.
60° Nitrosomonas (the good bacteria that converts nitrites to nitrates) begins to grow.
Fish’s immunity system wakes up but not fully developed.
62° Other parasites (such as trichodina, chilodinella and ich) thrive!
65° Danger Zone Ends…
Immunity system on fish is kicking in, still not 100%.
74° Past the danger zone
All good bacteria "bios" are fully active
Fish immunity system is fully developed
In Georgia our fish are subjected to the danger zone almost all winter long. Many folks worry that freezing temperatures are bad for our fish when, in reality, they are better than warmer temperatures if they are in the danger zone. Ideally if our pond’s water temperature would remain between 36° and 45° it would be perfect circumstances for fish dormancy. Georgia weather, however, will not permit it.
Although there’s nothing we can do to change the personality of our climate there are things we can do to make life a bit easier for the inhabitants of our ponds during this stressful time.
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Your Best Defense While You’re in The Danger Zone |
Bring the Water Temperature Up beyond 65°
The best thing to do in our circumstances is to bring the water temperature up (slowly) beyond 65° and keep it there. Placing heaters can be expensive and not practical for most our ponds because of size.
Thermal insulating bubble blankets used in the pool industry could be of help. They are designed so sunrays will heat the water quickly and retain a higher temperature during the cool nights. When sizing and cutting a solar blanket remember that some area must be left uncovered for escaping gases. Also, a solar blanket should not be used during the colder months of winter when the water is below 50° . You certainly wouldn’t want to bring the water temperature up into the danger zone!
We know of people who, in late spring on an every-other-day basis, completely empty their hot water heater system into their pond in an attempt to hasten the rise in temperature and shorten the time their fish are subjected to the danger zone.
Build up Your Bios
As soon as your pond water gets to 52° give the nitrifying bacteria (Nitrobacter & Nitrosomonas) every opportunity to grow. These good bacteria are the heroes of the pond. They convert ammonia to nitrites to nitrates and complete the eco-cycle needed for your fish’s health. Impurities and ammonia in the water will cause your fish stress (burning its gills, for example) and inhibit its ability to build up immunity. A stressed fish is a perfect target for the bad elements in the pond.
Crank up your bio-filtration. If you’ve had the pump shut off for the winter it’s time to turn it back on and make sure it’s routed through the bio-filter. If you don’t have a bio-filter – install one! Kick-start your bios by adding a commercially available bio-builder. Believe it or not – we have found one that works! This hastens the growth of these two essential bacteria. Add aeration to your bio-filter. Drop an airstone into the filter if the design of the filter allows it.
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Give Your Pond a Spring Cleaning |
Pick a pretty day and spend a couple of hours of quality time getting your pond off to a good start! Clean out all the old leaves and muck in the water that can cause ammonia and is detrimental to your fish’s immunity system. Fallen leaves and mulm are a haven for the promotion of parasites and bad bacteria. This debris provides every advantage for parasites and aeramonas to thrive. Before doing any treatments to the pond you should do your spring cleaning first.
The Best Way We’ve Found to Clean the Pond
Clean Your Bio-Filter
Backwash your bead filter. This is when the investment you made in a mechanical bead filter pays off!
Thoroughly clean your box bio-filter. If your bio-filter is a gravity-fed filter box you’ll want to give it a thorough cleaning. Take out all filter material and wash it with a hose. Vacuum the box or power wash. Do not use detergents. After nitrifying bacteria has established (at approx. 65° and up) do not clean bio pads with chlorinated tap water.
Perform a Salt Treatment
When the water temperature reaches 50° and after you give your pond a spring cleaning, treat your pond with non-iodized, mineral free salt. This can be purchased in 50 lb. bags. Salt kills 7 out of 10 of the common parasites found in ponds, including the dreaded cold-water parasite, Costia. (Remember, costia thrives at 50° !)
How to treat your pond with Salt:
Salt, if dosed fairly accurately, will not affect the fish adversely. An added benefit of salt is that it naturally causes the fish to create a heavier slime coat, therefore having more protection against parasites. As always, whenever you treat the pond, keep your eye out for any suspicious behavior.
Perform a PP Treatment
We recommend that you perform a PP Treatment if, after you have treated with Salt for 3 weeks, you see your fish flashing (rubbing themselves against the sides or bottom of the pond). This probably indicates the presence of flukes. Unfortunately salt does not get rid of the dreaded fluke, the parasite most often encountered in our ponds. If your fish are not flashing, don’t treat with potassium permanganate.
An added benefit of PP is that it kills deadly bacteria. Unfortunately, in doing so, it also kills your good nitrifying bacteria. Be sure to by-pass your bio-filter when performing this treatment.
WARNING – wear gloves when doing this treatment. PP stains your clothes and skin an ugly brown color.
Here’s how to treat your pond with Potassium Permanganate:
There’s 2 ways to deactivate the treatment.
2 treatments, spaced 4 days apart, are necessary at a water temperature of 70° or higher. 3 treatments, spaced 4 days apart, are necessary if under 70° .
Chemical Method(Use if this is your LAST treatment or in the case of
emergency)
Deactivate by using declor or Hydrogen Peroxide. Use declor as per bottle instructions for filling the whole pond. Use 1 pint of hydrogen peroxide per 1000 gallons.
Water Change Method (Use if you will doing follow-up treatments)
Water changes for a total of 70% of the pond volume prior to next treatment. Using a spray nozzle spray upward when refilling to allow the chlorine to evaporate before reaching pond. This is necessary because if a declor or hydrogen peroxide is used, it will deactivate the next treatment.
Watch for signs of stress in your fish!
If you see a fish gulping for air during the treatment, remove that fish and place in a holding tank until the treatment has been de-activated. (He may be a little weaker than the rest and not able to take the treatment. If several of your fish are gulping at the surface or where the water is returning to the pond either add more aeration or de-activate the treatment immediately. (It could be overdose or lack of enough aeration) If unsure, don’t chance it! De-activate.
There is a safer way to treat your pond for flukes…Fluke Tabs
by Aquarium Products are probably the best means to eradicate flukes. Unfortunately these are fairly expensive.The dose is 1 tablet per 10 gallons. When treating our ponds (for which I know the exact gallons) I drain the water level down to half full. Effectively I can treat the same amount of fish for ½ the cost. Discontinue feeding while you have the pond at ½ level.
2 treatments, spaced 4 days apart, are necessary at a water temperature of 70° or higher. 3 treatments, spaced 4 days apart, are necessary if under 70° . There have been questions to the effectiveness of fluke tabs in colder water. I have been assured by Aquarium Products that this product does work in temperatures of at least 50° or higher.
Treat Your Plants
Once you have treated the pond and diluted the water so it is virtually free of salt you may return your plants to your pond …. But wait! It’s still not safe. If you don’t treat them to kill off any of those bad elements you had present in the pond at the end of winter you will be simply returning them into your fresh, clean, treated pond water! Don’t think that because it is too early for any growth to be present that your plants wouldn’t be harboring any bacteria or parasites. That clump of dirt may be packed with them and they might be hanging onto the sides of the pot for dear life. While you have them out you might as well treat them.
Here’s how to do it:
Use Caution When Feeding Your Fish
Uneaten food and fish waste turns into ammonia and ammonia works against your fish’s total health. Remember that we need as many favorable elements as we can get through this time of unstable temperatures when your pond is going through the danger zone. The rule of thumb with deciding when to begin feeding your fish is when the pond water reaches (and remains at) 55°
On warm, sunny days – even in January! – the water temperature rises enough sometimes to spark a fish’s interest in eating. If he is hungry go ahead and feed him -- but follow these simple rules in doing so:
At 60° feed your fish antibiotic food to help booster his immunity system. Romet is good. There are also other foods, including homemade recipes, milled with such medications as oxolinic acid, kanamycin and ormetoprim sulfa that are extremely effective.
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