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I moved into a house that has a small fish pond. It is so dirty and I want to clean it out but I know nothing about fish ponds nor fish. I found 4 goldfish in the pond they look about 5 inches. Do I take the fish out and put them in a bucket while I clean the little pond? Do I use tap water in the bucket and in the water to replace the old water? I don't want the fish to die but they will I would think if I can't get the water changed.


Congratulations on joining the wonderful world of water gardening.

Before you start, if you are serious about continuing to maintain your pond, you will need to obtain some important stuff.

First, contact the previous owners of the property, and ask them for as much information about the construction, maintenance and day-to-day running of the pond as they are able to give you. Details of the dimensions, gallonage, bottom type (liner vs. clay) are vital. Filter design and maintenance, pump flow specs, and air supplement are also good to know. The location of the pond supply place they used would be good, too. Ask them about local watergardening clubs.

Next, get to that local pond supply place and buy a good test kit, with ammonia (salicylate method!), pH, salt, alkalinity, nitrite, chlorine/chloramine kits and an accurate thermometer. Get a jug of Amquel there too. Pick up a couple of bags of Solar Salt (for water softeners) at the local hardware. Make sure it has no additives and is natural crystal. Have a big box of Arm & Hammer bicarb available, too.

Now, go back to the website, and read through all the FAQs and articles.

Your fish can be temporarily housed in a 50-100 gallon tub (bought for cheap at Farm and Fleet. They sell 'em as horse troughs.) Fill the tub with pond water, net your fish and put them in with an airstone running. Cover the tub with a tarp or leaf netting to keep the fish in.

Pump out the pond, and then wash down the sides and bottom of the pond with your garden hose, sumping out the dirty water as you go. Do not bother to scrub, and do *not* use a pressure washer, which will damage the liner. If there are potted plants in the pond, move them to a kiddie pool with pond water in it. Rooted plants will just have to take their chances.

Once the pond looks fairly clean, and the water running out from between and behind the edging rocks largely clears, refill the pond with tap water. If you are really sneaky, you will have borrowed or rented a water meter, and will measure the actual volume of the pond system as you refill it. Test the water for chlorine and chloramine, and treat the new water with Amquel to remove chlorine and bound ammonia (chloramine). From this point on, it is important that you have the *salicylate method* ammonia kit, since the more common Nessler reagent kit will give false and confusing readings in the presence of Amquel.

Add about one pound of salt per 100 gallons of water to the pond to prevent nitrite toxicity as your biofiltration kicks in, wait until it is fully dissolved, and then reintroduce the fish.

If the pond is filtered and has a pumped stream or waterfall, these should be run continuously. They are your pond's sanitation system and its source of oxygen.

Finally, find and join a local watergardening club and attend the meetings. Ask questions and enjoy. Ponders are *nice* people!


Bob Passovoy
President
MPKS


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