Can pond water be too clear?

[Endlersendlers]

Hello. My stock tank is made of galvanized steel. The galvanizing process includes the use of zinc. Zinc is great for plants, but very toxic for fish. So, I had to sand off the inside tank coating and reseal it with a nontoxic tank coating. This had to be done before I could fill it with treated water and a bacteria starter and introduce my Goldfish. Was wondering if the galvanized coating of your stock tank is affecting the tank water?

10 Tanks (Now 11)

The stock tank is Rubbermaid type stuff, not metal. As for the pond, it has a food grade (polypropylene?) liner so that shouldn’t be a problem either. Thanks for trying to help figure it out.

 

[seangee]

I wouldn't bother with changing pH. Extreme acidic range for tilapea is 3.5. Yes bacteria will slow down but at pH 6 your ammonia will actually be ammonium, which is not poisonous to fish. (of course clean water is always a good thing

 

[Endlersendlers]

I wouldn't bother with changing pH. Extreme acidic range for tilapea is 3.5. Yes bacteria will slow down but at pH 6 your ammonia will actually be ammonium, which is not poisonous to fish. (of course clean water is always a good thing

Wow, I didn’t know that about their tolerance for low pH. Another problem… the young tilapia (about 4”) are gulping at the surface every afternoon to early evening. Not in the morning and not after the sun goes down. The older ones don’t do this and stay d level or lower. The temp is 84.2 right now and some of them are still doing it (7:29 PM), pH currently 6.09. They got a 70% water change yesterday. I had over drained it by accident, flushed the garden hose first before adding to the pond, then treated the water about double the usual recommendation, still within the allowable amounts, just in case there is more chloramine than I thought. Then today my husband turned on the water and flooded them to overflowing water between the paver stones around the top so they got topped off maybe an extra 20%. There’s a waterfall at one end, 2 large pond stones for aeration. All this new fresh water so it shouldn’t be oxygen deprived and stagnant. Yet the little ones are still gulping at the surface!

I considered getting a dissolved oxygen meter but is there something obvious I’m missing? They are expensive and won’t it tell me the same thing, that they are gulping for oxygen because they’re not getting enough for some reason?

 

[Colin_T]

Fish can gasp at the surface if there is a low oxygen level or poison in the water.
Increase aeration/ surface turbulence and see how it goes.

Warm water holds less oxygen than cool water so if the temperature is going up during the day, that could reduce the oxygen in the water and cause the fish to gasp more.

 

[seangee]

Another problem… the young tilapia (about 4”) are gulping at the surface every afternoon to early evening. Not in the morning and not after the sun goes down. The older ones don’t do this and stay d level or lower.

DO you see this from the side of a tank or watching from a distance. Mine (koi and goldfish) do this whenever I go near the pond, but its because they hear me (or feel the footsteps) so they ar looking for food. Different when I watch them out of the window.

 

[Endlersendlers]

DO you see this from the side of a tank or watching from a distance. Mine (koi and goldfish) do this whenever I go near the pond, but its because they hear me (or feel the footsteps) so they ar looking for food. Different when I watch them out of the window.

That is an interesting point. I went out today and none were gasping at the top, I thought maybe because it had rained but then one, and another, and before I knew it we had a crowd. Hmmm. I’ll have to watch them on camera.

 

[Alice B]

That is an interesting point. I went out today and none were gasping at the top, I thought maybe because it had rained but then one, and another, and before I knew it we had a crowd. Hmmm. I’ll have to watch them on camera.

they are begging

 

[Endlersendlers]

they are begging

Here I was thinking science instead of psychology, the little buggers.

 

[Endlersendlers]

Here I was thinking science instead of psychology, the little buggers.

Oh, and when I used to feed the fry it was with the fine powder, so these little ones learned to skim the surface when I came out. That’s it! Alice, you’re a genius!

 

[Alice B]

Oh, and when I used to feed the fry it was with the fine powder, so these little ones learned to skim the surface when I came out. That’s it! Alice, you’re a genius!

My fish have me well trained.