pond

[maine]

I have recently put an old bath into the ground and decorated around with rocks. I have in it 5 goldfish, 1 oxygenating plant and a pump which pumps the water up and over the rocks creating a small waterfall. I would like to know how often and what percentage should I change the water as I cannot afford a filter at the moment.

 

[WILDER]

Do you have gravel in the bottom, how many gallons is that, buy a test kit in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,that should give you an idea.

 

[maine]

I think the pond works out to about 78 US gallons and no I don't have gravel in the bottom it is just the pond liner.

 

[WILDER]

How will you get a bacteria colony going with no gravel and no filteration system.

 

[maine]

I hope I am not being a dumb blonde here, but I thought that the bacteria would probably grow in the soil and gravel that the plant is potted in.

 

[WILDER]

See what others think, but that might not be enough.

 

[DannyBoy17]

We've had a pond for 10 years now. We've had fish from the size of a quarter, grow to be 2ft+. We have no filtration, only what the natural plants can do. We also have a waterfall to keep things circulated.

 

[maine]

Do you do partial water changes at all?

 

[WILDER]

I would do partial water changes while you get a colony built up.

 

[bribones]

if you can add some gravel onto the waterfall ,as the water flows over the top an algae growth should build up and create a breeding ground for the bacteria,although i have a biofilter/uv combined i only ever top up my water when i get a little evaporation ,try and treat the pond naturaly ,ponds in the wild dont have water changes ,apart from the obvious reasons ie addatives in tap water theres no need to change the water in a pond if the fish are doing well,as stated get a test kit a 5in1 should do you fine and only change the water if the levels are high and if you can use rain water

if it aint broke dont try and fix it

 

[maine]

Bribones, what have you got in the bottom of your pond?