Water Change

[Seefdro Tvneik]

With the upcoming spring I will need to change my water frequently. This is the first spring with my new pond which holds much more water. I plan on changing 15-25% of my water every 4 to 5 days in the spring until my filter can balance itself. My question is..... Will over the counter cholrine remover be effective in removing around 1000 gallons of water per change. I know the skin membrane of the koi is senstive in spring and do not want to irritate the skin. Any thoughts???

[xiaohuang7]

ST,

I'm no expert but any answer would depend on the number/size of fish you have in that 5000 gals. I'm thinking water temp in spring in Michigan is not very warm, so not that much feeding as well. Therefore if your fish load is light to reasonable then I think 25% is too much. You might want to think about bacteria seeding products, there are some available retail, which may help you thru the startup cycle faster.

I use Ultimate at the moment, but it's kinda expensive, so I'm looking into just photochemical grade 'sodium thyophosphate' (I think it's called that, and I'm sure it not spelled like that!).

John

[kdmatrix]

Sodium Thiosulfate is much cheaper way to dechlorinate the tap water.

[dinh]

Quote: Originally Posted by kdmatrix Sodium Thiosulfate is much cheaper way to dechlorinate the tap water.

yup - I have been used Sodium Thiosulfate for the last 7 years and so far so good for me....

[MikeM]

Seefdro:

If your water has no chloramine, then using ST should be fine. You might try acquiring the dry form in bulk to lower your overall cost long term.

Before commencing such large water changes, check temperature, pH and hardness of the pond water and compare to temperature, pH and hardness of the source water. If they are closely alike, I see no problem in commencing large water changes. If they are quite different, then start with a 10% water change and build up the volume being changed as the pond and source water become more alike. If over the winter the pond has gone below pH 7.0, while your source water is above 7.0, a 5% water change may be advisable the first time since the addition of mineral content could cause a sudden pH shift.

[marco]

Hi Kdmatrix and Dinh, could you explain in detail how to use Sodium thiosulfate.
Thanks

[dcny]

Quote: Originally Posted by marco Hi Kdmatrix and Dinh, could you explain in detail how to use Sodium thiosulfate. Thanks

The Central NY Koi and Watergarden Society has a ST calculator as well as some other good info - http://www.cnykoi.com/calculators/calcstdose.asp

The nice thing about ST is that you can't really overdose.

-Dan

[KoiCop]

Quote: Originally Posted by dcny The nice thing about ST is that you can't really overdose. Dan

that's a very good point. ST is both cheap and safe -- and you can't say that about too many ponding chemicals.

FWIW, I showed that calculator to Dr. Roddy Conrad, who responded that it was recommending 2X the amount of ST required.

Roark also has an ST calculator, but one has to register at his site to access his tools.

[sharpey999]

Is it just me or does anyone else believe that " if it aint broke, don't fix it"

If you water parameters are fine why would you want to water change? As for filter start up can anyone recomend a brand they have used to get things going early spring.

Bearing in mind that UK temperatures are at 5-6 degrees at the moment and wont reach 20's till late summer so might affect the effectivness of certain products

Thanks

[mitten]

Mr. Sharpey-

If it ain't broke, don't break it. If it's bent, get it straightened out. Now, if it is water that has been housing fish without filtration for months because the temperature is below freezing, then as things begin to warm up and our fish begin to start moving again, well, change the water.

There is a temperature window of water in the 40's and low 50's where the metabolism within my pond is more toxic than beneficial. I see water changing as almost the only fish health tool available. My well water is 52F, which is ??C, so at about 45F pond temps I can start changing small amounts of water. Because I have an overflow, all I really do is add water, creating overflow to expel the oldest bottom water. Also at about 45F, I'll be able to start the skimmer to waterfall circuit with about 1200gph flow because my pond will still be covered. By the time the pond water is at 50F I will be adding/changing 5-10% a day and will do this until filtration kicks in in about a month, no seeding needed.

The cover will come off when night time temps are reliably above 40F which for us up north can be JUNE, well mid to late April really.

Interesting thing MikeM brought up about the PH. Water here is jackhammer hard and PH has never in any pond or tank or aquarium tested anything other than 8.2. Maybe checking the 37F water right now will give me something lower? Cool.

Stevedore Sputnik-

I don't have to deal with chlorine or chloramines, but I think that if I did I would use a reservoir tank. The filled tank could be treated for the known gallonage, could be aerated, could be temperature acclimated, and then cold be drained into the pond to refill or to overflow. Also, my limited knowledge is that Chloramx powder is cheap enough, and will address more than just the chlorine, say if there were chloramines in your water or if there were ammonia or nitrite build up as your filter comes online.

Mickey the windowman