Before Treating Your Pond

Important Information—
Please Read Before Treating Your Pond

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Oxygen Requirements For Fish

Assess your pond before using any water treatment - check levels of oxygen, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, General hardness etc. Many fish fatalities are due to lack of oxygen in the water. In all ponds, the biological filter and plants demand dissolved oxygen first and the fish survive on the residue. Therefore in most ponds supplementary aeration is vital to fish welfare. Any water treatment can lower dissolved oxygen levels and water conditions may decrease it still further. The factors below all affect pond water oxygen levels.

The higher the water temperature is the lower the level of dissolved oxygen present.

Oxygen levels, derived from photosynthesis rise during the day when sunlight shines on plants and green algae in the water.

Oxygen levels, drop at night because pond oxygenating plants and algae are not producing oxygen but fish and bacteria are still consuming it, therefore do not use pond treatments in the evening or early morning.

Muggy, overcast summer days often precipitate oxygen depletions. During cloudy weather, the intensity of light reaching surface waters is greatly diminished, resulting in a marked decrease in oxygen production from photosynthesis. Oxygen consumption, however, remains unchanged. This results in a net loss of oxygen over each 24-hour period.

The recent use of another pond product increases the risk of an oxygen deficit especially medical treatments and water de-chlorinators.

Fish species vary with the volume of dissolved oxygen they need for survival and fish such as large Koi have a much greater requirement. The larger the fish the more oxygen it needs.

A waterfall or fountain moves the water but fails to produce the minute air bubbles that provide oxygen. An air pump (sized for your water volume) which adds oxygen via air stones / diffusers is recommended for all ponds.

Test kits are available from aquatic outlets to test water parameters.

If despite precautions, fish rise to the surface and gasp—use a hosepipe to introduce oxygenated water temporarily while an air pump is immediately installed.

Water Changes--When To Make Them

After Winter In the Spring it is always wise to do a gradual partial water change of 20-40%, this is because during the winter months with cold weather a lot of the ponds natural bacteria will die, also as the water cools their rate of reproduction also slows. Therefore the water will have a heavier carbon loading than normal which is not good for aquatic life.

Before Using a Pond Treatment If you have used a different pond treatment in the last 6 months it is always wise to do a partial water change (10-20%) before using a new treatment. This is because different manufactures treatments have:

1. Different chemical formulas and they may not be compatible with the product you are about to use.
2. Some products, even so called natural biological products contain metals such as zinc, copper, aluminium etc. These metals will build-up over a period of time in your pond. They do not evaporate so you can only remove them via water changes.

Doing the Water Change Remember, do not change more than 20% every other day, this is to give fish time to acclimatise to the different water conditions.

Which Order to Use Hydra Products?

When treating your pond with multiple Hydra Aquatic products do not mix products but use the products in the following order:

1. Hydra Quartz
2. Hydra Crystal

Always leave at least 5 days between adding different treatments to ensure the previous treatment has been completely exhausted. If using the Quartz and Crystal in the same pond do a 10-20% water change after using the Hydra Quartz. In lakes because the volume buffering capacity is much greater there is no need to do water changes.

IMPORTANT! YOU MUST READ AND CAREFULLY FOLLOW THE PRODUCT INSTRUCTIONS ATTACHED TO YOU INVOICE!

For help estimating the volume of your pond, try our Pond Volume Calculator.