|
Setting up Fish Tanks
Fish, like all other animals have to breath. Displaced fish
need a large surface area with shallow water. A child’s wading pool,
with its large surface, is one of the best holding tanks. Trashcans, as
another example, are not good holding tanks. They provide a large
volume of water, but only a small surface area. Without enough surface
area, your fish can literally die or become severely stressed in an
improper holding tank.
Allow one-square foot of surface area for each 5-inches of
fish in the holding tank Fish are measured from their mouth to the end
of their caudal fin (tail fin).
Shade is another important consideration. Your fish should be
kept cool at all times. Good areas to set up a temporary pond are under
a tree, 0r in a garage or patio.
Depending on the temperature and water quality, the fish
should not remain in the temporary pond any longer than one to two
hours. If the fish begin gapping, they must be returned to the pond, or
immediately aerate the temporary pond with a pump.
If your pond cleaning and/ or repairing will take longer than
two hours, your bathtub may be used as a fish tank. Empty and refresh
25 percent of the water twice a day using QUICKSTART as your
chloramines remover. Fish may be fed while they are housed in the
bathtub.
Fill the temporary holding tank with about six-to-eight inches
of water taken from the middle of the pond. In order to fill the
holding tank, you may need to set the pump on a bucket or lily pot. The
fish holding tank should be filled no sooner than 30 minutes before
removing the fish. Old water tends to lose oxygen.
Treat the temporary holding tank with Van Ness Quickstart (if
needed), Fish Salt, and Fish Stabilizer according to directions.
If you have an extra pump, set it in the tank with the outlet
head 2-inches below the water surface area. Using a pump will create a
mulching effect and fill the water with oxygen to help the fish
breathe. Make certain the pump has a strainer so the fish won’t get
stuck in the inlet.
Drain Pond to 2-inches
Drain the pond to 2-inches of water. If your pond is large,
you may want to place wet papers, cloths or large plastic garbage bags
over the plants to prevent sunburn. Wet them down occasionally to keep
healthy. The frequency of wetting down will depend on the temperature:
the hotter it is, the more you will cool them off. This is not the time
to remove old or excess foliage.
Fill a 5-gallon bucket with clean pond water and place it in a
shady spot for use when removing the fish. Fill the 1-gallon bucket
with pond water for rinsing your snails later.
Removing Fish
Do not get in the pond unless absolutely necessary. If it
should become necessary to get into the pond, wear water boots or old
tennis shoes to prevent slipping.
With the pond at 2-inches of water, begin catching the fish
with your net, taking care not to injure them. When you spot a fish,
place the front of the net on the bottom, holding it at a 45-degree
angle. With your other hand, reach under the fish and carefully shove
the fish into the net, making sure not to scrape the fish on the pond
bottom.
Place the fish into the 5-gallon bucket you filled earlier and
transport to the holding tank. Use calm, easy movements and keep you
voice low. Loud noises and hurried movements will frighten the fish
into injuring themselves. Don’t delay at this point, and don’t concern
yourself about the snails.
Watch the fish, making sure they don’t start gapping for air
at the top of the holding tank. If they begin gapping, periodically
mulch the water with your hands. Time is now critical for fish health.
Removing Plants
After your fish have been removed from the pond, begin
removing all plants that are to be replanted to an area near the pond
(cover so they retain moisture); otherwise leave them in the pond,
working around them and making sure they are covered and moist at all
times. Don’t attempt to move the plants any great distance since they
are saturated with water and may be heavy. Overgrown plants should be
cut into easy-to-handle sections. If possible, two people should lift
the plants out. One suggestion for removing the plants is to use a 2 x
8 plank to slide the pots up and out. Cover the plants remaining in the
pond with trash bags to prevent transpiration.
Based on each plant’s survival time outside of the pond,
remove the plants in the following order: 1) bog plants, 2) water
lilies, 3) small flowering ornamentals (place in a 32- gallon trash bag
for holding if the plants remain out of the pond for any length of time
And 4) oxygenating grasses (collect all you can and keep them wet while
they are outside the pond).
Rinsing the Pond
With a broom and shovel, sweep and scoop the water and mud out
of the pond. Don’t haul the dirt away now. Not only will it be messy,
but also time is of the essence and it will be easier to handle when
dry. Place the dirt and water in a flowerbed or on the lawn. Nutrients
from the dirt and water will help your plants, and the salts are not a
problem.
When most of the dirt and water are removed, take a
high-pressure nozzle and spray down the sides and/or waterfall, and
clean any water lines to the waterfall or fountain. Do not remove or
damage the slime on the sides of your pond. The high-pressure nozzle
will simply remove excess algae. Keep the slime moist during the pond
cleaning. If you have hair algae that weren’t removed by the spraying
nozzle, use a stiff broom or a new, clean toilet brush to brush it off.
Don’t remove all this algae: the fish will eat the residue pieces.
Rinse the pond again, leaving some of the bottom waste. The
hard waste left on the bottom will help re-establish a new biological
waste center. Once the pond is rinsed, begin filling with fresh water
immediately. Put in the pond setup chemicals, following the setup chart
shown above and thoroughly mix all chemicals. Be sure to use a
chloramines reducer Quickstart.
If you remove any leaves from the plants, look for a clear
jelly of snail eggs. To save these eggs, float the leaves in the newly
treated water until the eggs hatch.
Snails
Begin collecting all the snails you can find from the waste
you have removed from the pond. Using a net, rinse them lightly in the
1-gallon bucket of pond water. (Fresh water may have chloramines that
will kill snails.) Return the snails to the pond in a corner you are
not likely to step in. These snails will live for about 10 days, during
which time they will lay eggs, and from these eggs will come a new
group of snails. Don’t trim new plants in your clean pond for at least
a month, since they may shelter snail eggs.
Returning the fish to the Pond
After the pond has been re-filled, begin floating the fish
back into the pond. Fish can be floated back in buckets, plastic bags
or trashcans. Float for 20 minutes after the pond is full. This
floating process will help equalize the water temperature so as not to
shock the fish. For that reason, metal buckets or trashcans are
preferable over plastic. However, if you do not have metal, use plastic
rather than hold up the process of getting the fish back into the pond.
Break Time
While your fish are acclimating to the pond, it’s a good time
to take a 10 to 30 minute break. Your fish are safe and the plants will
hold.
Replanting and Re-fertilizing
Based on each plant’s survival time outside the pond, return
plants to the pond in the following order:
|
OXYGENATING GRASSES - Grasses must be kept wet at all
times and replanted with new dirt. Rinse the grasses lightly,
separating into the number of grass pots needed for your pond, using
10—15 strands 8-inches long per pot. Use one pot per 100 gallons of
water. Repot with new soil unless the plants have good roots. Return
these plants to the pond.
Remember the following two important points returning your grasses to
the pond:
- If your pond becomes so green that you can’t see the
grasses, the algae will choke them out. If necessary, raise the pots to
within 6” of the pond surface (under the water, not out).
- Your fish may begin eating the grasses before they
have a chance to get established. Section off the grasses temporarily
with chicken wire or construct wire domes for the pots. Don’t feed the
fish; they’ll get sufficient food from the algae.
|
|
SMALL FLOWERING ORNAMENTALS - If these plants are well
rooted, just trim extra foliage and place in pond. Replant if the plant
is outgrowing the pot.
|
|
WATER LILIES - Inspect your lilies before returning them
to the pond. A 3-year old water lily will out-bloom a new plant.
Flowers are the plants’ means of survival. When a plant is root bound,
it will start to flower.
Don’t devastate your pond. Most of your plants can be
re-established with a little dirt and fertilizer. Replant at least 10
percent of the pots, but no more than 50 percent.
The crown of the water lily may be found where the
leaves extend from the root. If the plant has no soil or crowns left,
then replant because the trace elements are gone. If the plant still
has a couple of crowns, tap the plant out of the pot and cut 3” to 4”
of soil off the bottom. Place the proper amount of fertilizer on the
bottom of the pot before replanting the lily, and then pack some soil
around the roots. Cover the crown with ¼” layer of soil and
place the pot in the pond. If the plant has more than three crowns,
trim off the others and the remaining three will concentrate on
blooming.
|
|
BOG PLANTS - Take your shovel and cut a section 0f the
bog equal to 1/3 of its pot. Place fertilizer on the bottom of the pot,
put a chunk of the bog in the center, and pack the soil around it. Trim
the foliage to 6-inches from the top of the pot and return the plant to
the pond.
|
Cleaning the Area around the pond
Wash all the mud off the cement to prevent staining. If you
leave the dirt and plant material on the lawn for about a week, it will
be dry enough for easy removal. This material is excellent for gardens
or planters when mixed half and half with soil.
Removing Stains
Stains can usually be removed from cement areas by using a
light solution of Clorox and water about 2%. Be careful of your
clothes, and be sure the Clorox doesn’t get in the pond. Any stains on
your hands can also be removed by using a light solution of Clorox and
water, then rinse thoroughly. Don’t use Clorox on wood or paint, or
other products that will stain or burn plants.
Following Through
All of your pond cleaning could very well be wasted if you
don’t follow up with your pond setup chemicals. The control of algae
while your plants reestablish themselves is most important.
|