Oxygenating fish pond

blueglass

Want to get some sort of oxygenating system for my goldfish before the weather warms up too much but am confused about what to buy (don't know if I need an oxygenator, an aerator, a fountain or just a pump) and hoping you guys on here can advise. It's an above ground pond about 4'6" x 2'6" x 2'6" high and has 2 goldfish at the moment but would like to have a few more as I lost some over the winter. Think it would have to be solar powered as no suitable electricity supply.

getthemax

We don't bother with any mechanical stuff apart from the recirculating pump that goes through the UV filter and Bio filter.

Buy some Elodea Crispa oxygenating plant. Not sure if it's in stock yet as it may be a bit early, but should be available soon from any pond stockist. And I'd also recommend adding some sort of filtration system if you haven't got one as Goldfish to create a lot of 'waste'.

Froglet

If you have no means of setting up electricty then please do not consider getting any more fish.As the previous poster says,goldfish are messy and good filtration is needed to deal with their waste .You can get solar pumps,and they are better than nothing but yes,good quality oxygention plants help.But there is no substitute for a proper filter and when the pond was built,the electricity should have been put in then.

Your pond is quite small,and as the fish grow you will get problems if you don't keep on top of regular water changes,as you would a tank.I don't mean cleaning it out,just dechlorinate and replace about 20% ,minumum once per month over the months you feed them.I hope you didn't feed them in the wnter,if so that may be why you lost them,or it may be that the pond wasn't deep enough to cope with the exceptionally cold conditions.

If you give us a few more details about your set up we may be able to help further.

blueglass

Thanks Getthemax and Froglet. Seems you both agree a filtration system is best but minimum is a pump and oxygenating plants. Really don't think anything electrical would be possible that's why I was thinking solar. Probably a daft question but is a pump the same thing as an aerator? Also can you recommend any good websites for equipment and also plants as don't have anywhere locally to get them. Thanks again

Froglet

A pump is much more powerful than a simple aerator and can be used to feed water through a filter or to a waterfall.If you can find a way of getting even just one lead to the pond,and bear in mind it must be heavy duty,with at the very least,a power breaker, then i would recommend an internal combined pump and filter.They are very easy to use and you have no pipes trailing out the pond.They are not expensive.I have 2 in my raised pond of 800 gallons and one,plus an external,in my inground pond of 1200 gallons.

Take a look at them here http://www.watergardeningdirect.com/acatalog/Hozelock-EasyClear-Pond-Filters.html but you could shop around.This is an excellent company to deal with and have all you will need.You would need the easyclear3000.

Once you have matured the filter,and all is running well you could then have a couple more small goldfish.As for plants i have used this company in the past and they are very good quality.http://www.plantsalive.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=45

blueglass

Thanks Froglet. Advice much appreciated. Will check out the websites