Just like you would the car ,prepare the pond /aquarium before you go on hoildays so you dont come back to disaster!

 What ever size pond/aquarium you have there are things you can do to avoid disaster while you are away.

 Is a friend/neighbor going to be feeding the Fish, sounds great till they put a weeks worth of food in at once or feed twice as much as you would, this causes the water to foul and blocks the pump, on a warm day you could lose all your fish due to lack of oxygen

 The best way to deal with this is to get them to come over twice a week and put the amount of floating pellet for each day in a zip lock bag for them to feed, always feed less than you would normally.

Put a Pond block 1kg large pond, in, this will help with any excess food, pH changes. pond blocks help to stabilize the water and release bacteria to keep the pond ammonia free. while your away you wont be able to do water changes or top ups or clean the filter, toxins can build up , the pond block,will help break down and toxins till you get back. leave the block in for a total of six months to get the best results. 

 BUY POND BLOCKS

Buy water cleansers

 Koi can go one to two months without food, so if there is no one that can feed them don't worry. however its best to get someone to drop in and check pumps and filters are still running. leave you mobile number with them in case of any problems. 

 If you have Goldfish in a pond, they will feed on larvae, worms, vegetation and bugs within the pond. Dont feed at all.

 For goldfish in a Aquarium you could put in live plants, but this can be messy and can clog the filter or pump, so if they are inside we suggest you get someone to come over at least every second day to feed them. 

For the aquarium you can add goldfish bio clean before you go, or which ever product you use now to add bacteria 

BUY GOLDFISH BIO CLEAN

 We don't recommend the block vacation feeders as all they do is buff the pH. They don't actually feed the fish at all.

Our suggestions for your holiday pond maintenance  

  1. Clean the pond filter ,sponges. Don't  touch the bio balls and pump at least a week before you go away not the day before.

  1A Tidy up all live plants cut off any dead bits and floating debris. Only repot plants in spring.

  2. If the pump has a sponge take it out , replace when you come back.

  3. Do a 10% water top up or change, check your pH is between 7 -8, don't forget to use water ager for tap water!

  3A If you pH is low add pH buffer, make sure you do this days before you go, not on the day.

  4. Add pool salt or rock salt 1kg to every 2000ltrs this builds body slime on the fish

  5. Add a second backup air pump so while you are away, if one blocks the fish will still have air.

  Our suggestions for your holiday aquarium maintenance

  1. Clean the filter, replace filter media and carbon. Don't touch the bio section of the filter

  2. Tidy up any live plants cut off any dead bits and floating debris

  3. Siphon the bottom gravel, don't take out any more than 10% of the water when doing this. check your pH is between 7-8. Don't forget to use water ager for tap water.

  3A If your pH is low add pH buffer. Make sure this is days before you go, not on the day.

  4. Add Rock Salt, 1/2 cup any size aquarium, will help the fish build up body slime.

  5. Check all your equipment is working, lights, power cords, air pumps etc.

To check the water parameters in your pond or aquarium us these quick and easy pond sticks

 buy pH test strips

www.windsorfishhatchery.com.au