Or will the fish and tadpoles die and if I can’t, what to do?

Hildon. Nothing else is acceptable.

Evian is a close second or Buxton spring in third place.

Evian? EVIAN?

Won’t somebody think of the tadpoles!

Fill it from empty, no. Topping up, yes.

We do to top up ours when the water butt is empty. Not ideal but everything’s been fine so far.

fill up or refill?

tap water contains chlorine which ain’t good for the plants or creatures . fill a new pond and leave it a while (1 week) before stocking. Topping up a little bit should not be a real problem . my understanding is that the chlorine disapates fairly quickly so leave a bucket of water out for a day before adding to pond. We have water buts on our drain pipes so run a hose from them to the pond when it needs extra water.

I’d say their chances of survival are better than being left to dry up in the sun with no water.

Evian? EVIAN?

Won’t somebody think of the tadpoles!

frogs aren’t they? They’ll love Evian

As in they like water of course…..

Fill it from empty, no.

you can but you’ll want to leave it few weeks before adding living things

No it’s an established pond, half empty caused by the current weather.

Might possibly position the hose to act like a water fall so as to help with oxygenation….

Yup, that’s the way. If its 50% empty fill bit by bit so as not to change the temp too suddenly.

My reading fail:

Might possibly position the HOUSE to act like a water fall so as to help with oxygenation….

“That seems overkill…”

Agitation should release most of the chlorine, a gas which does not easily remain soluble in water. The action of water sprayed from a garden hose and hitting a rock in the pond, for example, should be fairly effective at releasing the chlorine.

Certainly tap water would be imo more desirable for filling a pond than rainwater. Rainwater is likely to contain high levels of pollutants compared to tap water, especially if collected in a built up area.

imho

Rainwater is likely to contain high levels of pollutants compared to tap water, especially if collected in a built up area.

You are stark raving crazy and I claim some sort of financial reward.

Might possibly position the hose to act like a water fall so as to help with oxygenation….

Do exactly that – its the bestest thing. A: You get your own personal rainbow. B: Frogs come out and bask in it.

I don’t know how I survived that bath last night.

You can get a treatment that you add with your tap water for bigger top ups.

B and Q usually stock it as do Maidenhead Aquatics and a number of larger pet shops.

Instructions vary so read the packet and you will need to do some maths on the rough volume of the top up but its pretty easy.

Yes but it’s not the Chlorine that’s the problem in tap water it’s Chloramine. Go to your local pet shop or aquarist and get some tapsafe which you can add to the water to make it safe for fish.

I don’t know how I survived that bath last night.

You’ve got gills ?

“I don’t know how I survived that bath last night”

i’m prepared to bet you did not spend significant periods fully submerged in it or try and breath it.

sweepy, yesterday

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wyt0KH5R9Q[/video]

If you put washing up liquid in, you get really shiny fish.

Yes but it’s not the Chlorine that’s the problem in tap water it’s Chloramine

Same thing, different format. Some areas have just chlorine, some have fancy dan chloramine. either way, treatments to remove chlorine are a good idea.

Tap water is made for humans to drink, not for fish to swim in.

(from my work website) – Chlorine is present in drinking water to provide disinfection and is highly toxic to fish. Chlorine must be allowed to completely dissipate before the water is added to the pond or tank. It is recommended that tap water is left to stand in a clean container for at least 24 hours before use. Alternatively, water can be pre-treated using other methods to de-chlorinate water; your local aquarium supplier will be able to help with this

Same thing, different format.

My understanding is that unlike chlorine chloramine isn’t removed by boiling, agitation, or leaving water standing, and can only be effectively removed by adding additives.

BTW chlorine isn’t imo that toxic to fish, specially to cold water fish of the carp variety..

fair enough ernie – hadnt thought about that bit. will look into that tomorrow.
the toxicity i guess depends on the levels.

imagine breathing chlorine – that’s what the poor fish are effectively doing (albeit at lowish doses). There’s a good reason the guys working on the treatment works all use gas tight suits if there’s a chlorine leak.

edit – thinking about it, the chloramine does go, its just more stable than free cl2 so takes longer.

note to self – don’t have technical discussions on tinternet late at night after beer 😉

Don`t get started on Ph and Chlorine.

Good practice

Simples – water changes of 20%+ require the use of dechlorinator. Check your water supplier’s website to see if you need to treat for added Chlorine or Chloramines – some use one, some use the other. dechlorinators usually work on both, but will likely require different doses.

Or – stand the water in the sun for a day 🙂