r/ponds

Like the title says, went out this morning and my entire pond was dead, all 16 goldfish and 2 koi. Everything seemed normal yesterday but today they’re all gone and there are a lot of bubbles on the surface which weren’t there before. We got a decent bit of rain yesterday so I’m wondering if something could have runoff from the neighbors up the hill doing construction, or something else? Is there a way to test the water for something that could have runoff? Any suggestions on how to figure out what happened would be appreciated.

Edit: Thank you all for your help and kind words. My wife and I are devastated but the support and insight in really meaningful. For more context, after reading some comments I retested the water using two different test kits and got these results, if it may help shed some more light on what could have happened.

- Total PH was low, about 4-5
- Alkalinity (KH) was in the ideal range about 120ppm
- Hardness (GH) was in the hard range between 150-180ppm
- Ammonia was in safe range - not 0 but below 0.5ppm
- Nitrate and nitrite were both elevated in the stress range but not maxed, no3 was 80ppm, no2 was 3ppm
- Chlorine was 0

The wall is redguard coated haha. Im in the process of tiling it... waiting on algae to clear just got a better filter yesterday

Water hyacinth, also known as common water hyacinth, is a non-native floating perennial aquatic plant that is native to South America.

Above the water's surface, this plant grows waxy, leathery leaves that can vary slightly in shape from round to more oval or paddle-shaped. They are often not flat but rather have a concave or convex curve along the leaf plane. At the base of the leaves is an inflated, bulb-like petiole that provides buoyancy to the plant.

Flowering typically occurs in summer through early fall. A single, erect stem will bear several showy, 6-petal flowers that are light purple in color with dark purple striations on petals and a single, bright yellow dot on the uppermost petal.

Under the water's surface, the plant grows feathery roots that can become very dense.

This plant has been reported across the southeastern U.S. and can be found in ponds and slow-moving waters in north, central, and south Alabama.

Although this plant was introduced for its beauty as an ornamental aquatic species, it can aggressively spread in stagnant or slow-moving fresh water. Dense mats or heavy infestations can negatively impact ecosystem health by reducing dissolved oxygen and outcompeting native vegetation. Navigation and recreation can also be impacted by infestations of this species. Remember to never introduce this plant or other aquarium species to water bodies. Small infestations may be hand-pulled, but larger infestations will need to be mechanically removed or chemically treated. For more information on aquatic weed control, visit our Alabama Extension website for the "Weed Management in Lakes and Ponds" article https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/fish-water/weed-management-in-lakes-and-ponds/, or call your local office.

Heres the update with the stones loose layed. I'm still massaging them into place and will fill the gaps with sedums.

I raised the spill tray a bit so I have a downward plundge into the pond but it still feels minimal. The water is nicely disturbed from the bog overflow down to the final plunge and I am curious if this is enough? Water is clean and fish are not gathering near the falls.

(420gph pump in 250g+49gal spill tray. Took about 7min to fill the 40gal bog before rock and now it takes 3.5min)

Could you conceivably have super oxygenated water flowing below the surface of a stagnant pond and be ok with some minimal surface disruption like an airstone?