redearslider.com

So, I just read about chlorine killing the beneficial bacteria. If I drain half of the water from the pond, will the chlorine from refilling kill all of the bacteria? If so, how do I prevent this? Is this in the right forum? Sorryif it's not. I am refering to an outdoor pond though.

You will need to use some water conditioner to remove the chlorine. Also if your town uses "chloromines" you will need to make sure to use a water conditioner that will specifically remove that as well (it should say on the bottle). You can get the water conditioner at the pet store or wherever they sell pond supplies too.

THanks! So, do I drain half the water, put the conditioner in, then fill the pond back up?

Hmm, not sure how they do it with ponds. You should read the instructions on the bottle. Usually with an aquarium you mix the conditioner with the water in a separate container before adding to the aquarium. The chlorine will kill the beneficial bacteria so you want to neutralize it before you add it to the tank. I would assume it would be the same for a pond, but I'm not certain.

I would just pour in the conditioner at the same time that the pond was filling, and let the water flow do the mixing.

Now that's from someone with pond experience! Sounds like a good idea.

How often are you doing the water changes? Are you using bio-media?

If you're super concerned, you can take out the bio media and put it in a container with some of that pond water while you do the water change and add some conditioner. If you're not using bio media and you do a regular water change, say every 7-10 days, then I'd skip the water treatment all together.

I think she said she mentioned in another post that she had ceramic rings or some other bio media. But even still, if she added chorinated water to the pond wouldn't that kill off a lot of algae and other bacteria in the pond? I wonder if that kind of large scale die-off could cause an ammonia spike.

Yup, DavidY is right. I have those little black plastic ball things in there.
Water changes used to be complete water changes about once a month or so. But I didn't know that partial water changes are better and I just started using the bio media recently, although I was putting that bacteria powder stuff in there every so often.

But if the pond is only 50 gallons, I think at some point you're going to have to do a complete water change. Put some water from the pond into a pail and keep the biomedia in that until you've changed the water and are ready to put the filter/pump back into the pond. The powder is to jump-start the growth of beneficial bacteria? You could add some of this if you do a complete water change.

OK. How often would you recommend a complete water change?

You can get a freshwater test kit for fairly cheap and use that to test the water quality. As long as the water is clear, the pH fairly neutral, and the ammonia and nitrites are at zero you should be fine. A big indicator of a need for a water change is the excessive growth of algae. Partially shading the pond with plants will help keep algae growth down too.

I have a small 60 gal pond in the yard for my two older hatchlings, and during the summer I do a complete water change.. once. If you have lots of plants, it keeps the water pretty clean. When I do the water change, I add 1/4 bottle of stress coat for ponds.
In my 900 gal pond, I never do a complete water change. In the Spring I change 1/4 of the water, and add a whole bottle of stress coat for ponds.
I find that the most important thing with turtle ponds is to have a really good filter system, and lots of plants. My big pond is 15 years old now, and it is so clear that you can see the bottom. My little yard is my "Paradise Island."
Terry in NY

Oh yeah....I forgot. After I do the water change, I wait about 3 days before I do any cleaning of the filter pads. Then I just clean the top pad. I never touch the bottom two or the biomedia. Well, this works for me. I don't know if it is right or not.
Terry in NY

Wow, I'd love to see pictures of your ponds if you have any! Sounds very nice. I'm a big fan of using live plants in aquatic environments for natural filtration. The biggest problem with turtles though is preventing them from destroying all the plants. But if you have a good sized pond and a large number of plants, they should be able to hold their own.