Amonia in the pond

[lynx59]

Is there a non chemical way to reduce the ammonia given off by fish, the second pond we have only has two medium sized fish at this time, but we wish to add more.

[Ukwildlifeo]

A pond filter with a biological medium will reduce the amount of ammonia + nitrite in the water as this uses bacteria to break it down. The nitrate that's left will be absorbed by plants or disperse as nitrogen into the atmosphere (though it can encourage algae growth).

That said the surface area is the limiting factor for the number of fish you can keep in a pond/aquarium as it is what limits the amount of oxygen getting into the water from the atmosphere (and the CO2 getting out).

[dampflippers]

Try not to overfeed the fish, or if thy can manage, don't feed them at all if there is enough pondlife to eat. That way everything will stay in balance.

Lots of oxygeating plants will help to improve water quality and use up excess nurients.

[Jackson_uk]

One major thing to consider is the age of the pond.

If the pond is less than 8 weeks old, the water will be in what we call the 'cycling' stage, where biological waste levels (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate) rise and fall due to a lack of beneficial aerobic bacteria.

If the pond is older than 8 weeks, then the build of Ammonia can come from several sources:
*Too much food
*The wrong type of food (means uneaten food remains in pond)
*Decaying matter (I've had a customer with high ammonia due to a rat that drowned in the pond).
*Incorrect cleaning of filter.

Is there a filter on the pond?
Also can you post results for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?

Where I work, we always look at the cause of the problem and fix that, which is easier, cheaper but takes more time. The problem with using treatments for biological problems is that they often just cover up the roblem without actually fixing it.