Could this stuff be the cause of fish dying?

hello everybodyI sommer feel, if I may say, k@k!! About two months ago my dad started adding the stuff called Pond Clear to our pond to get rid of some of the algae. In the last two weeks three of the fish have died. The water quality is good but I don't have a nitrate test kit. I don't think nitrates will kill three fish in two weeks!! Has anyone maybe had some past experience with this stuff? The salesman suggested adding half a teaspoon every 4 days which seems a bit excessive.

Here are some details on the pond

pH - steady 7
Ammonia - 0
nitrites - 0
nitrates - N/A
capacity - 1200 lt
fish - 13 goldies left

 

@K.C - Hmmnnn - One thing I know is that the active ingredient(Ametryn) stays active for about a week in water - longer in shaded ponds...so if you been adding a half scoop every four days....could have reached toxic levels by then.... Contact Sandton Aquatic Centre directly and ask them....they are the manufacturers...and next time...rather use Crystal Algae Clear - I find it much safer....

 

My dad use that pond clear in his koi pond. He never lost a fish because of that stuff, but he use only a tea spoon maybe once a week pending on temps

 

Thanks for the replies guys!!

@azurekoi - I'll phone them when I get home today and see what they say about it. Honestly, if it were up to me I would leave the pond to be and not use chem's.. I mean, when the algae was growing freely all the fish were happy and there were no deaths!!

Will post what they say later on today..

 

Natural algae control is the way...get hold of some Barley straw(Horse feed shops sell it by the bale;1 bale will treat 100 000 liters for 6 months ish) - place it in some orange bags and place in your weir/settlementchamber... as it breaks down - it releases an enzyme that severely inhibits the growth of string algae.....

 

Oh really!! The Barley straw is a very interesting idea so will give it a shot!! Unfortunately i got home too late to chat the people at the Sandton Aquatic Centre. But spoke to a friend who's had some experience with pond clear and he said that an overdose will definitely cause fish deaths and that regular dosing killed his lillies!! My dad was overdosing BIG TIME though by adding a weekly dose every 4 days!! He feels so bad about it!!

 

@Stalker - do you remember how big your dads pond was?

 

The pond his got is very small, only 500 liters big.

He only use Pond Clear when the weather is bad and the water go green. His pond filter got a UV light build into the system and that removes any algae the develops in the water. When he use Pond Clear (bad weather) the water will be crystal clear within 2 days. Bad weather includes rainy days followed by extremely hot days or the other way around. He only used pond clear about 4 weeks ago and only one teaspoon..

I will recommend that you get a UV light in the filter line. That will help a lot

 

Thanks @Stalker - We are going to change the whole pond setup around so that it will be mostly in the shade to also keep the water temperature down somewhat. Went pricing UV lights today so will be getting one in the next few days!!

 

Just remember @K.C ... UV sterilizers only work on free floating uni cellular algae... Green Water in other words - Does nothing for string algae/blanket weed...

 

@azurekoi - Thanks for the heads-up!! I've only seen the uni-cellular type in my dads pond in the time that he's had it. In your opinion, would it be worth it in the long run to invest in a UV light unit. I read that after algae die they release toxins into the water which are also deadly to fish. Is this true?

@Reedfish - No, the pond was overdosed big time hey.

 

Mass algae die off's can be detrimental to water Quality...but wouldnt call it toxic.... Unless it is a die off of Blue Green Algae/Cyanobacteria...

 

Most of the algae control products warn of a mass die off that can cause starvation of oxygen and that you should do a syphon to get rid of what has settled on the bottom.
Try and get yourself an ozoniser and add this as it kills off all forms of algae. When I use it in my tanks the glass comes cleaner than you can ever clean it. Just like before adding in the water for the first time.