New Pond Owner; Freshly Cleaned & Filled

My husband and I purchased a house with a small pond. Looking at other preformed drop-ins, I'd say it's likely 125 gallons. I finally got around to emptying, (patching), cleaning and filling it back up. I meticulously cleaned out the pump and filters and it's now back up and running. Where do I go from here? I have two plants I need to rinse off (currently covered in algae) and replant in the pond. I also would like to get some fish. I need to keep it simple and inexpensive as we're on a tight budget. Any help and/or suggestions would be very helpful as I'm obviously new to this. Thanks!

How deep is your pond, will you be able to overwinter your plants and fish in it (minimum of three feet deep) or will you be bringing your fish and plants inside for the winter, perhaps to an aquarium? Do you have a bubbler, or fountain to add oxygen to the water?

I would go with sarassa and shubunkin goldfish. Both can be found easily at local pet stores like Petsmart. They won't get as large at koi, and aren't as finicky about water quality. If you have a patient fish person at your pet store, who is willing to pick out the pretty long tailed red and white feeder goldfish, they grown to about 8 inches and are about 29cents. Some of my prettiest are the feeder fish I hand selected. You can also use yellow or red guppies, red platys, and marble mollies. Although you'll lose them once you get a frost, they're also easy and cheap to replace and look great in a black pond.

I like the shape of your pond. You will enjoy some little fish in there. There are some real brightly colored shubunkins. I have them in 1 pond.

Also, if you feel oxygen is an issue when it gets real hot you can always get a small aerator at a local pet store. I have a small one going in the smaller pond. it is about 1,300 gals. i'm sure it helps some. this year for first time I invested in an aerator for larger pond. supposed to be good for up to 5,000 gals and my pond is only 3,000. fish got peppier first time I put it on. gets pretty hot here as you might guess. it's pretty hot here right now. we have an early summer. UG

Hope you enjoy your pond.
Bonnie

If you are going to put fish in, make sure you test your water first (pond test strips are fairly inexpensive, where i work they are $14.99 for a box) to make sure that the fish will be okay, pay attention to the pH, and chlorine. Chlorine, if present, can burn their gills, and they will die, and fast highs or lows in pH can do the same. I know that the nursery here has pond chemicals to right these problems, and im pretty sure the pet store would too.
Happy Water Gardening
T

Just to add to Tori's message - in my last home the water company only added chlorine to the water. At my present home they add both chlorine and chloramines. It is important to buy the appropriate water conditioners depending on what your water has in it. The water company can give you this information, it is even on their website here at my home. Conditioners are available for both chlorine only and for the chlorine/chloramines.
If you are lucky enough to be using well water this should not be an issue at all.

I am on a well and water problems arise from time to time. There is always a chemical or natural way to treat the problem. I always watch the ammonia cause that can kill off fish fast.
My PH sometimes fluctuates but I leave it alone and it usually straightens out itself. Readings can really jump around from AM to PM.

Good luck with your pond. You will enjoy it.